In this study, a new neural network quantitative structure-property relationship model for prediction of ) (LCST θ of polymer solutions is presented. The parameters of this model are eight molecular descriptors which are calculated only from the chemical structure of polymer and solvent. These eight molecular descriptors were selected from 3328 molecular descriptors of polymer and solvent avail...

Difurfurylidene trehalose (DFTreh) was synthesized from trehalose and furfural by an acetalization reaction. Maleimide-terminated dimethylsiloxane oligomers (DMS-BMI) were synthesized from amine-terminated dimethylsiloxane oligomers by condensation with maleic anhydride. Three types of DMS-BMI with different length were prepared. Trehalose-based polymers were synthesized by Diels-Alder reaction...

A new direct-write system for fabricating suspended microscale and sub-microscale polymer fibers has been developed and characterized. This system is capable of generating arrays of precisely-positioned fibers with controllable diameters in three-dimensional space. The driving mechanism behind this process harnesses the surface tension of liquid bridges to promote the controlled thinning of a m...

We explore the phase behaviour, solution conformation, and interfacial properties of bottlebrush polymers with side-chains comprised of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM), a thermally responsive polymer that exhibits a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) in water. PNIPAAM bottlebrush polymers with controlled side-chain length and side-chain end-group structure are prepared using a "gr...

As part of an ongoing study to construct a molecular Turing machine in which a polymer chain is encoded via allosteric information transfer between macrocyclic complexes, we describe the thermodynamic and kinetic characterization of a multicomponent self-assembled system based on a zinc porphyrin macrocyclic compound, a bidentate ligand (1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, DABCO), and a viologen-sub...

The synthesis of lead sulfide nanocrystals within a solution processable sulfur 'inverse vulcanization' polymer thin film matrix was achieved from the in situ thermal decomposition of lead(II) n-octylxanthate, [Pb(S2COOct)2]. The growth of nanocrystals within polymer thin films from single-source precursors offers a faster route to networks of nanocrystals within polymers when compared with ex ...

Microfluidics (MFs) offers a promising method for the preparation of polymer microgels with exquisite control over their dimensions, shapes and morphologies. A challenging task in this process is the generation of droplets (precursors for microgels) from highly viscous polymer solutions. Spatial separation of MF emulsification and gelation of the precursor droplets on chip can address this chal...

“Electrospinnability”, or the ease with which a solution can be used to obtain bead-free uniform fibers, depends on a large number of parameters, including solution properties, process parameters and ambient conditions. In this study, the effect of the polymer relaxation time on electrospinning of dilute polymer solutions is investigated numerically. It is shown that elastic stresses (ES) incre...