An efficient procedure to produce polyethene–graft–polystyrene (E-C3–graft–PS) copolymers by simple thermal treatment at 200 1C of polyethene (PE)-containing cyclopropane ring units (E-C3) in the presence of a high excess of styrene is reported. The high treatment temperature likely induces the breaking of the constrained cyclopropane rings, leading to the formation of radicals on the PE chains...

Polymer blends are formulated by mixing polymers with different chemical structures to create new materials with properties intermediate between those of the individual components. While Flory– Huggins ~FH! theory explains some basic trends in blend miscibility, the theory completely neglects the dissimilarity in monomer structures that is central to the fabrication of real blends. We systemati...

Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) play an important role in the fuel cell systems. A good PEM must meet a series of requirements such as high proton conductivity, excellent mechanical strength and stability, chemical and electrochemical stability, low fuel crossover, etc. Nafion is currently the most commercially utilized electrolyte membranes for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, with high chemic...

In blended hybrid systems distinct microor nanostructured materials can be formed by phase separation. Network structures of particles or rods in a polymer matrix can be developed via self-assembly. We use this blending approach to compare active materials for application in solar cell devices. Blends were fabricated from either poly(hexylthiophene) P3HT or poly(triphenylamine) PTPA mixed with ...

The applicability of time-temperature superposition of dynamic mechanical data for miscible polymer blends that exhibit strong intermolecular interactions was investigated. Blends of the lithium salt of lightly sulfonated polystyrene ionomers (Li-SPS), 9-12mol% sulfonation, and N-methylated nylon-2,lO (mPA) were miscible over the composition range studied, 30-70 wt% ionomer. Time-temperature su...

Film forming, stable hybrid latexes made of methyl metacrylate (MMA), butyl acrylate (BA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) copolymer reinforced with modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were synthesized by in situ miniemulsion polymerization. The MWCNTs were pretreated by an air sonication process and stabilized by polyvinylpyrrolidone. The presence of the MWCNTs had no signific...

Blends of poly(hydroxy ester ether) (PHEE), a recently developed bisphenol A ether-based synthetic biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, with a soybean protein isolate and two hydrolyzed wheat glutens were studied. Blends of the proteins with PHEE were produced from 20 to 70% by weight of protein content. Young’s moduli of the protein/PHEE blends fall in the range of 0.8–1.5 GPa with tensile str...

A highly crystalline and low bandgap donor polymer, EI-PFDTBT, is developed by inserting ethylene bridging units to ensure a coplanar configuration between the side chains and the main chain. Polymer solar cells based on the EI-PFDTBT and PC(71) BM blends spincoated at elevated temperatures exhibit a power conversion efficiency of 5.1%.

We have synthesised and characterised a new low-gap conjugated polymer, with a broad absorption profile. In blends with a C(70) derivative we demonstrate power conversion efficiencies of 0.76%. We show electroluminescence from the polymer peaking at 956 nm, and quantum efficiency of 0.02% in a blend.

Local chain structure and local environment play an important role in the dynamics of polymer chains in miscible blends. In general, the friction coefficients that describe the segmental dynamics of the two components in a blend differ from each other and from those of the pure melts. In this work, we investigate polymer blend dynamics with Monte Carlo simulations of a generalized bond fluctuat...