We recently reported the discovery of soliton-like electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) waves from pure conjugated polymer films and gold-nanoparticles-doped polymer films. In addition to a more detailed study of these polymer systems by changing the film thickness and the distribution of local leaks, we also apply the ECL wave phenomenon to polymer blends of conjugated and nonconjugated po...

Thin polystyrene (PS) films with highly ordered honeycomb pattern were successfully fabricated by an improved phase separation method. The PS film was successfully crosslinked after applying a deep UV irradiation. This work presents a proof of crosslinking PS by characterizing ATR-FTIR, TGA and the wetting property of the honeycomb films, which were prepared using a solvent/non-solvent ratio of...

When a thin glassy film is strained uniaxially, a shear deformation zone (SDZ) can be observed. The ratio of the thickness of the SDZ to that of the undeformed film is related to the maximum extension ratio, lambda, which depends on the entanglement molecular weight, M(e). We have measured lambda as a function of film thickness in strained freestanding films of polystyrene as a probe of M(e) in...

Understanding the phenomenon of droplet coalescence in nanoparticle suspensions is extremely important for the preparation of Pickering emulsions. A microfluidic platform, which can provide compulsive droplet collisions, was developed to imitate the droplet coalescence process in the early stages of emulsification. Microscope videos showed the variations in the droplet coalescence percentage, d...

Two-dimensional, hierarchical assemblies of nanorods were obtained by exploiting the structures afforded by block copolymers in ultrathin films. Under the appropriate conditions, the nanorods segregate to the film surface already upon casting the composite film, and organize with the block copolymer through phase separation. In this paper we compare the structures formed by CdSe nanorods of thr...

We present results of electrochemical deposition of magnetic metals and alloys in the pores of templates prepared by self-assembly from colloidal suspensions of polystyrene latex spheres. This technique has enabled us to create highly ordered magnetic nano-structures with 3D architectures on length scales ranging from 50–1000 nm. Varying the parameters in the preparation (sphere diameter, film ...

Lifetime analysis of positronium annihilating in nanometer voids is used to study the thermal expansion behavior of thin, Si-supported polystyrene films near the glass transition temperature Tg. A reduction in void volume expansion is correlated with a reduction in the apparent Tg as film thickness decreases. Our results can be fitted using a three-layer model incorporating a 50 Å constrained l...

Suffolk County, NY, on March 29 passed a law banning the use of plastic grocery bags and other plastic food containers starting in July, 1989. The law forbids the use of polystyrene foam (PS foam) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) for food packaging in restaurants, bars, delis, roadside stands, grocery stores, and other retail food establishments. PS foam is used in coffee cups, egg cartons and meat...

We investigated in situ the growth of a sputter-deposited gold film (sputtering rate R = 3.2 nm/min) on top of a pre-structured colloidal polymer template using grazing incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS [5]). The underlying colloidal polymer template was deposited by using the novel technique of airbrush-spray coating, allowing for the installation of stripe-like trapezoidal patter...

A type of strain sensor with high tolerable strain based on a ZnO nanowires/polystyrene nanofibers hybrid structure on a polydimethylsiloxane film is reported. The novel strain sensor can measure and withstand high strain and demonstrates good performance on rapid human-motion measurements. In addition, the device could be driven by solar cells. The results indicate that the device has potentia...