block copolymers – TechConnect Briefs

Polymer Nanostructure Approach for Photoelectric Solar Energy Conversions

Sun S., Norfolk State University, US

At materials molecular level, photoelectric/photovoltaic conversion corresponds to a photo induced electron transfer from a molecular electron rich donor entity to an electron deficient acceptor entity, and the process is also called photo induced exciton [...]

Block Copolymer Nanocomposites With Mono- And Bioriented Structures

de Sousa Jr. R.R., Amurin L.G., Demarquette N.R., Carastan D.J., Federal University of ABC - UFABC, BR

Block copolymer nanocomposites are materials with interesting structures and properties. The control of their morphology can be obtained during processing, and anisotropic structures may be oriented in one or two directions, affecting both the copolymer [...]

Micellar solutions as environmentally-friendly agents for cleaning artworks

Rathousky J., Remzova M., Zouzelka R., J. Heyrovsky Institute of Physical Chemistry, AS CR, CZ

Micellar solutions and microemulsions are efficient agents for cleaning artworks, especially for the selective removal of aged polymeric coatings from the surface of wall paintings. We have aimed at the development of a generalized method [...]

A facile block copolymer inclusion technique for large scale monodisperse hexagonal arrays of superparamagnetic iron oxides nanodots

Ghoshal T., Maity T., Godsell J.F., Roy S., Morris M.A., University College Cork, IE

We demonstrate a simple and cost-effective route, based around block copolymer patterning, to create dense arrays of highly ordered iron oxide nanodots at substrate surface. The methodology creates hexagonally arranged features via a process of [...]

Synergistic effects in mixed micellization between natural and synthetic block copolymers

Portnaya I., Khalfin R., Kesselman E., Danino D., Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, IL

Amphiphilic block copolymers and mixtures of amphiphiles find broad applications in numerous nano-technologies. In our previous study, we showed that interactions between a biological charged diblock copolymer, beta-casein, and a synthetic uncharged triblock copolymer, Lutrol [...]

Trifunctional Epoxy – SWNTs Composites. a New Non – Covalent SWNTs Integration Approach

González-Domínguez J.M., Ansón-Casaos A., Díez-Pascual A.M., Ashrafi B., Naffakh M., Johnston A., Gómez M.A., Martínez M.T., Instituto de Carboquimica (CSIC), ES

Properly dispersing CNTs within polymers, specifically egarding epoxy matrices, is extremely difficult. A novel non-covalent functionalization technique, in which a block copolymer (Pluronic F68) is used to wrap SWNTs, has been developed combining both concepts: [...]

Reactive block copolymers as versatile compatibilizers for polymer-clay nanocomposites

Flores-Santos L., González-Montiel A., Baeza-Alvarado M.D., Espinoza-Rodríguez E., Esparza-Hernández P., CID, Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico, S.A. de C.V., MX

It’s well known that silicate-polymer nanocomposites offer a number of significant advantages over traditional silicate-polymer composites, such as increased tensile strength, improved heat deflection temperature and flame retardance, with typically 3-5 wt.% of the nanofiller, [...]

Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) as a Tool for the Synthesis of Well-Defined Functional Polymeric Materials

Tsarevsky N.V., McCarthy P., Jakubowski W., Spanswick J., Matyjaszewski K., ATRP Solutions, Inc., US

ATRP is one of the most powerful synthetic techniques that allows the synthesis of polymeric materials with predetermined molecular weight, composition, and molecular architecture derived from substituted styrenes, (meth)acrylates, or acrylonitrile. The polymers prepared by [...]

Nanoprobe for Optical Molecular Imaging

Zheng S., Wang R., Che W., Harrison W.J., Yang Z., Li C., Eastman Kodak Company, US

Optical molecular imaging (OMI) is a very powerful tool for studying the temporal and spatial dynamics of specific biomolecules and their interactions in real time in vivo. It exhibits the great advantages of high temporal [...]

Morphology and Phase Transitions in Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene Triblock Copolymer Grafted with Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxanes

Drazkowski D.B., Lee A., Michigan State University, US

Two symmetric triblock copolymers of polystyrene-butadiene-polystyrene (SBS) with different styrene content were grafted with varying amounts of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) molecules with either isobutyl or phenyl moiety. The POSS octamers, R’R7Si8O12 were designed to [...]