Nonisothermal crystallization kinetics: poly(ethylene terephthalate)-poly(ethylene oxide) segmented copolymer and poly(ethylene oxide) homopolymer

The nonisothermal crystallization behavior of polyethylene oxide (PEO) in poly(ethylene terephthalate)poly(ethylene oxide) (PETPEO) segmented copolymer and PEO homopolymer has been studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry, as well as transmission electron microscope. The kinetics of PEO in copolymer and PEO homopolymer under nonisothermal crystallization condition has been analyzed by Ozawa equation. The results show that Ozawa equation only describes the crystallization behavior of PEO-6000 homopolymer successfully, but fails to describe the whole crystallization process of PEO in copolymer because the secondary crystallization in the later stage could not be neglected. Due to the constraint of PET segments imposed on the PEO segments, a distinct two stage of crystallization of PEO in copolymer has been investigated by using Avrami equation modified by Jeziorny to deal with the nonisothermal crystallization data. In the case of PEO-6000 homopolymer, good linear relation for the whole crystallization process is obtained owing to the secondary crystallization does not occur under our experimental condition. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrochemiluminescence of tris(2,2 '-bipyridine)ruthenium(II) immobilized in poly(p-styrenesulfonate)-silica-Triton X-100 composite thin-films

The electrochemiluminescence (ECL) of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(ii) [Ru(bpy)(3)(2+)] immobilized in poly(p-styrenesulfonate) (PSS)-silica-Triton X-100 composite films was investigated. The cooperative action of PSS, sol-gel and Triton X-100 attached Ru(bpy)(3)(2+) to the electrode strongly, and the presence of Triton X-100 prevented drying fractures of the sol-gel films during gelation and even on repeated wet-dry cycles. The modified electrode was used for the ECL detection of oxalate, tripropylamine (TPA) and NADH in a flow injection analysis (FIA) system with a newly designed flow cell. The detection scheme exhibited good stability, short response time and high sensitivity. Detection limits were 0.1, 0.1 and 0.5 mu mol L-1 for oxalate, TPA and NADH, respectively, and the linear concentration range extended from 0.001 to 1 mmol L-1 for the three analytes. Applications of the flow cell in ECL and electrochemical detection, as well as the immobilization of reagents based on the cooperative action, are suggested.

The FeCl3-doped poly(3-alkyithiophenes) in solid state

The FeCl3-doped three poly(3-alkylthiophenes) (P3ATs) in solid state, i.e. poly( 3-octylthiophenl) (P3OT), poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (P3ODT) and poly( 3-octadecylthiophene) (P3ODT), were investigated in this paper. In X-ray diffraction results, there are obvious variations of the interlayer and interlayer spacings in the layered structures of P3ATs. In addition, it is found that some orientations of the side-chain groups occur after the doping process. The infrared spectra have also shown the microstructural changes arising from the readjustments of the polymer chains due to the intervention of the dopant. The presence of dopant leads to the formation of bipolarons and polarons at the same time. The conductivity measurements reveal that the conductivity decreases with the increase of the length of sidechain group. We have also observed the relaxation behaviors in the conductivities of the doped polymers. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of temperature on lattice spacings of melt-crystallized poly(iminosebacoyl iminodecamethylene)

The variation of lattice spacings of poly(iminosebacoyl iminodecamethylene) (nylon-10,10) with temperature was studied by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) during both heating and cooling processes, which demonstrates a gradual and continuous transition with temperature. However, the crystal melts before the two peaks merge completely. Both WAXD and differential scanning calorimetry show that crystallization from molten sample results directly in the triclinic form. Additionally, this transition is thermodynamically reversible. Comparison of this transition with that of nylon-6,6, suggests that no hydrogen-bonded network is formed during or after the transition. We prefer to attribute this transition to asymmetrical thermal expansion in the nylon-10,10 crystals rather than to a true first-order phase transition. (C) 2001 Society of Chemical Industry.

Synthesis of poly(ether ether ketone)s with high content of sodium sulfonate groups as gas dehumidification membrane materials

Sodium sulfonate-functionalized polyether ether ketone)s derived from Bisphenol A with a degree of sulfonation up to 2.0 were synthesized by aromatic nucleophilic polycondensation of various amounts of 5,5-carbonylbis(2-fluorobenzenesulfonate) (1), 4,4'-diflurobenzophenone (2) and Bisphenol A (2). Copolymers showed excellent thermal stability and good mechanical properties. The selectivity of water vapor over nitrogen of membranes prepared from copolymers 3a and 3h was determined to be 3.43 x 10(6) and 1.05 x 10(7), respectively.

Synthesis and characterization of a series of high sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)s

A series of high sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)s were prepared by copolymerization of sodium 5,5 ' -carbonylbis (2-fluorobenzenesulfonate)(2),4,4 ' -difluorobenzophenone (1) and bisphenol A(3) in the presence of potassium carbonate in dimethylsulfoxide. The copolymers were characterized by IR and DSC, The influence of degree of sulfonation on the properties of copolymers, such as component, thermal stability, solubility and filming ability, was studied.

Preparation of poly(4-vinylpyridine)/silica hybrids supported cyclopentadienyltitanium trichloride (CpTiCl3) catalyst and styrene polymerization

Poly(4 - vinylpyridine)/silica( PVP/SiO2) organic - inorganic nanoscale hybrid was prepared using sol - gel method, in which PVP was used as an organic component and TEOS as a SiO2 precusor, This hybrid was used as CpTiCl3 support. The XPS and IR measurements showed that two kinds of catalytic active site were formed through analyzing the interaction mode between support and CpTiCl3. The results of styrene polymerization showed that syndiotactic was the highest at 50 degreesC. The catalytic activity was 1.09 x 10(6) g PS/ (mol Ti . h) at 70 degreesC when n(Al)/n(Ti) = 1500. GPC results showed a bimodal molecular weight distribution.

Studies on the structure and properties of thermotropic liquid crystalline poly(aryl ether ketone)s

Series of thermotropic liquid crystalline poly (aryl ether ketone) s were synthesized by mucleophilic substitution reactions of 4,4'-biphenol and substituted hydroquinone with different difluoromonomers, The relationship between structure and properties of the novel copolymers was investigated. For the copolymers with liquid crystalline properties, their melting transition temperatures show no great change with increase the content of the crystal-disrupting unit. The reason is that the crystal phase is directly transformed from the ordered liquid crystal phase. Side-groups have important effect on mesophase stability, The temperature range of mesophase stability for the chloro-polymers is smaller than those of other series of copolymers (P-phenyl, t-butyl, methoxy, 3-trifluoromethylbenzene). This behavior indicates that the effect of geometric repulsive factor on the thermodynamic stability of the mesophase is much larger than that of the polarizability attractive factor. Different ordered liquid crystal phases are observed in the polymers with different molecular weights. At low molecular weight, highly ordered smectic liquid crystal phases form. With increasing the molecular weight, the ordered degree of the liquid crystals decreases, and only the nematic liquid crystal phase is observed in the polymer with higher molecular weight.

Energy transfer in phase-separated luminescent polymer films

The energy transfer in a blend film of poly 3-(2-(5-chlorobenzotriazolo) ethyl) thiophene (PCSET) and polyvinylcarzole (PVK) was investigated. The UV-VIS and photoluminescence (PL) results suggest that the energy transfer from PVK to PCBET leads to the enhancement of PL emission of PCBET. The AFM and LMF results indicated that the domains of blend polymer film are of micro-meter size. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The effects of different alkyl substitution on the structures and properties of poly(3-alkylthiophenes)

In order to investigate the influence of different alkyl side chain substitution on the structures and properties of P3ATs, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermal gravity analysis (TGA), Fourier transform infrared spectra (FTIR) and ultraviolet-visible spectra (W-VIS) were applied to characterizing the samples of ploy(3-octylthiophene) (P3OT), poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (P3DDT) and poly(3-octadecylthiophene) (P3ODT). It is found that the different length of alkyl group substitution leads to great difference in molecular chain packings, according to the room temperature X-ray diffraction results. The temperature dependence of X-ray diffraction experiments were also performed to study the melting processes of P3ATs. With the increase in the number of carbon atoms in alkyl side chains, the melting point decreases, and the thermal stability decreases too. The results of both FTIR and W-VIS spectra indicate that the conjugation length of P3DDT is the longest. among the three P3ATs. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Novel sodium sulfonate-functionalized poly(ether ether ketone)s derived from 4,4 '-thiodiphenol

Novel sodium sulfonate-functionalized poly(ether ether ketone)s derived from 4,4'-thiodiphenol with degree of sulfonation up to 2.0 were synthesized by nucleophilic polycondensation of various amount of 5,5 '-carbonylbis(2-fluorobenzenesulfonate) (1) and 4,4'-difluorobenzophenone (2) with 4,4'-thiodipheno (3). Component and structure of the polymers were confirmed by TR, NMR and elemental analysis. Wide angle X-ray diffraction patterns indicated an amorphous structure of the polymers. All the polymers showed excellent thermal stability and poor solubility in water. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phase structure and transitions in a poly(methyloctadecylsilane) oligomer

A poly(methyloctadecylsilane) oligomer was synthesized by a typical Wurtz coupling reaction. Upon cooling, three transitions were observed at temperatures of 39.9, 37.5 and 33.9 degreesC at a rate of 2.5 degreesC/min in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The first transition, with enthalpy change of 0.47 kT/mol and supercooling of 0.2 degreesC, was characteristic of the conformational change in the Si-Si backbone into an all-trans conformation, which was detected by temperature-dependent Fourier transform infrared (FT-FR) spectroscopy. The second and the third transitions with large supercooling were identified as the formation of two-dimensional hexagonal crystal packing and three-dimensional two-chain orthorhombic crystal packing, respectively. The crystal structure was determined by the combination of WAXD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) experiments. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Non-isothermal crystallization kinetics of the poly(3-alkylthiophenes)

According to the data obtained from Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC),the method of Jeziorny, BOPOXOBCKHH and a new approach proposed by our laboratry are applied to study the nonisothermal crystallization behavior of poly( 3-dodecylthiophene) (P3DDT) and poly(3-octadecylthiophene) (P3ODT),and Kissinger method is used to get the value of the crystallization activation energy. The effect of the different alkyl substitution on crystallization is also investigated. In comparison to the methods of Jeziorny and BOPOXOBCKHH in which it can be found that the deviation from the line occurs in the later stage of crystallization, the new approach appears applicable due to the better linear relation. The values of the crystallization activation energy of P3DDT and P3ODT are estimated as 184.78kJ/mol and 246.93kJ/mol, respectivley, which implies that it is easiser to crystallize P3DDT than P3ODT.

Effect of physical aging on the microstructure and the crystallization of amorphous poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone) (PEEKK)

Physical aging of poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone) (PEEKK) has been investigated. Heat flow responses were measured after annealing the amorphous samples obtained by quenching the melt into an ice-water bath close to, but below, the glass transition temperature. The extent of aging is related to the supercooling from the glass transition temperature and to the aging time. The activation energy of the aging process, which was estimated by a Williams-Watt expression, is similar in magnitude to that obtained for the cold crystallization for the aged samples. The quenched glass is a metastable glass. The conformation of molecular chains rearranges with physical aging which results in the formation of a denser packing in the amorphous phase. The dense amorphous phase may form an initial nucleus for crystallization. Isothermal cold crystallization of the aged samples was carried out. The Avrami equation was used to determine the kinetic parameters, and the Avrami constant n is about 2. An Arrhenius expression was used to evaluate the activation energy of relaxation upon physical aging and the activation energy of transportation upon isothermal crystallization. The activation energy of relaxation is similar in magnitude to that of crystallization for aged samples. Results obtained are interpreted as kinetic effects associated with the glass formation process.