1
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Sans J, Azevedo Gonçalves I, Quintana R. Establishing Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) Coupled with Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) as an Advantageous Technique for the Characterization of Ultra-Thin Film Hydrogels. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2024:e2312041. [PMID: 38438898 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202312041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
Despite the considerable significance of utilizing ultra-thin film (utf) hydrogels as multipurpose platforms for biomedical applications, there is still an important lack of adequate characterization techniques suitable for such materials. In this Perspective, the use of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) coupled with spectral ellipsometry (SE) is presented as a potential tool for the complete characterization of utf-hydrogels due to its nanometric sensitivity and high versatility. Herein, the fundaments for utf-hydrogel characterization are settled down as far as the QCM-D/SE response is explored under a wide range of different in operando wet working conditions measurements such as temperature or liquid media, among others. Therefore, the design of measuring protocols capable to perform is proposed and compiled, for the first time, complete and precise characterization of the cross-link density, thickness variations (swelling ratio determination), stability analyses, and mechanical studies (including the simultaneous generation of stress-strain curves and the evaluation of the viscoelastic; leading to the final determination of the Poisson's ratio) under different in operando conditions. Finally, the future challenges and implications for the general characterization of soft-thin films are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Sans
- Materials Research and Technology Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Esch/Alzette, L-4362, Luxembourg
- Departament d'Enginyeria Quínica EEBE Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, C/ Eduard Maristany, 10-14, Barcelona, 08019, Spain
| | - Ingrid Azevedo Gonçalves
- Materials Research and Technology Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Esch/Alzette, L-4362, Luxembourg
- Department of Physics and Materials Science, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4365, Luxembourg
| | - Robert Quintana
- Materials Research and Technology Department, Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology, Esch/Alzette, L-4362, Luxembourg
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2
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Lin F, Zhang M, Zhao T, Zhang Y, Ning D, Cui W, Li Y, Chen X, Luo J. Exploitation of a New Nucleating Agent by Molecular Structure Modification of Aryl Phosphate and Its Effect on Application Properties of the Polypropylene. Polymers (Basel) 2023; 15:4730. [PMID: 38139981 PMCID: PMC10747455 DOI: 10.3390/polym15244730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023] Open
Abstract
In this work, a novel α-nucleating agent (NA) for polypropylene (PP) termed APAl-3C-12Li was prepared and evaluated compared with the commercially available type NA-21. For the synthesis of the organophosphate-type NA (APAl-3C), the -OH group of the acid part of NA-21 was substituted by the isopropoxy group. The structure of APAl-3C was analyzed by spectroscopy and element analysis, the results of which were consistent with the theoretical molecular formula. APAl-3C's thermal stability was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG), which showed only weak mass loss below 230 °C, meaning that it would not decompose during the processing of PP. The APAl-3C-12Li was used as a novel nucleating agent, studying its effects on crystallization, microstructure, mechanical and optical properties. Tests were performed in a PP random copolymer at different contents, in comparison to the commercial NA-21. The composite with 0.5 wt% APAl-3C-12Li has a similar crystallization temperature of 118.8 °C as with the addition of 0.5 wt% NA-21. An advantage is that the composite with the APAl-3C-12Li has a lower haze value of 9.3% than the counterpart with NA-21. This is due to the weaker polarity of APAl-3C-12Li after the introduction of methyl and better uniform dispersion in the PP matrix, resulting in stronger improvement of optical and mechanical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuhua Lin
- School of Traffic Engineering, Shanxi Vocational University of Engineering Science and Technology, Jinzhong 030619, China
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030024, China;
| | - Mi Zhang
- Shanxi Province Institute of Chemical Industry (Co., Ltd.), Jinzhong 030621, China;
| | - Tianjiao Zhao
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China; (T.Z.); (Y.Z.); (D.N.); (W.C.)
| | - Yanli Zhang
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China; (T.Z.); (Y.Z.); (D.N.); (W.C.)
| | - Dingyi Ning
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China; (T.Z.); (Y.Z.); (D.N.); (W.C.)
| | - Wenju Cui
- School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Taiyuan University of Science and Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China; (T.Z.); (Y.Z.); (D.N.); (W.C.)
| | - Yingchun Li
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan 030024, China;
| | - Xinde Chen
- Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China;
| | - Jun Luo
- Guangzhou Fibre Product Testing and Research Institute, Guangzhou 510220, China
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3
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Luo X, Niu J, Su G, Zhou L, Zhang X, Liu Y, Wang Q, Sun N. Research progress of biomimetic materials in oral medicine. J Biol Eng 2023; 17:72. [PMID: 37996886 PMCID: PMC10668381 DOI: 10.1186/s13036-023-00382-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Biomimetic materials are able to mimic the structure and functional properties of native tissues especially natural oral tissues. They have attracted growing attention for their potential to achieve configurable and functional reconstruction in oral medicine. Though tremendous progress has been made regarding biomimetic materials, significant challenges still remain in terms of controversy on the mechanism of tooth tissue regeneration, lack of options for manufacturing such materials and insufficiency of in vivo experimental tests in related fields. In this review, the biomimetic materials used in oral medicine are summarized systematically, including tooth defect, tooth loss, periodontal diseases and maxillofacial bone defect. Various theoretical foundations of biomimetic materials research are reviewed, introducing the current and pertinent results. The benefits and limitations of these materials are summed up at the same time. Finally, challenges and potential of this field are discussed. This review provides the framework and support for further research in addition to giving a generally novel and fundamental basis for the utilization of biomimetic materials in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyu Luo
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, School and Hospital of Stomatology, China Medical University, No. 117 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Jiayue Niu
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, School and Hospital of Stomatology, China Medical University, No. 117 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Guanyu Su
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, School and Hospital of Stomatology, China Medical University, No. 117 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Linxi Zhou
- Department of Orthodontics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
- College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200011, China.
- National Center for Stomatology, Shanghai, 200011, China.
- National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, Shanghai, 200011, China.
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Stomatology, Shanghai, 200011, China.
| | - Xue Zhang
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, School and Hospital of Stomatology, China Medical University, No. 117 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Ying Liu
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, School and Hospital of Stomatology, China Medical University, No. 117 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Qiang Wang
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, School and Hospital of Stomatology, China Medical University, No. 117 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang, 110001, China
| | - Ningning Sun
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, School and Hospital of Stomatology, China Medical University, No. 117 Nanjing North Street, Shenyang, 110001, China.
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4
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Maguire SM, McClimon JB, Zhang AC, Keller AW, Bilchak CR, Ohno K, Carpick RW, Composto RJ. Nanoscale Structure-Property Relations in Self-Regulated Polymer-Grafted Nanoparticle Composite Structures. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2023; 15:10974-10985. [PMID: 36802474 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c15786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Using a model system of poly(methyl methacrylate)-grafted silica nanoparticles (PMMA-NP) and poly(styrene-ran-acrylonitrile) (SAN), we generate unique polymer nanocomposite (PNC) morphologies by balancing the degree of surface enrichment, phase separation, and wetting within the films. Depending on the annealing temperature and time, thin films undergo different stages of phase evolution, resulting in homogeneously dispersed systems at low temperatures, enriched PMMA-NP layers at the PNC interfaces at intermediate temperatures, and three-dimensional bicontinuous structures of PMMA-NP pillars sandwiched between two PMMA-NP wetting layers at high temperatures. Using a combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM), AFM nanoindentation, contact angle goniometry, and optical microscopy, we show that these self-regulated structures lead to nanocomposites with increased elastic modulus, hardness, and thermal stability compared to analogous PMMA/SAN blends. These studies demonstrate the ability to reliably control the size and spatial correlations of both the surface-enriched and phase-separated nanocomposite microstructures, which have attractive technological applications where properties such as wettability, toughness, and wear resistance are important. In addition, these morphologies lend themselves to substantially broader applications, including: (1) structural color applications, (2) tuning optical adsorption, and (3) barrier coatings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn M Maguire
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - J Brandon McClimon
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Aria C Zhang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Austin W Keller
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Connor R Bilchak
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Kohji Ohno
- Department of Materials Science, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Metropolitan University, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531, Japan
| | - Robert W Carpick
- Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Russell J Composto
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
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5
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Tian M, Zhou W, Guan W, Lu C. Real-Time Imaging of Stress in Single Spherulites and Its Relaxation at the Single-Particle Level in Semicrystalline Polymers. Anal Chem 2022; 94:17716-17724. [PMID: 36480806 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.2c04683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Crystallization-induced microscopic stress and its relaxation play a vital role in understanding crystallization behavior and mechanism. However, the real-time measurements for stress and its relaxation seem to be an unachievable task due to difficulties in simultaneous labeling, spatiotemporal discrimination, and continuous quantification. We designed a micron-sized fluorescent probe, whose fluorescence can respond to stress-induced environmental rigidity and whose three-dimensional (3D) flow can respond to stress relaxation. Using the as-prepared fluorescent probe, we established a versatile strategy to realize the real-time 3D imaging of stress and its relaxation in the crystallization process. The rigidity-responsive fluorescence clearly indicated the stress, while the 3D flow movement could quantify the stress relaxation. It is revealed that stress in spherulites increased dramatically as a result of the suppression of stress relaxation in polymer melts. The developed method provides a novel avenue to simultaneously detect stress and its relaxation in various semicrystalline polymers at the single-particle level. This success would achieve the microscopic ways to guide the development of advanced crystallization-dependent materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingce Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Wenjuan Zhou
- Department of Chemistry, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100089, China
| | - Weijiang Guan
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China
| | - Chao Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China.,Green Catalysis Center, College of Chemistry, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China
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6
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Yang SG, Zhang LQ, Cui J, Zeng XB, Guo B, Liu F, Ungar G. Morphology of Shear-Induced Polymer Cylindrites Revealed by 3D Optical Imaging. Macromolecules 2022; 56:198-206. [PMID: 36644554 PMCID: PMC9835984 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c01433] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Two-photon confocal laser microscopy was used to obtain three-dimensional (3D) images of the morphology of poly(lactic acid) after shear-induced crystallization. The necessary fluorescence contrast was achieved by doping the polymer with Nile Red. The dye gets partially rejected from the growing crystalline aggregates during their formation, thus creating a renderable high-low fluorescence boundary outlining the shape of the aggregates. Parallel-plate melt-shearing and pulling a glass fiber through the melt were used as the two methods to achieve shear-induced crystallization. This study focuses on the shape of the resulting cylindrites, i.e., large-diameter shish-kebabs. The first 3D images of polymer cylindrites show that, if far from boundaries, they are circular cylinders, highly regular after fiber pull, but less so after parallel-plate shear. In the latter case, the cylindrite reveals the trajectory of the foreign particle that had nucleated its growth. Interestingly, lateral growth of the cylindrites was found to accelerate toward the sample surface when approaching it, giving the cylindrite an elliptical cross section. Furthermore and surprisingly, in the case of fiber pull, a row of spherulites is nucleated at the polymer-substrate interface nearest to the fiber, aligned along the fiber axis and appearing ahead of the rest of the space-filling spherulites. Both the phenomena, elliptical cylindrites and row of spherulites, are attributed to negative pressure buildup peaking at the cylindrite growth front and at the nearby film surface caused by crystallization-induced volume contraction. The pressure and flow distribution in the system is confirmed by numerical simulation. The results illustrate the value of 3D imaging of crystalline morphology in polymer science and polymer processing industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Gui Yang
- Shaanxi
International Research Center for Soft Materials, State Key Laboratory
for Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, Xi’an
Jiaotong University, Xi’an710049, China,
| | - Liang-Qing Zhang
- College
of Material Science and Engineering, Xi’an
University of Science and Technology, Xi’an710054, China
| | - Jiaming Cui
- Shaanxi
International Research Center for Soft Materials, State Key Laboratory
for Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, Xi’an
Jiaotong University, Xi’an710049, China
| | - Xiang-bing Zeng
- Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of Sheffield, SheffieldS1 3JD, U.K.
| | - Baolin Guo
- State
Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behavior of Materials, Frontier Institute
of Science and Technology, Xi’an
Jiaotong University, Xi’an710049, China
| | - Feng Liu
- Shaanxi
International Research Center for Soft Materials, State Key Laboratory
for Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, Xi’an
Jiaotong University, Xi’an710049, China
| | - Goran Ungar
- Shaanxi
International Research Center for Soft Materials, State Key Laboratory
for Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, Xi’an
Jiaotong University, Xi’an710049, China,Department
of Materials Science and Engineering, University
of Sheffield, SheffieldS1 3JD, U.K.,;
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7
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Lang C, Lloyd EC, Matuszewski KE, Xu Y, Ganesan V, Huang R, Kumar M, Hickey RJ. Nanostructured block copolymer muscles. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2022; 17:752-758. [PMID: 35654867 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-022-01133-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
High-performance actuating materials are necessary for advances in robotics, prosthetics and smart clothing. Here we report a class of fibre actuators that combine solution-phase block copolymer self-assembly and strain-programmed crystallization. The actuators consist of highly aligned nanoscale structures with alternating crystalline and amorphous domains, resembling the ordered and striated pattern of mammalian skeletal muscle. The reported nanostructured block copolymer muscles excel in several aspects compared with current actuators, including efficiency (75.5%), actuation strain (80%) and mechanical properties (for example, strain-at-break of up to 900% and toughness of up to 121.2 MJ m-3). The fibres exhibit on/off rotary actuation with a peak rotational speed of 450 r.p.m. Furthermore, the reported fibres demonstrate multi-trigger actuation (heat and hydration), offering switchable mechanical properties and various operating modes. The versatility and recyclability of the polymer fibres, combined with the facile fabrication method, opens new avenues for creating multifunctional and recyclable actuators using block copolymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Lang
- South China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School of Emergent Soft Matter, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
- Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional and Intelligent Hybrid Materials and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China
| | - Elisabeth C Lloyd
- Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Kelly E Matuszewski
- Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Yifan Xu
- Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Venkat Ganesan
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Rui Huang
- Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Manish Kumar
- McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
- Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA
| | - Robert J Hickey
- Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
- Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.
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8
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Mendez NF, Altorbaq AS, Müller AJ, Kumar SK. Organizing Nanoparticles in Semicrystalline Polymers by Modifying Particle Diffusivity. ACS Macro Lett 2022; 11:882-888. [PMID: 35763599 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.2c00287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We have previously shown that semicrystalline polymers can be reinforced by adding nanoparticles (NPs) and then ordering them into specific motifs using the crystallization process. A key result we have found is that when the spherulite growth rate is slowed below a critical value, then, NPs can order into the amorphous interlamellar regions of the semicrystalline structure. The effects of spherulite growth rate in this context have previously been examined, and here we focus on the role of NP diffusivity. We achieve this goal by changing the poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) molecular weight as a route to altering the matrix viscosity. In particular, four molecular weights of PEO were employed ranging from 5.4-46 kDa. Each sample was loaded with 10 vol % of bare 14 nm diameter silica NPs. After initially studying spherulite growth rates, experiments were designed to fix the spherulite growth rate across sample molecular weights to study particle ordering, induced by polymer crystallization. We find that, at the fastest growth rate studied (12 μm/s), the lowest molecular weight sample showed the highest order, presumably due to enhanced particle mobility. However, as the spherulite growth rate is slowed, the maximum ordering behavior is observed at intermediate molecular weights. The trend observed at slow growth rates is explained by the large-scale segregation of NPs (presumably into the grain boundaries, i.e., the interspherulitic regions); evidence for this is the observed transition of spherulite growth to diffusion-control at slow growth rates in the lowest molecular weight PEO sample studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas F Mendez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Abdullah S Altorbaq
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Alejandro J Müller
- POLYMAT and Department of Polymers and Advanced Materials: Physics, Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal, 3, 20018 Donostia-San, Sebastián, Spain.,IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Plaza Euskadi 5, 48009, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Sanat K Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York, New York 10027, United States
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9
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Bornani K, Mendez NF, Altorbaq AS, Müller AJ, Lin Y, Qu EZ, Zhang K, Kumar SK, Schadler LS. In Situ Atomic Force Microscopy Tracking of Nanoparticle Migration in Semicrystalline Polymers. ACS Macro Lett 2022; 11:818-824. [PMID: 35675165 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.1c00778] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We present in situ tracking of silica nanoparticle (NP) migration from a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) melt into interlamellar region using in situ atomic force microscopy (AFM). Our results confirm the previous hypothesis that NPs migrate into the interlamellar regions at crystallization growth rates smaller than a critical value under isothermal conditions. Under these slow crystallization conditions, bare silica NPs are rejected as defects by the growing crystal of PEO, and the in situ imaging on the large (50 nm) NPs helps track the migration into the amorphous zones. We extend this AFM technique to estimate lamellar growth rates that correlate with spherulite growth rates determined by polarized light optical microscopy (PLOM) but at smaller undercoolings than are typical for PLOM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamlesh Bornani
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, United States
| | - Nicholas F Mendez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Abdullah S Altorbaq
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Alejandro J Müller
- POLYMAT and Department of Polymers and Advanced Materials: Physics, Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Science Foundation, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Yueqian Lin
- Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, Jiangsu 215300, China
| | - Eric Zhonghang Qu
- Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, Jiangsu 215300, China
| | - Kai Zhang
- Division of Natural and Applied Sciences, Duke Kunshan University, Kunshan, Jiangsu 215300, China
| | - Sanat K Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Linda S Schadler
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, United States
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10
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Elbert KC, Vo T, Oh D, Bharti H, Glotzer SC, Murray CB. Evaporation-Driven Coassembly of Hierarchical, Multicomponent Networks. ACS NANO 2022; 16:4508-4516. [PMID: 35175730 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c10922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Self-assembly is an increasingly popular approach to systematically control the formation of complex, multicomponent materials with structural features orders of magnitude larger than the constituent colloidal nanocrystals. Common approaches often involve templating via prefabricated patterns to control particle organization- or programming-specific interactions between individual building blocks. While effective, such fabrication methods suffer from major bottlenecks due to the complexity required in mask creation for patterning or surface modification techniques needed to program directed interactions between particles. Here, we propose an alternative strategy that aims to bypass such limitations. First, we design a ligand structure that can bridge two distinct nanocrystal types. Then, by leveraging the solvent's evaporative dynamics to drive particle organization, we direct a cross-linked, multicomponent system of nanocrystals to organize hierarchically into ordered, open-network structures with domain sizes orders of magnitude larger than the constituent building blocks. We employ simulation and theory to rationalize the driving forces governing this evaporation-driven process, showing excellent agreement across theory, simulations, and experiments. These results suggest that evaporation-driven organization can be a powerful approach to designing and fabricating hierarchical, multifunctional materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine C Elbert
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Thi Vo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Deborah Oh
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Harshit Bharti
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Sharon C Glotzer
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
- Biointerfaces Institute, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States
| | - Christopher B Murray
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
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11
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Altorbaq AS, Krauskopf AA, Wen X, Pérez-Camargo RA, Su Y, Wang D, Müller AJ, Kumar SK. Crystallization Kinetics and Nanoparticle Ordering in Semicrystalline Polymer Nanocomposites. Prog Polym Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2022.101527] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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12
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Gimenez-Pinto V. Ordering hard-sphere particle suspensions by medium crystallization: Effect of size and interaction strength. Phys Rev E 2022; 105:L032601. [PMID: 35428058 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.105.l032601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
While microstructure in soft materials is usually given by the self-assembly of their constituting building blocks, colloidal assembly can also be obtained via templating a morphology in a disordered suspension of particles by solidification of the melt. This order-templating process is applicable to different soft-matter systems with a variety of characteristic length scales, including particle suspensions in water, liquid-crystal materials, and polymer melts. In this work, we numerically investigate the effect of particle size and solvent size in the process of solidification templating by implementing a coarse-grain model of hard-sphere particles at a moving melt-crystal interface. This approach captures the dependence of crystallization templating on speed of crystal growth, showing the existence of a threshold speed for crystallization templating to occur. Results in this work show that the threshold speed changes following a power form as solvent size and particle size change. Furthermore, this work analyzes and reports the effect of particle-crystal interaction strength in combination with size effects. This scaling study from a numerical perspective sets a starting point for the development of hybrid soft materials via structural templating, allowing solidification-driven particle ordering in different systems with a variety of length scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vianney Gimenez-Pinto
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA
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13
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Abstract
The lightweight and high-strength functional nanocomposites are important in many practical applications. Natural biomaterials with excellent mechanical properties provide inspiration for improving the performance of composite materials. Previous studies have usually focused on the bionic design of the material's microstructure, sometimes overlooking the importance of the interphase in the nanocomposite system. In this Perspective, we will focus on the construction and control of the interphase in confined space and the connection between the interphase and the macroscopic properties of the materials. We shall survey the current understanding of the critical size of the interphase and discuss the general rules of interphase formation. We hope to raise awareness of the interphase concept and encourage more experimental and simulation studies on this subject, with the aim of an optimal design and controllable preparation of polymer nanocomposite materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin Huang
- Key
Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology
of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, People’s Republic
of China
- School
of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, People’s Republic
of China
| | - Jiajia Zhou
- South
China Advanced Institute for Soft Matter Science and Technology, School
of Molecular Science and Engineering, South
China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, People’s Republic of China
- Guangdong
Provincial Key Laboratory of Functional and Intelligent Hybrid Materials
and Devices, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510640, People’s Republic of China
- Email
for J.Z.:
| | - Mingjie Liu
- Key
Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology
of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, People’s Republic
of China
- Email for M.L.:
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14
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Oh SM, Lee CH, Kim SY. Processing method determines the long-term stability of particle dispersions in concentrated nanoparticle/polymer suspensions. SOFT MATTER 2022; 18:841-848. [PMID: 34982088 DOI: 10.1039/d1sm01428e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Since the degree of particle dispersion can determine the physical properties of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs), plenty of studies have focused on the intrinsic parameters of PNCs such as the concentration/size/chemistry of nanoparticles/polymers relevant to the particle microstructure. While the consideration of these parameters is based on PNCs being in their equilibrium states, PNCs can be kinetically trapped in a nonequilibrium state during the multiple steps of processing. In other words, processing conditions can contribute more significantly to particle dispersion and the properties of PNCs beyond the effects of the intrinsic parameters. Hence, a systematic understanding of the nonequilibrium behaviour of PNCs is required to achieve the desired properties. In this work, we prepared concentrated suspensions with two different preparation pathways. The two different pathways yield different polymer conformations particularly near the particle surface despite the same composition of particles/polymers as the systems are trapped in a nonequilibrium state. Accordingly, the particle microstructures are also greatly changed by the preparation pathway. We found that even in the presence of solvents, these preparation pathway-dependent nonequilibrium effects on particle microstructures persist after several months of aging and ultimately determine the long-term stability of the particle dispersion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sol Mi Oh
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 Unist-gil, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - Chae Han Lee
- School of Energy and Chemical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), 50 Unist-gil, Ulsan 44919, Republic of Korea
| | - So Youn Kim
- School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Institute of Chemical Processes, Seoul National University, 1, Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
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15
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Feng M, Feng Y, Zhang T, Li J, Chen Q, Chi Q, Lei Q. Recent Advances in Multilayer-Structure Dielectrics for Energy Storage Application. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2021; 8:e2102221. [PMID: 34519436 PMCID: PMC8655226 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202102221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 08/01/2021] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
An electrostatic capacitor has been widely used in many fields (such as high pulsed power technology, new energy vehicles, etc.) due to its ultrahigh discharge power density. Remarkable progress has been made over the past 10 years by doping ferroelectric ceramics into polymers because the dielectric constant is positively correlated with the energy storage density. However, this method often leads to an increase in dielectric loss and a decrease in energy storage efficiency. Therefore, the way of using a multilayer structure to improve the energy storage density of the dielectric has attracted the attention of researchers. Although research on energy storage properties using multilayer dielectric is just beginning, it shows the excellent effect and huge potential. In this review, the main physical mechanisms of polarization, breakdown and energy storage in multilayer structure dielectric are introduced, the theoretical simulation and experimental results are systematically summarized, and the preparation methods and design ideas of multilayer structure dielectrics are mainly described. This article covers not only an overview of the state-of-the-art advances of multilayer structure energy storage dielectric but also the prospects that may open another window to tune the electrical performance of the electrostatic capacitor via designing a multilayer structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengjia Feng
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Dielectrics and Its ApplicationMinistry of EducationHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
- School of Electrical and Electronic EngineeringHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
| | - Yu Feng
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Dielectrics and Its ApplicationMinistry of EducationHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
- School of Electrical and Electronic EngineeringHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
| | - Tiandong Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Dielectrics and Its ApplicationMinistry of EducationHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
- School of Electrical and Electronic EngineeringHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
| | - Jinglei Li
- Electronic Materials Research LaboratoryKey Lab of Education MinistryXi'an Jiaotong UniversityXi'an710049P. R. China
| | - Qingguo Chen
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Dielectrics and Its ApplicationMinistry of EducationHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
- School of Electrical and Electronic EngineeringHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
| | - Qingguo Chi
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Dielectrics and Its ApplicationMinistry of EducationHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
- School of Electrical and Electronic EngineeringHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
| | - Qingquan Lei
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Dielectrics and Its ApplicationMinistry of EducationHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
- School of Electrical and Electronic EngineeringHarbin University of Science and TechnologyHarbin150080P. R. China
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16
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Chen CW, Yang ZY, Yang HC, Hsieh YZ, Liu C, Chuang YC, Lee JJ, Rwei SP, Hsu IJ, Chen HH. Enhanced redox property of polymer blends containing liquid crystalline molecules and their application in electrochemical sensing. POLYMER 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2021.124162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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17
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Krauskopf AA, Jimenez AM, Altorbaq AS, Müller AJ, Kumar SK. Quantifying Nanoparticle Ordering Induced by Polymer Crystallization. ACS NANO 2021; 15:14430-14443. [PMID: 34428018 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.1c03850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
It has recently been established that polymer crystallization can preferentially place nanoparticles (NPs) into the amorphous domains of a lamellar semicrystalline morphology. The phenomenology of this process is clear: when the time for NP diffusion is shorter than the crystal growth time, then the NPs are rejected by the growing crystals and placed in the amorphous domains. However, since there is no quantitative characterization of this ordered NP state, we develop a correlation function analysis for small-angle X-ray scattering data, inspired by classical methods used for enunciating the local morphology of lamellar semicrystalline polymers. We show that when the spherulitic growth rate is slower than NP diffusion, then all the NPs are expelled from the crystals. As we increase the crystallization temperature, Tc, the long period characterizing the periodically repeating crystal-amorphous polymer structure, rcc, increases. This results in a smaller number of amorphous domains per unit volume-the number of NPs per amorphous domain thus increases. While the scattering contrast between the pure silica and the polymer is constant, these arguments predict that the apparent contrast between the NP-rich and the polymer-rich domains scale linearly with rcc, as we confirm from our experiments. These facts allow us to posit that the NPs become more efficiently packed in the interlamellar zone with increasing Tc until they form a fully filled monolayer. Above this temperature, NP multilayers form within each of the NP-rich domains. Our analysis approach, therefore, describes NP ordering that is achieved when driven by polymer crystallization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro A Krauskopf
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Andrew M Jimenez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Abdullah S Altorbaq
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Alejandro J Müller
- POLYMAT and Department of Polymers and Advanced Materials: Physics, Chemistry and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Basque Country University UPV/EHU, Paseo Lardizabal 3, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Science Foundation, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Sanat K Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
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18
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LaNasa JA, Neuman A, Riggleman RA, Hickey RJ. Investigating Nanoparticle Organization in Polymer Matrices during Reaction-Induced Phase Transitions and Material Processing. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2021; 13:42104-42113. [PMID: 34432429 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c14830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Controlling nanoparticle organization in polymer matrices has been and is still a long-standing issue and directly impacts the performance of the materials. In the majority of instances, simply mixing nanoparticles and polymers leads to macroscale aggregation, resulting in deleterious effects. An alternative method to physically blending independent components such as nanoparticle and polymers is to conduct polymerizations in one-phase monomer/nanoparticle mixtures. Here, we report on the mechanism of nanoparticle aggregation in hybrid materials in which gold nanoparticles are initially homogeneously dispersed in a monomer mixture and then undergo a two-step aggregation process during polymerization and material processing. Specifically, oleylamine-functionalized gold nanoparticles (AuNP) are first synthesized in a methyl methacrylate (MMA) solution and then subsequently polymerized by using a free radical polymerization initiated with azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) to create hybrid AuNP and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) materials. The resulting products are easily pressed to obtain bulk films with nanoparticle organization defined as either well-dispersed or aggregated. Polymerizations are performed at various temperatures (T) and MMA volume fractions (ΦMMA) to systematically influence the final nanoparticle dispersion state. During the polymerization of MMA and subsequent material processing, the initially homogeneous AuNP/MMA mixture undergoes macrophase separation between PMMA and oleylamine during the polymerization, yet the AuNP are dispersed in the oleylamine phase. The nanoparticles then aggregate within the oleylamine phase when the materials are processed via vacuum drying and pressing. Nanoparticle organization is tracked throughout the polymerization and processing steps by using a combination of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The resulting dispersion state of AuNPs in PMMA bulk films is ultimately dictated by the thermodynamics of mixing between the PMMA and oleylamine phases, but the mechanism of nanoparticle aggregation occurs in two steps that correspond to the polymerization and processing of the materials. Flory-Huggins mixing theory is used to support the PMMA and oleylamine phase separation. The reported results highlight how the integration of nonequilibrium processing and mean-field approximations reveal nanoparticle aggregation in hybrid materials synthesized by using reaction-induced phase transitions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anastasia Neuman
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
| | - Robert A Riggleman
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, United States
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19
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Yang SG, Wei ZZ, Cseh L, Kazemi P, Zeng XB, Xie HJ, Saba H, Ungar G. Bowls, vases and goblets-the microcrockery of polymer and nanocomposite morphology revealed by two-photon optical tomography. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5054. [PMID: 34417451 PMCID: PMC8379155 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25297-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
On the >1 µm scale the morphology of semicrystalline plastics like polyethylene or Nylon features spherulites, "shish-kebabs", cylinddrites and other crystalline aggregates which strongly affect mechanical and other material properties. Current imaging techniques give only a 2D picture of these objects. Here we show how they can be visualized in 3D using fluorescent labels and confocal microscopy. As a result, we see spherulites in 3D, both in neat polymers and their nanocomposites, and observe how unevenly nanoparticles and other additives are distributed in the material. Images of i-polypropylene and biodegradable poly(lactic acid) reveal previously unsuspected morphologies such as "vases" and "goblets", nonspherical "spherulites" and, unexpectedly, "shish-kebabs" grown from quiescent melt. Also surprisingly, in nanocomposite sheets spherulite nucleation is seen to be copied from one surface to another, mediated by crystallization-induced pressure drop and local melt-flow. These first results reveal unfamiliar modes of self-assembly in familiar plastics and open fresh perspectives on polymer microstructure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shu-Gui Yang
- State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, Shaanxi International Research Centre for Soft Matter, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Zhen-Zhen Wei
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
- College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Modern Silk, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Liliana Cseh
- Romanian Academy, Coriolan Dragulescu Institute of Chemistry, Timisoara, Romania
| | - Pantea Kazemi
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Xiang-Bing Zeng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - Hui-Jie Xie
- Department of Physics, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hina Saba
- Department of Physics, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Goran Ungar
- State Key Laboratory for Mechanical Behaviour of Materials, Shaanxi International Research Centre for Soft Matter, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.
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20
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Bornani K, Rahman MA, Benicewicz B, Kumar S, Schadler L. Using Nanofiller Assemblies to Control the Crystallization Kinetics of High-Density Polyethylene. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.1c00341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kamlesh Bornani
- Department of Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, United States
| | - Md Anisur Rahman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Brian Benicewicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Sanat Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Linda Schadler
- Department of Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, United States
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21
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Xu W, Zheng Y, Yuan W, Bao Y, Shan G, Pan P. Polymorphic Phase Formation of Liquid Crystals Distributed in Semicrystalline Polymers: An Indicator of Interlamellar and Interspherulitic Segregation. J Phys Chem Lett 2021; 12:4378-4384. [PMID: 33938753 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c01092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Amorphous and melted components can segregate into the interlamellar or interspherulitic regions of polymer crystals in their blends/mixtures; this phase behavior strongly influences the physical properties and functions of materials. However, it is experimentally difficult to evaluate the spatial distributions of the other components in polymer crystals. Herein, we use a small-molecule liquid crystal (LC) as a probe and find that it forms different solid phases when mixed with the semicrystalline polymer poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA). The LC can form the metastable phase at the lower PLLA crystallization temperature but the stable phase at the higher PLLA crystallization temperature in the PLLA/LC mixture. The formation of LC metastable and stable phases is attributed to the segregation of the LC material in the interlamellar and interspherulitic regions of polymer crystals, respectively. This study provides a potential way to evaluate the spatial segregation in the crystallization-induced microphase separation of polymer blends/mixtures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenqing Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Ying Zheng
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China
- Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, 78 Jiuhua Boulevard North, Quzhou 324000, China
| | - Wenhua Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Yongzhong Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China
- Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, 78 Jiuhua Boulevard North, Quzhou 324000, China
| | - Guorong Shan
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China
- Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, 78 Jiuhua Boulevard North, Quzhou 324000, China
| | - Pengju Pan
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zheda Road, Hangzhou 310027, China
- Institute of Zhejiang University-Quzhou, 78 Jiuhua Boulevard North, Quzhou 324000, China
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22
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Shishehbor M, Son H, Nuruddin M, Youngblood JP, Davis C, Zavattieri PD. Influence of alignment and microstructure features on the mechanical properties and failure mechanisms of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) films. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2021; 118:104399. [PMID: 33662741 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2021.104399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2020] [Revised: 01/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The mechanical properties of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) films critically depend on many microstructural parameters such as fiber length distribution (FLD), fiber orientation distribution (FOD), and the strength of the interactions between the fibers. In this paper, we use our coarse-grained molecular model of CNC to study the effect of length and orientation distribution and attractions between CNCs on the mechanical properties of neat CNCs. The effect of misalignment of a 2D staggered structure of CNC with respect to the loading direction was studied with simulations and analytical solutions and then verified with experiments. To understand the effect of FLD and FOD on the mechanical performance, various 3D microstructures representing different case studies such as highly aligned, randomly distributed, short length CNCs and long length CNCs were generated and simulated. According to the misalignment study, three different failure modes: sliding mode, mixed mode, and normal mode were defined. Also, comparing the effects of FOD, FLD, and CNC interaction strength, shows that the adhesion strength is the only parameter that can significantly improve the mechanical properties, regardless of loading direction or FOD of CNCs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehdi Shishehbor
- Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Hyeyoung Son
- School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Md Nuruddin
- School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Jeffrey P Youngblood
- School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Chelsea Davis
- School of Materials Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA
| | - Pablo D Zavattieri
- Lyles School of Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA.
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23
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Wen X, Su Y, Liu G, Li S, Müller AJ, Kumar SK, Wang D. Direct Relationship between Dispersion and Crystallization Behavior in Poly(ethylene oxide)/Poly(ethylene glycol)- g-Silica Nanocomposites. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiangning Wen
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Plastics, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yunlan Su
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Plastics, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Guoming Liu
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Plastics, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shaofan Li
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Plastics, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Alejandro J. Müller
- POLYMAT and Faculty of Chemistry, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Paseo Manuel de Lardizabal 3, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- IKERBASQUE, Basque Foundation for Science, Bilbao 48009, Spain
| | - Sanat K. Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Dujin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Engineering Plastics, CAS Research/Education Center for Excellence in Molecular Sciences, Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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24
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Wang Y, Desroches GJ, Macfarlane RJ. Ordered polymer composite materials: challenges and opportunities. NANOSCALE 2021; 13:426-443. [PMID: 33367442 DOI: 10.1039/d0nr07547g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Polymer nanocomposites containing nanoscale fillers are an important class of materials due to their ability to access a wide variety of properties as a function of their composition. In order to take full advantage of these properties, it is critical to control the distribution of nanofillers within the parent polymer matrix, as this structural organization affects how the two constituent components interact with one another. In particular, new methods for generating ordered arrays of nanofillers represent a key underexplored research area, as emergent properties arising from nanoscale ordering can be used to introduce novel functionality currently inaccessible in random composites. The knowledge gained from developing such methods will provide important insight into the thermodynamics and kinetics associated with nanomaterial and polymer assembly. These insights will not only benefit researchers working on new composite materials, but will also deepen our understanding of soft matter systems in general. In this review, we summarize contemporary research efforts in manipulating nanofiller organization in polymer nanocomposites and highlight future challenges and opportunities for constructing ordered nanocomposite materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuping Wang
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
| | - Griffen J Desroches
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
| | - Robert J Macfarlane
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
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25
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Altorbaq AS, Jimenez AM, Pribyl J, Benicewicz B, Müller AJ, Kumar SK. Polymer Spherulitic Growth Kinetics Mediated by Nanoparticle Assemblies. Macromolecules 2021. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c02173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Abdullah S. Altorbaq
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Andrew M. Jimenez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Julia Pribyl
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Brian Benicewicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Alejandro J. Müller
- POLYMAT and Faculty of Chemistry, Basque Country University, UPV/EHU, Paseo Lardizabal 3, Donostia-San Sebastián 20018, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Science Foundation, Bilbao 48009, Spain
| | - Sanat K. Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
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26
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Jimenez AM, Altorbaq AS, Müller AJ, Kumar SK. Polymer Crystallization under Confinement by Well-Dispersed Nanoparticles. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M. Jimenez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York, 10027, United States
| | - Abdullah S. Altorbaq
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York, 10027, United States
| | - Alejandro J. Müller
- POLYMAT and Faculty of Chemistry, Basque Country University UPV/EHU, Paseo Lardizabal 3, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Science Foundation, 48011 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Sanat K. Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York, 10027, United States
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27
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LaNasa JA, Hickey RJ. Surface-Initiated Ring-Opening Metathesis Polymerization: A Method for Synthesizing Polymer-Functionalized Nanoparticles Exhibiting Semicrystalline Properties and Diverse Macromolecular Architectures. Macromolecules 2020. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.0c01381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jacob A. LaNasa
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, United States
| | - Robert J. Hickey
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, United States
- Materials Research Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16801, United States
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28
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Zhu T, Rahman MA, Benicewicz BC. Synthesis of Well-Defined Polyolefin Grafted SiO 2 Nanoparticles with Molecular Weight and Graft Density Control. ACS Macro Lett 2020; 9:1255-1260. [PMID: 35638619 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.0c00398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in surface-initiated polymerization have given rise to a range of brush nanocomposites and hybrid functional materials. However, the synthesis of pure polyolefin-grafted nanocomposites by surface-initiated ring-opening metathesis polymerization (SI-ROMP) is a significant challenge due to the particle aggregation and irreversible particle coupling. This study presents a synthetic approach toward well-defined poly(cyclooctene)- and polyethylene-grafted nanoparticles by tethering Grubbs third generation catalyst on the particle surface and initiating the polymerization in a rapid manner. This work also serves as a template to prepare other hairy nanoparticles and functions as a basis toward understanding their thermomechanical behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyu Zhu
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Md Anisur Rahman
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Brian C. Benicewicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
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Shi L, Carn F, Goukassov A, Buhler E, Boué F. Self-Induced Crystallization in Charged Gold Nanoparticle-Semiflexible Biopolyelectrolyte Complexes. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2020; 36:7925-7932. [PMID: 32539413 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c01064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Mixing negatively charged polyelectrolyte (PEL) with positively charged gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in aqueous solution results in electrostatics complexes of different shapes and compactness. Here, when complexing with a semirigid PEL hyaluronic acid (HA), we obtain crystals made of nanoparticles in a new region of the phase diagram, as evidenced by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The Au NPs were initially well dispersed in solution; their size distribution is well controlled but does not need to be extremely narrow. The bacterial hyaluronic acid, polydispersed, is commercially available. Such rather simple materials and mixing preparation produce a highly ordered crystalline phase of electrostatic complexes. The details of the interactions between spherical nanoparticles and linear polymer chains remain to be investigated. In practice, it opens a completely new and unexpected method of complexation. It has high potential, in particular because one can take advantage of the versatility of Au NPs associated with the specificity of biopolymers, varied due to natural biodiversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Shi
- Matière et Systèmes Complexes (MSC), UMR CNRS 7057, Université de Paris, Bâtiment Condorcet, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France
- Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, UMR 12 CNRS- CEA-Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Florent Carn
- Matière et Systèmes Complexes (MSC), UMR CNRS 7057, Université de Paris, Bâtiment Condorcet, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France
| | - Arsen Goukassov
- Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, UMR 12 CNRS- CEA-Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Eric Buhler
- Matière et Systèmes Complexes (MSC), UMR CNRS 7057, Université de Paris, Bâtiment Condorcet, 10 rue Alice Domon et Léonie Duquet, 75205 Paris Cedex 13, France
- Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, UMR 12 CNRS- CEA-Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - François Boué
- Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, UMR 12 CNRS- CEA-Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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30
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Synthesis of polyisoprene, polybutadiene and Styrene Butadiene Rubber grafted silica nanoparticles by nitroxide-mediated polymerization. POLYMER 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2020.122190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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31
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Fluorescence microscopy tracking of dyes, nanoparticles and quantum dots during growth of polymer spherulites. POLYMER 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2020.122246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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32
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Jimenez AM, Krauskopf AA, Pérez-Camargo RA, Zhao D, Pribyl J, Jestin J, Benicewicz BC, Müller AJ, Kumar SK. Effects of Hairy Nanoparticles on Polymer Crystallization Kinetics. Macromolecules 2019; 52:9186-9198. [PMID: 31866692 PMCID: PMC6906929 DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2019] [Revised: 11/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
We previously showed that nanoparticles (NPs) could be ordered into structures by using the growth rate of polymer crystals as the control variable. In particular, for slow enough spherulitic growth fronts, the NPs grafted with amorphous polymer chains are selectively moved into the interlamellar, interfibrillar, and interspherulitic zones of a lamellar morphology, specifically going from interlamellar to interspherulitic with progressively decreasing crystal growth rates. Here, we examine the effect of NP polymer grafting density on crystallization kinetics. We find that while crystal nucleation is practically unaffected by the presence of the NPs, spherulitic growth, final crystallinity, and melting point values decrease uniformly as the volume fraction of the crystallizable polymer, poly(ethylene oxide) or PEO, ϕPEO, decreases. A surprising aspect here is that these results are apparently unaffected by variations in the relative amounts of the amorphous polymer graft and silica NPs at constant ϕ, implying that chemical details of the amorphous defect apparently only play a secondary role. We therefore propose that the grafted NPs in this size range only provide geometrical confinement effects which serve to set the crystal growth rates and melting point depressions without causing any changes to crystallization mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew M Jimenez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Alejandro A Krauskopf
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Ricardo A Pérez-Camargo
- POLYMAT and Department of Polymer Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Basque Country University UPV/EHU, Paseo Lardizabal 3, 20018, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain
| | - Dan Zhao
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Julia Pribyl
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Jacques Jestin
- Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-Sur-Yvette, France
| | - Brian C Benicewicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Alejandro J Müller
- POLYMAT and Department of Polymer Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Basque Country University UPV/EHU, Paseo Lardizabal 3, 20018, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.,Ikerbasque, Basque Science Foundation, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Sanat K Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
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Jabbarzadeh A, Halfina B. Unravelling the effects of size, volume fraction and shape of nanoparticle additives on crystallization of nanocomposite polymers. NANOSCALE ADVANCES 2019; 1:4704-4721. [PMID: 36133133 PMCID: PMC9417632 DOI: 10.1039/c9na00525k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We conducted large scale molecular dynamics simulations to understand the effects of size, shape and volume fraction of additive nanoparticles on the crystallization of nanocomposite polymers. We used spherical and cubic gold nanoparticles of various sizes ranging from 2 to 8 nm to create hexacontane (C60H122)-gold nanocomposites at various volume fractions of 0.84-19.27%. We show that, regardless of the shape, decreasing the size of particles at the same volume fraction results in decreased final crystallinity. Similarly, for the same particle size, increasing the volume fraction causes a decrease in the crystal growth rate and final crystallinity. We demonstrate that this is a confinement induced phenomenon, and the free interparticle space captures the combined effects of particle size and volume fraction. If this free space is smaller than the extended length of the molecule or the characteristic size of the crystal lamella thickness of the polymer, significant slow-down in crystallinity will emerge. In this confinement limit, the interparticle free space controls the crystal growth rate and final crystallinity. We have developed the equations that predict the critical volume fraction (φ cr) for a given size or critical size (D cr) for a given volume fraction. For φ > φ cr or D < D cr, one would expect confinement induced retardation of crystallization. We also show that cubic particles result in a higher growth rate and crystallinity in comparison to spherical particles, purely due to their shape. Furthermore, cubic particles due to flat surfaces lead to distinct two-tier crystallisation kinetics manifested by enhanced crystallization at the early stage of crystallization, followed by slow crystallization due to confinement effects. This two-tier crystallization is more distinct at higher volume fractions. For spherical particles, however, this two-tier crystallization is almost absent and molecular crystallization near the particle is frustrated by the curved shape of the nanoparticle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Jabbarzadeh
- Faculty of Engineering, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
- Sydney Nano Institute, The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
| | - Beny Halfina
- Faculty of Engineering, School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, The University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia
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The Origins of Enhanced and Retarded Crystallization in Nanocomposite Polymers. NANOMATERIALS 2019; 9:nano9101472. [PMID: 31623232 PMCID: PMC6835676 DOI: 10.3390/nano9101472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Revised: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/13/2019] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Controlling the crystallinity of hybrid polymeric systems has an important impact on their properties and is essential for developing novel functional materials. The crystallization of nanocomposite polymers with gold nanoparticles is shown to be determined by free space between nanoparticles. Results of large-scale molecular dynamics simulations reveal while crystallinity is affected by the nanoparticle size and its volume fraction, their combined effects can only be measured by interparticle free space and characteristic size of the crystals. When interparticle free space becomes smaller than the characteristic extended length of the polymer molecule, nanoparticles impede the crystallization because of the confinement effects. Based on the findings from this work, equations for critical particle size or volume fraction that lead to this confinement-induced retardation of crystallization are proposed. The findings based on these equations are demonstrated to agree with the results reported in experiments for nanocomposite systems. The results of simulations also explain the origin of a two-tier crystallization regime observed in some of the hybrid polymeric systems with planar surfaces where the crystallization is initially enhanced and then retarded by the presence of nanoparticles.
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35
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Mei S, Staub M, Li CY. Directed Nanoparticle Assembly through Polymer Crystallization. Chemistry 2019; 26:349-361. [PMID: 31374132 DOI: 10.1002/chem.201903022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Nanoparticles can be assembled into complex structures and architectures by using a variety of methods. In this review, we discuss recent progress of using polymer crystallization (particularly polymer single crystals, PSCs) to direct nanoparticle assembly. PSCs have been extensively studied since 1957. Mainly appearing as quasi-two-dimensional (2D) lamellae, PSCs are typically used as model systems to determine polymer crystalline structures, or as markers to investigate the crystallization process. Recent research has demonstrated that they can also be used as nanoscale functional materials. Herein, we show that nanoparticles can be directed to assemble into complex shapes by using in situ or ex situ polymer crystal growth. End-functionalized polymers can crystallize into 2D nanosheet PSCs, which are used to conjugate with complementary nanoparticles, leading to a nanosandwich structure. These nanosandwiches can find interesting applications for catalysis, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and nanomotors. Dissolution of the nanosandwich leads to the formation of Janus nanoparticles, providing a unique method for asymmetric nanoparticle synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Mei
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Mark Staub
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Christopher Y Li
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
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Ning X, Jimenez AM, Pribyl J, Li S, Benicewicz B, Kumar SK, Schadler LS. Nanoparticle Organization by Growing Polyethylene Crystal Fronts. ACS Macro Lett 2019; 8:1341-1346. [PMID: 35651145 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.9b00619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the crystallization-induced ordering of C18 grafted 14 nm diameter spherical silica nanoparticles (NPs) in a short chain (Mw = 4 kDa, ĐM ≈ 2.3) polyethylene and a commercial high-density polyethylene (Mw = 152 kDa, ĐM ≈ 3.2) matrix. For slow isothermal crystallization of the low molecular weight matrix, the NPs segregate into the interlamellar regions. This result establishes the generality of our earlier work on poly(ethylene oxide) based materials and suggests that crystallization can be used to control NP dispersion across different polymer classes. The incompatibility between the particles and the matrix in the Mw = 152 kDa results in a competition between filler organization and filler agglomeration. The mechanical properties improve due to the addition of NPs and are further enhanced by particle organization, even for the case of the macrophase-separated mixtures in the Mw = 152 kDa matrix. In contrast, dielectric behavior is strongly affected by the scale of NP organization, with the lower molecular weight matrix showing more significant increases in permittivity due to the local scale of NP ordering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Ning
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Andrew M. Jimenez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Julia Pribyl
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Shaohua Li
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Brian Benicewicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Sanat K. Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Linda S. Schadler
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, United States
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Bonnevide M, Jimenez AM, Dhara D, Phan TN, Malicki N, Abbas ZM, Benicewicz B, Kumar SK, Couty M, Gigmes D, Jestin J. Morphologies of Polyisoprene-Grafted Silica Nanoparticles in Model Elastomers. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Marine Bonnevide
- Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, UMR 12, Université Paris-Saclay, IRAMIS/CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Institut de Chimie Radicalaire, UMR 7273-Campus Scientifique St Jérôme, Service 542, 13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France Marseille, France
- Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques MICHELIN, Site de Ladoux, 23 Place des Carmes Déchaux, F-63 040 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 9, France
| | - Andrew M. Jimenez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Deboleena Dhara
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Trang N.T. Phan
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Institut de Chimie Radicalaire, UMR 7273-Campus Scientifique St Jérôme, Service 542, 13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France Marseille, France
| | - Nicolas Malicki
- Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques MICHELIN, Site de Ladoux, 23 Place des Carmes Déchaux, F-63 040 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 9, France
| | - Zaid M. Abbas
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
- Department of Chemistry, Wasit University, Hay Al-Rabea, Kut, Wasit 52001, Iraq
| | - Brian Benicewicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Sanat K. Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Marc Couty
- Manufacture Française des Pneumatiques MICHELIN, Site de Ladoux, 23 Place des Carmes Déchaux, F-63 040 Clermont-Ferrand Cedex 9, France
| | - Didier Gigmes
- Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, Institut de Chimie Radicalaire, UMR 7273-Campus Scientifique St Jérôme, Service 542, 13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France Marseille, France
| | - Jacques Jestin
- Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, UMR 12, Université Paris-Saclay, IRAMIS/CEA Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
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38
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Ondreas F, Lepcio P, Zboncak M, Zarybnicka K, Govaert LE, Jancar J. Effect of Nanoparticle Organization on Molecular Mobility and Mechanical Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites. Macromolecules 2019. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.9b01197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Frantisek Ondreas
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Lepcio
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Marek Zboncak
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Klara Zarybnicka
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
| | - Leon E. Govaert
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven NL-5600 MB, The Netherlands
| | - Josef Jancar
- Central European Institute of Technology, Brno University of Technology, Brno 61200, Czech Republic
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Chai S, Cao X, Xu F, Zhai L, Qian HJ, Chen Q, Wu L, Li H. Multiscale Self-Assembly of Mobile-Ligand Molecular Nanoparticles for Hierarchical Nanocomposites. ACS NANO 2019; 13:7135-7145. [PMID: 31184135 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.9b02569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Multiscale hierarchical morphologies are greatly desired for fabricating nanocomposites with tunable macroscopic properties, but challenges remain in precisely manipulating the spatial arrangement of nanoparticles in polymer matrices across multiple length scales. Here, we demonstrate a class of mobile-ligand nanoparticle system built upon 1 nm anionic polyoxometalate molecular nanoparticles and cationic terminated polymer chains by electrostatic interaction. The highly rearrangeable polymer chains can serve as mobile ligands to direct the polyoxometalates to align into sub-10 nm anisotropic superlattice-like nanoarrays in the bulk state. Moreover, these nanoarrays can further serve as structural units to assemble into hierarchically ordered morphologies in polymer matrices, e.g., percolated networks over hundreds of micrometers which are comprised of cylindrically packed polyoxometalate superlattices down to sub-10 nm scale. These hierarchical morphologies enable the nanocomposites with reinforced mechanical performance. The presented mobile-ligand approach can provide a paradigm to design functional polymer nanocomposites with improved properties such as mechanical reinforcement and collective optical and electronic functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengchao Chai
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry , Jilin University , Changchun 130012 , China
| | - Xiao Cao
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry , Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Changchun 130022 , China
| | - Fengrui Xu
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry , Jilin University , Changchun 130021 , China
| | - Liang Zhai
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry , Jilin University , Changchun 130012 , China
| | - Hu-Jun Qian
- Institute of Theoretical Chemistry , Jilin University , Changchun 130021 , China
| | - Quan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry , Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Changchun 130022 , China
| | - Lixin Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry , Jilin University , Changchun 130012 , China
| | - Haolong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry , Jilin University , Changchun 130012 , China
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Pribyl J, Benicewicz B, Bell M, Wagener K, Ning X, Schadler L, Jimenez A, Kumar S. Polyethylene Grafted Silica Nanoparticles Prepared via Surface-Initiated ROMP. ACS Macro Lett 2019; 8:228-232. [PMID: 35650821 DOI: 10.1021/acsmacrolett.8b00956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
Polyethylene and nanosilica represent the most ubiquitous commodity plastic and nanocomposite filler, respectively. Despite their potential utility, few examples exist in the literature of successfully combining these two materials to form polyethylene nanocomposites. Synthesizing well-defined polyethylene grafted to a surface is a significant challenge in the nanocomposites community. Presented here is a synthetic approach toward polyethylene grafted nanoparticles with controllable graft density and molecular weight of the grafted polymer. The variably grafted nanoparticles were then incorporated into a commercial high density polyethylene matrix. The synthesis, characterization, and challenges in making these materials are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Pribyl
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Brian Benicewicz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208, United States
| | - Michael Bell
- The George and Josephine Butler Polymer Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32601, United States
| | - Kenneth Wagener
- The George and Josephine Butler Polymer Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32601, United States
| | - Xin Ning
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180, United States
| | - Linda Schadler
- Department of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont 05405, United States
| | - Andrew Jimenez
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
| | - Sanat Kumar
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
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Zhang X, Xu Y, Zhang X, Wu H, Shen J, Chen R, Xiong Y, Li J, Guo S. Progress on the layer-by-layer assembly of multilayered polymer composites: Strategy, structural control and applications. Prog Polym Sci 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2018.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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42
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Register RA. A "Layered Look" for Spherical Nanoparticles in Semicrystalline Polymers. ACS CENTRAL SCIENCE 2017; 3:689-691. [PMID: 28776009 PMCID: PMC5532708 DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.7b00277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
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