Melting temperature of the n-alkanes and the linear polyethylenes

Accessing Divergent Main-Chain-Functionalized Polyethylenes via Copolymerization of Ethylene with a CO2/Butadiene-Derived Lactone

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) has been used as a sustainable comonomer in the synthesis of different functional polymers including polycarbonates, polyurea, and polyurethane. Until today, despite the great interest, little success has been made for incorporating CO₂ into the most widely used polyethylene materials. Herein, we report the incorporation of CO₂ to polyethylenes through the copolymerization of ethylene with a CO₂/butadiene-derived lactone, 3-ethylidene-6-vinyltetrahydro-2H-pyran-2-one (EVP). Two-types of main-chain-functionalized polyethylenes can be synthesized through different copolymerization strategies. Palladium-catalyzed coordination/insertion copolymerization furnished polyethylenes bearing unsaturated lactones, while radical copolymerization afforded polyethylenes bearing bicyclic lactones. Modification of the polyethylene chains was successfully accomplished through Michael addition or aminolysis. This highly versatile copolymerization protocol provides access to a diverse range of polyethylene materials made from ethylene, CO₂, and 1,3-butadiene.

Concepts of Nucleation in Polymer Crystallization

Nucleation plays a vital role in polymer crystallization, in which chain connectivity and thus the multiple length and time scales make crystal nucleation of polymer chains an interesting but complex subject. Though the topic has been intensively studied in the past decades, there are still many open questions to answer. The final properties of semicrystalline polymer materials are affected by all of the following: the starting melt, paths of nucleation, organization of lamellar crystals and evolution of the final crystalline structures. In this viewpoint, we attempt to discuss some of the remaining open questions and corresponding concepts: non-equilibrated polymers, self-induced nucleation, microscopic kinetics of different processes, metastability of polymer lamellar crystals, hierarchical order and cooperativity involved in nucleation, etc. Addressing these open questions through a combination of novel concepts, new theories and advanced approaches provides a deeper understanding of the multifaceted process of crystal nucleation of polymers.

Effect of Molecular Weight on the Feature Size in Organic Ice Resists

The feature size of patterns obtained by electron-beam lithography (EBL) depends critically on resist properties, beam parameters, development process, and instrument limitations. Frozen layers of simple organic molecules such as n-alkanes behave as negative-tone resists for EBL. With the unique advantage of an in situ thermal treatment replacing chemical development, the entire lithographic process can be performed within a single instrument, thus removing the influence of chemical developers on the feature size. By using an environmental transmission electron microscope, we can also minimize the influence of instrumental limitations and explore the fundamental link between resist characteristics and feature size. Our results reveal that the onset dose of organic ice resists correlates with the inverse molecular weight and that in the thermal development the role of change in solubility of polymers is mirrored in a shift in the solid/vapor critical temperature of organic ices. With a 0.4 pA beam current, we obtained 4.5, 5.5, and 8.5 nm lines with frozen octane, undecane, and tetradecane, respectively, consistent with the predictions of a model we developed that links beam profile and feature size. The knowledge acquired on the response of small organic molecules to electron irradiation, combined with the flexibility and operational advantages of using them as qualified EBL resists, provides us with new opportunities for the design and production of nanodevices and broadens the reach of EBL especially toward biological applications.

Crystallization of Polyethylene at Large Undercooling

Extremely fast crystallization of high-density polyethylene and random copolymers of ethylene with up to 16 mol % 1-octene was observed for the first time by ultrafast scanning calorimetry. In order to account for the inherently high crystallization rate of polyethylenes, in nonisothermal and isothermal crystallization experiments cooling rates up to 1 000 000 K/s and crystallization times as short as 10 μs, respectively, were employed. It was possible to supercool the melt of high-density polyethylene down to 57 °C and the melt of a random ethylene/1-octene copolymer with 16 mol % 1-octene down to -33 °C, without prior crystallization. At these temperatures, the characteristic time of the primary crystallization process is of the order of magnitude of 100 μs. Complete vitrification of the liquid would require cooling even faster than 1 000 000 K/s. Compared to the homopolymer, the cooling-rate dependence of the crystallization temperatures and the temperature dependence of the characteristic time of primary crystallization of random ethylene/1-octene copolymers both are nearly parallel shifted to lower temperatures. Fast crystallization under conditions of reduced linear crystal growth rate is possibly caused by boosting homogeneous nuclei density up to 10²⁷ m^-3 and urgently requires further investigation.

Crystal structures of n-alkane with three functional groups in the middle and at both ends

We synthesized a linear alkane, K35DA, with a main-chain carbon number n = 33 and three functional groups, a carbonyl group in the middle and carboxyl groups at both ends, and studied influences of the functional groups as well as chain length on morphologies of samples prepared by solution-grown and bulk crystallization methods (SG-K35DA and BK-K35DA) from differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction, and IR absorption measurements. Data analyses reveal that at room temperature an orthorhombic crystal of type P2(1)2(1)2(1), together with a considerable amount of amorphous fraction, is predominantly realized in BK-K35DA due to the van der Waals force between neighboring long methylene sequences, whereas a monoclinic type of crystal belonging to the same space group (P2(1)/c) as reported for linear dicarboxylic acid crystals with odd carbon numbers is coexistent for SG-K35DA. The crystalline structures appear to be distorted with increasing temperature, as the dipole-dipole interaction between the carbonyl groups tends to be weakened, and both orthorhombic and monoclinic crystals undergo the solid-solid phase transition to the hexagonal crystalline structure at a temperature about 10 K below their respective T(m)s, which can be regarded as a new example of the Brill transition.

Crystal Structures of n-Alkanes with Branches of Different Size in the Middle

We synthesized four branched n-alkane samples C35-C1, C35-C4, C35-C6, and C35-C4Ph with the same number of carbons as the main chain, n = 35, to which the methyl, butyl, hexyl, and butyl phenyl groups were respectively attached at the middle, and also the corresponding linear homologue of C35, and studied their crystalline structures from DSC, IR, and Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction measurement, and computer simulation. Solid-solid phase transitions characteristic of linear alkane C35 are not observed for any branched alkanes, and their melting temperatures Tm are lowered to 325.2, 318.5, 314.3, and 314.1K, respectively. Main chains of branched alkane molecules are not folded, irrespective of length and chemical structure of branches, but are extended to take the planar zigzag form in the solid state. The branches of C35-C4 and C35-C6 are also aligned inside the crystal in the extended form. Data analyses on solution-grown crystallized samples reveal that, with increasing the branch length, their crystal structures transform from polymorphic forms of the orthorhombic (P2(1)2(1)2(1)) and the triclinic (P) for C35-C1 and C35-C4 to the unique triclinic form for C35-C6 and C35-C4Ph, so as to minimize extra surface energy invoked by introduction of long branches.

Microphase separation in bioerodible copolymers for drug delivery

This research examines the microstructure of bioerodible polyanhydrides with an eye towards precise design of drug delivery devices. Our main hypothesis is that the bioerodible copolymer poly(1,6-bis-p-carboxyphenoxyhexane-co-sebacic anhydride) (CPH : SA) undergoes micro-phase separation at certain copolymer compositions due to differences in relative hydrophobicity of the co-monomers, resulting in thermodynamic partitioning of drugs incorporated into these copolymers. We investigate the thermal properties, degree of crystallinity, and surface microstructure of several compositions of CPH : SA using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). We observe that the degree of crystallinity decreases, while the crystal lamellar thickness increases with CPH content. Phase-imaging using AFM indicates the presence of micro-domains in 20 : 80 and 80 : 20 CPH : SA, while poly(SA) and 50 : 50 CPH : SA show no micro-phase separation. Finally, drug-polymer interactions are studied by loading the polymers with different amounts of brilliant blue (hydrophilic) and p-nitroaniline (hydrophobic). DSC and WAXD analysis shows that loading hydrophobic drugs into relatively hydrophobic polymers (poly(SA)) lowers melting point that becomes more pronounced with increased drug loading.