Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Static light scattering measurements are carried out for poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) of the weight-average molecular weight Mw ranging from 3×103 to 2×104 in methanol and water at 25.0 °C. Some aggregates of large size are found to be formed only in the cases of PEO of Mw∼O(103) in aqueous solutions, although for other cases polymer chains are isolated in solutions.
By simply coating a thin layer of 4,4’-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, polyacrylic acid and borax on the surface of PET film, a transparent PET film with extremely low gas vapor barrier value can be obtained. The oxygen transmission rate can be dramatically decreased to the detection limit of commercial instrumentation (<0.005 cc/m2/day).
We prepared magnetically anisotropic soft materials by in situ synthesis of iron oxide nanoparticles in a matrix composed of κ-carrageenan and PVA followed by mechanical stretching of the hybrid in a wet process. With the orientation of the composite matrix, the incorporated iron oxide nanoparticles gathered to form elliptical clusters. The drawn samples showed different magnetizations depending on the direction of magnetic field application. The specific responses were macroscopically visualized and were attributed to the magnetic anisotropy created by the preferred orientation of the nanoparticle aggregates.
Molecularly imprinted hydrogel layer SPR sensor chips with lectin-recognition sites, which were prepared via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) combined with molecular imprinting, exhibited not only large SPR signal change in response to a target lectin but also inhibited nonspecific protein adsorption.
The alternating conjugated polymer was synthesized with thiophene-substituted aza-boron dipyrromethene. The synthesized polymer had the near-infrared light-absorbing ability (molar extinct coefficient: 48,000 M−1cm−1) in the region over 1300 nm with the peak at 864 nm. From the electrochemical data, it was found that the polymer had the deep lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) level. This result means that only the highest occupied molecular orbital level was influenced and the LUMO can be preserved by extension of π-conjugation through the polymer main-chain.
An efficient method to decrease dielectric constant (ɛ) of poly(2,6-dihydroxy-1,5-naphthylene) (PDHN) by introducing bulky alkyl side chains was reported. Poly(2,6-dialkoxy-1,5-naphthylene)s (PDANs) were prepared by the O-alkylation of PDHN with alkyl halides. The ɛ values of PDANs at 10 GHz decreased as the length and size of side chains increased. Especially, PDCHMN exhibited the lowest dielectric constant (ɛ = 2.29). The ε value results were also supported by refractive index measurement.
Lignin-derived compatibilizing agents were developed for polypropylene-based carbon fiber-reinforced prastics. Introduction of acyl groups to alkali lignin improved compatibility of the lignin to both carbon fiber and polypropylene while underivatized alkali lignin did not show compatibility. The interfacial shear strength between carbon fiber and polypropylene was significantly improved by addition of the lignin derivatives as compatibilizing agents.
