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Supramolecular allosteric signal-amplification sensing (SASS) has been proposed as a novel sensing strategy and the SASS principle is to detect an allosteric regulatory signal gain from an amplifying polymer upon supramolecular interactions.
Poly(L-lactide)–poly(ɛ-caprolactone) multiblock copolymers (MBCs) were synthesized by self-polycondensation of diblock copolymers. Strict control of the terminal functional groups of the diblock copolymers resulted in the formation of high-molecular-weight MBCs (Mw=2.4–4.9 × 105 g mol−1).
Single-chain crosslinked star polymers with hydrophilic and thermoresponsive poly(ethylene glycol) short arms and a hydrophobic core were created as novel microgel star polymers of single polymer chains via the intramolecular crosslinking of self-folding amphiphilic random copolymers in water. For this, well-controlled amphiphilic random copolymers bearing hydrophobic olefin pendants were synthesized as self-folding precursors by ruthenium-catalyzed living radical polymerization and the subsequent introduction of olefin units. The copolymers with 20–40 mol% hydrophobic units efficiently gave single-chain crosslinked star polymers in water.
The translational diffusion coefficient D or (effective) hydrodynamic radius RH of the regular three-arm star Kratky–Porod (KP) wormlike chain is evaluated. The behavior of the ratio gH of RH of the star to that of the corresponding linear chain is examined as a function of the (reduced) contour length L and (reduced) hydrodynamic diameter db.
The relations between glass transition temperature, fragility and cooperativity in segmental dynamics were investigated on polystyrene derivatives possessing various para-substituents using calorimetry. A positive correlation was observed between cooperativity and fragility. Both fragility and cooperativity were found to increase as the bulkiness of the substituent increases. Estimated activation energy per segment increased consistently with an increase in the substituent’s bulkiness.
Upon adding 3% ethylene glycol (EG), the electrical conductivity of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) at room temperature significantly increased from 3 to 175 S cm−1, while a further increase in EG up to 20% resulted in a decrease in the electrical conductivity to 117 S cm−1. It was found that the improvement in the electrical conductivity could be explained from the changes in the hierarchical structure: a decrease in the insulating PSS shell, crystallization of the PEDOT, and aggregation of the PEDOT/PSS particles, which affected both the intra- and interparticle transport of charge carriers.
The as-prepared SPI-PDMS membrane possessed lower permeability of VO2+ ion and higher proton selectivity than Nafion 117 membrane. The coulombic efficiency and energy efficiency of the SPI-PDMS-containing VRFB was higher than that of Nafion 117 membrane for 50 cycles at the current density of 30 mA cm−2 and another 50 cycles at 60 mA cm−2. Overall, this low-cost SPI-PDMS membrane exhibits excellent battery performance and has considerable potential for applications in VRFBs.
In this work, we newly prepared the multi-walled carbon nanotube (MCNT)-grafted poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) on their termini. After grafting PNIPAM, MCNTs dispersed well into water. In addition, the synthesized PNIPAM-terminated MCNTs (PNIPAM-MCNTs) were blended with poly(vinylalcohol) (PVA), and a hybrid film was prepared. The hybrid film showed bending actuation in response to infrared laser due to the heat generated by MCNTs.
