Reversible Size Modulation of Aqueous Microgels via Orthogonal or Combined Application of Thermo- and Phototriggers.

Aqueous microgels that respond orthogonally to external temperature and light stimuli and to a combination of both stimuli were developed. N-Vinylcaprolactam (VCL) was copolymerized with small feed amounts (<5 mol %) of 4-[(4-methacryloyloxy)phenylazo] benzenesulfonic acid (ABSA) and cross-linked with N,N'-methylenebis(acrylamide) (BIS) to synthesize monodisperse and colloidally stable P(VCL-BIS-ABSA) microgels. The volume phase transition information on the microgels under both orthogonal and combined application of temperature and light stimuli was investigated in situ by dynamic light scattering (DLS) instrument.

Synthesis and characterization of unsymmetric indolodithienopyrrole and extended diindolodithienopyrrole.

Indole-fused dithieno[3,2-b:2',3'-d]pyrrole-based unsymmetrical and extended heteroacenes were synthesized and characterized. Solid-state structures were examined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction to understand their packing behavior. The optical and electrochemical properties of these new heteroacenes are also described in detail.