Mechanochromic and Thermochromic Sensors Based on Graphene Infused Polymer Opals.

High quality opal-like photonic crystals containing graphene are fabricated using evaporation-driven self-assembly of soft polymer colloids. A miniscule amount of pristine graphene within a colloidal crystal lattice results in the formation of colloidal crystals with a strong angle-dependent structural color and a stop band that can be reversibly shifted across the visible spectrum. The crystals can be mechanically deformed or can reversibly change color as a function of their temperature, hence their sensitive mechanochromic and thermochromic response make them attractive candidates for a wide range of visual sensing applications.

Surface characterization of drying acrylic latex dispersions with variable methacrylic acid content using surface dilatational rheology.

Hypothesis: Drying of latex dispersions often results in particle gradients at the latex-air interface. We expect that, by increasing the carboxylic acid content of latex particles, inter-particle interactions at the interface change. With dilatational rheology one could detect particle-particle interactions in an early stage of the drying process and elucidate the nature of these interactions.

Film Formation of High Latex Using Hydroplasticization: Explanations from NMR Relaxometry.

The film formation of acrylic latex dispersions, containing different amounts of carboxylic acid functional groups by the incorporation of methacrylic acid (MAA), was studied with GARField H NMR at various relative humidities (RH). Polymer particles with glass-transition temperatures in the range from 26 to 50 °C formed films at room temperature because of hydroplasticization. It was found that with an increased drying rate due to lower RH, the evaporation flux of water was limited by the latex polymer.

Water Vapor Sorption and Diffusion in Secondary Dispersion Barrier Coatings: A Critical Comparison with Emulsion Polymers.

The conventional method for synthesizing waterborne polymer colloids is emulsion polymerization using surfactants. An emerging method is the use of secondary dispersions (SD) of polymers in water, which avoids the addition of any surfactant. Although there are numerous studies of the water barrier properties (sorption, diffusion, and permeability) of waterborne emulsion (Em) polymer coatings, the properties of SD coatings, in comparison, have not been thoroughly investigated.