Polyfluorene-poly(ethylene oxide) diblock copolymers: synthesis and electron transport behavior.

Under mild reaction conditions, we synthesized diblock copolymers of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene)--poly(ethylene oxide) (PFO--PEO) end-capping poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) on one end. We investigated the thermal, optical, electrochemical and crystalline properties as well as electron transport performance of these polymers. Our results demonstrate that PFO--PEO diblock copolymers with short PEO chains ( = 1000 and 2000 g mol) exhibit higher electron mobilities compared to the PFO homopolymer and longer PEO chain ( = 4000 g mol) attached copolymers.

Synthesis and Electron Transporting Properties of Diblock Copolymers Consisting of Polyfluorene and Polystyrene.

Poly(9,9-di--octylfluorene) (PFO) is a promising material for polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) due to its advantageous properties. To enhance its electron transporting capabilities, diblock polymers were synthesized by attaching polystyrene (PSt) chains of varying lengths to one end of the PFO molecule. In a comparative study with PFO homopolymer, the diblock polymers maintained similar thermal properties, absorption spectra, and photoluminescent stability, while exhibiting slightly deeper lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) levels and higher crystallinity.

One-pot synthesis of conjugated triphenylamine macrocycles and their complexation with fullerenes.

Triphenylamine derivates have been utilized as building blocks in hole-transporting materials. Herein, we describe the synthesis of three octyl-derived conjugated triphenylamine macrocycles with different sizes, and a 4-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-substituted cyclic triphenylamine hexamer using a palladium-catalyzed C-N coupling reaction. These conjugated triphenylamine macrocycles not only have interesting structures, but also are capable of complexing with C, C and PCBM.

The opportunity of membrane technology for hydrogen purification in the power to hydrogen (P2H) roadmap: a review.

The global energy market is in a transition towards low carbon fuel systems to ensure the sustainable development of our society and economy. This can be achieved by converting the surplus renewable energy into hydrogen gas. The injection of hydrogen (⩽10% v/v) in the existing natural gas pipelines is demonstrated to have negligible effects on the pipelines and is a promising solution for hydrogen transportation and storage if the end-user purification technologies for hydrogen recovery from hydrogen enriched natural gas (HENG) are in place.

Electrical Double Percolation of Polybutadiene/Polyethylene Glycol Blends Loaded with Conducting Polymer Nanofibers.

The critical phenomena of double percolation on polybutadiene (PB)/polyethylene glycol (PEG) blends loaded with poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT) nanofibers is investigated. P3HT nanofibers are selectively localized in the PB phase of the PB/PEG blend, as observed by scanning force microscopy (SFM). Moreover, double percolation is observed, i.

Semiconducting Properties of the Hybrid Film of Elastic Poly(styrene--butadiene--styrene) Block Copolymer and Semiconducting Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Nanofibers.

We investigated the electrical properties of a composite film loaded with semi-conductive poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofibers dispersed in poly(styrene--butadiene--styrene) (SBS). This structure can be regarded as the hybrid of SBS matrix with elastic mechanical properties and P3HT nanofibers with semiconducting properties. The P3HT nanofibers were embedded in the fingerprint pattern of microphase-separated SBS, as observed by scanning force microscopy.

Single-Component Polycondensation of Bis(alkoxycarbonyldiazomethyl)aromatic Compounds To Afford Poly(arylene vinylene)s with an Alkoxycarbonyl Group on Each Vinylene Carbon Atom.

The original synthetic strategy for a new type of poly(arylene vinylene) (PAV) is presented, where the C=C-bond-forming coupling of bis(alkoxycarbonyldiazomethyl)aromatic compounds is utilized as propagation. The strategy is unique in that the resulting PAVs have an alkoxycarbonyl group as an electron-withdrawing substituent on each vinylene carbon atom in the polymer main chain. Among the transition-metal catalysts examined in this study, RuCl(cod)Cp* (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene, Cp* = pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) is the most efficient, affording PAVs from a series of bis(alkoxycarbonyldiazomethyl)aromatic compounds with a high -C=C-forming selectivity of up to 90%.

Polymer of Intrinsic Microporosity (PIM-1) Membranes Treated with Supercritical CO₂.

Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) are a promising membrane material for gas separation, because of their high free volume and micro-cavity size distribution. This is countered by PIMs-based membranes being highly susceptible to physical aging, which dramatically reduces their permselectivity over extended periods of time. Supercritical carbon dioxide is known to plasticize and partially solubilise polymers, altering the underlying membrane morphology, and hence impacting the gas separation properties.

Microfluidic Fabrication of Morphology-Controlled Polymeric Microspheres of Blends of Poly(4-butyltriphenylamine) and Poly(methyl methacrylate).

Multicomponent polymer particles with specific morphology are promising materials exhibiting novel functionality which cannot be obtained with single-component polymer particles. Particularly, the preparation of such kinds of polymer particles involving electrically or optically active conjugated polymers with uniform size is a challenging subject due to their intense demands. Here, microspheres of binary polymer blend consisting of poly(4-butyltriphenylamine) (PBTPA)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) (1:1 in weight) were produced via a microfluidic emulsification with a Y-shaped microreactor, and a subsequent solvent evaporation method.

Fabrication of Completely Polymer-Based Solar Cells with p- and n-Type Semiconducting Block Copolymers with Electrically Inert Polystyrene.

It is widely recognized that fullerene derivatives show several advantages as n-type materials in photovoltaic applications. However, conventional [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) exhibits weak absorption in the visible region, and poor morphological stability, due to the facile aggregation. For further improvement of the device performance and durability, utilization of n-type polymeric materials instead of PCBM is considered to be a good way to solve the problems.

Thermoelectric Properties of Poly(3-Hexylthiophene) Nanofiber Mat with a Large Void Fraction.

The thermoelectric properties of a poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) nanofiber mat which has higher crystallinity-and thus exhibits larger carrier mobility-than a non-fibrous P3HT film, were investigated. No significant difference was observed in the maximum values of the power factor between the P3HT nanofiber mat and the P3HT film. However, the thermal conductivity of the nanofiber mat was less than half that of the film despite having almost the same electrical conductivity.