The AB₂ type bulk polymerization of 3,5-bis(trimethylsiloxy)benzoyl chloride is studied by the reactive 3d bond fluctuation lattice model (3d-BFLM). Through tuning the reactivity parameters, the experimental data are fitted well via an iterative dichotomy method. By using the optimized reactivity parameters, the number-average degree of polymerization and degree of branching obtained in simulation are very close to experimental data. Meanwhile, the information about the weightaverage degree of polymerization and the polydispersity index is provided, and the internal structural properties of hyperbranched polyesters are investigated. Simulation results demonstrate that the 3d-BFLM can be used to study specific hyperbranched polymerizations semi-quantitatively which is helpful to deep understand the kinetics of reactions and make predictions for specific polymerization systems.

To improve creep resistance of directional polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) films, epoxy grafted nano-SiO₂ is mixed with PTFE powder before sintering and calender rolling. The aligned macromolecular chains (especially those in amorphous region) of the composite films can be bundled up by the nanoparticles to share the applied stress together. In addition, incorporation of silica nanoparticles increases crystallinity of PTFE and favors microfibrillation of PTFE in the course of large deformation. As result, PTFE films exhibit lower creep strain and creep rate, and higher tensile strength and hardness. The work is believed to open an avenue for manufacturing high performance fluoropolymers by nano-inclusions.

A single polymer chain in solvent confined in a slit formed by two parallel plates is studied by using molecular dynamics simulation method. The square radii of gyration and diffusion behaviors of polymers are greatly affected by the distance between the two plates, but they do not follow the same way. The chain size decays drastically with increasing h (h is the distance between two plates), until a basin occurs, and a universal h/<R_g>₀ dependence for polymer chains with different degrees of polymerization can be obtained. While, for the chain's diffusion coefficient, it decays monotonously and there is no such basin-like behavior. Furthermore, we studied the radial distribution function of confined polymer chains to explain the reason why there is a difference for the decay behaviors between dynamic properties and static properties. Besides, we also give the degree of confinement dependence of the static scaling exponent for a single polymer chain. Our work provides an efficient way to estimate the dynamics and static properties of confined polymer chains, and also helps us to understand the behavior of polymer chains under confinement.

Colloidal suspensions of glutaraldehyde (GA) crosslinked or grafted graphene oxide (GO) sheets were fabricated by simply tailoring the feed sequence. The different structures were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectra and X-ray diffraction. As demonstration of the utilities, the different colloidal suspensions were used to prepare free-standing papers by flow-directed filtration and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based nanocomposite films by casting. Free-standing papers from GA crosslinked GO sheets exhibited better mechanical properties than unmodified GO paper, while nanocomposite films from GA grafted GO exhibit higher tensile strength and Young's modulus.

The specular and off-specular X-ray reflectivities were efficiently employed to study the evolution of surface morphology as a function of temperature in a single layer of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and a bilayer of PHB/poly(vinyl phenol) (PVPh) on Si substrates. The results indicate that the changes of thickness and surface roughness caused by pre-melting of PHB crystals are not obvious for the single layer, whereas the surface roughness of the PHB layer and the intensity of the off-specular X-ray reflectivity for the bilayer exhibit a remarkable non-monotonic change in the temperature range of 100–150℃; the roughness parameter evaluated by the specular X-ray reflectivity reaches its maximum at 120℃. The interaction at the interface between PVPh and PHB certainly contributes to the non-monotonic changes. Such interaction also affects the crystallization and melting behavior of PHB thin film greatly. The crystallization of PHB thin film is inhibited even on the glassy surface of PVPh sublayer. In the melting process, the PHB crystals on PVPh sublayer feature a threesection melting curve separated by a plateau region of 120−140℃.

A promising electrochemical sensor was fabricated by electrodeposition of Pd nanoparticles (PdNPs) on poly(thiophene-3-acetic acid) (PTAA)-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE), forming a PdNPs/PTAA compositesmodified GCE (PdNPs/PTAA/GCE). Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electrochemical techniques were used for the characterization of these composites. It was found that the PdNPs/PTAA layer was very uniform. Electrochemical experiments showed that this proposed PdNPs/PTAA composites-modified electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of hydrazine. Under the optimum conditions, the proposed sensor can be applied to the quantification of hydrazine with a wide linear range from 8.0 × 10⁻⁹ mol/L to 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L with a low detection limit of 2.67 × 10⁻⁹ mol/L. The experiment results also showed that the sensor exhibited good reproducibility and long-term stability, as well as high selectivity with no interference from other potential competing species.

Ladder-like polysilsesquioxanes (LPSQs) with different amino contents have been synthesized by controlling of the dosage of Pd/C catalyst. The concentration and activity of amino groups were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Polyimide (PI)/LPSQ hybrid films have been prepared by incorporating of the obtained LPSQs with different amino contents into PI matrix, respectively. The interfacial interactions between PI matrix and LPSQ were studied with scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, meanwhile the thermal and mechanical properties of the hybrid films were studied using dynamic mechanical analysis and tensile tests. The results indicate that the functionality of LPSQ has great effects on the interfacial interactions and the properties of hybrid films. With the increase of amino content, both the interfacial interactions and the cross-linking density of hybrids enhanced, which results in the decline of surface silicon concentration, increase of Young's modulus and drop of elongation at break. Excessive amino content makes the hybrid films brittle and leads to incomplete imidization.

Submicron-sized Ag-polypyrrole/poly(styrene-co-methacrylic acid) (Ag-PPy/P(St-co-MAA)) composite particles were fabricated via a redox reaction between pyrrole and AgNO₃ in the presence of P(St-co-MAA) soap-free latex. The products are characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electron diffraction spectra (EDS), Raman spectra, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed that Ag-PPy nanocomposites were in situ deposited onto the surface of P(St-co-MAA) latex particles tailored by carboxylic-acid groups. The nanocomposites of Ag-PPy distributed on the surface of polymer particles transformed from discretely dots to continuously coating as the reaction temperature increased from 15℃ to 60℃. Strawberry-like composite particles were obtained at the reaction temperature of 60℃. The TGA characterization confirmed that the Ag-PPy nanocomposites loading onto the P(St-co-MAA) particles were systematically controlled over a range of 6 wt%−42 wt% by changing the reaction temperatures. The fluorescence quenching effect of the Ag-PPy/P(St-co-MAA) composite particles was explored on Rhodamine B as a model molecule with the Stern-Völmer quenching constant KSV of 5.9 × 104 (g/mL)−1. It is suggested that the fluorescence quenching effect is caused by the resonance energy transfer mechanism.

In this work, the photosensitive paste was prepared. It was comprised of inorganic particles and a photosensitive organic component. The inorganic particles included glass, ceramics, and metals. The organic component should contain at least the following photosensitive materials: photosensitive monomers, photoreactive copolymer and photopolymerization initiators. The photoreactive copolymer played a role of an adhesive in the photosensitive paste. Meanwhile in the development stage, the carboxyl groups of the copolymer reacted with the alkalescent developer. Following this, the unexposed part must be removed and an excellent pattern can be formed. A series of three-component acrylic copolymers (MAA/St/MMA) were designed, and then synthesized via free radical polymerization. Subsequently glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was employed to modify the prepared copolymers through ring-opening reactions between the carboxyl groups and the epoxide groups. Eventually the photosensitive copolymers were obtained and used to form the barrier ribs of PDPs. The chemical structure, glass transition temperature, acid value and molecular weight of photosensitive copolymers had different effects on the structure and pattern of PDP barrier ribs. Through analyzing effects of different polymer performance parameters on the patterns of barrier ribs, the optimal photosensitive copolymer was acquired.

Two kinds of aliphatic alternating polyesteramide prepolymers were prepared through melt polycondensation from N,N'-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-adipamide and adipic acid or sebacic acid. Chain extension of them was conducted with 2,2′-(1,4- phenylene)-bis(2-oxazoline) and adipoyl biscaprolactamate as combined chain extenders. The chain extended polyesteramides (ExtPEAs) were characterized by IR, ¹H-NMR, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, wide angle X-ray scattering, tensile test and enzymatic degradation. The results showed that the ExtPEA(4,m)s were mainly constituted with the diester adipamide alternating units. ExtPEA(4,4) and ExtPEA(4,8) had T_m of 83.8℃ and 85.8℃ and initial decomposition temperature above 310.0℃. They crystallized similarly as Nylon-66 did and were flexible thermoplastic materials with tensile strength up to 25.64 MPa and strain at break up to 737%.

Poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS) with different crosslinking levels was successfully fabricated by means of hightemperature isothermal treatment (IT). The crosslinking degree of PPS was increased with IT time as revealed by Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy and dynamic viscosity measurements. Its influence on the non-isothermal crystallization behaviors of PPS was studied by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The crystallization peak temperature of PPS with 6 h IT was 15 K higher than that of the one with 2 h IT at 30 K/min cooling rate. The non-isothermal crystallization data were also analyzed based on the Ozawa model. The Ozawa exponent m decreased from 3.5 to 2.2 at 232℃ with the increase of the IT time, suggestive of intensive thermal oxidative crosslinking reducing the crystallite dimension as PPS crystal grew. The reduced cooling crystallization function K(T) was indicative of the larger activation energy of crosslinked PPS chain diffusion into crystal lattice, resulting in a slow crystal growth rate. Additionally, the overall crystallization rate of PPS was also accelerated with the increase of crosslinking degree from the observation of polarized optical micrograph. These results indicated that the chemical crosslinked points and network structures formed during the high-temperature isothermal treatment acted as the effective nucleating sites, which greatly promoted the crystallization process of PPS and changed the type of nucleation and the geometry of crystal growth accordingly.

Polyketone resins have been prepared by the Friedel-Crafts polymerization of dithiophenylidenecyclopentanone (I), dithiophenylidenecyclohexanone (II) and dithiophenylideneacetone (III) with adipoyl, sebacoyl and terephthaloyl dichlorides using boron trifluoride as catalyst and carbon disulphide as solvent. Polymers were characterized with IR, ¹HNMR, and the results showed the presence of carbonyl of ketonic groups in the main chain. The polyketones have inherent viscosities of 0.40−0.70 dL/g. All the polymers are semicrystalline and most of them are partially soluble in most common organic solvents but freely soluble in aprotic solvents. The temperatures of 50% weight loss are as high as 185℃ to 280℃ in air, indicating that these aromatic polyketones have excellent thermal stability. All the polyketones were tested for their antimicrobial activity against bacteria and fungi.

Surface of TiO₂ nanoparticles was modified with the in situ chemical oxidative polymerization of aniline. Polyaniline modified TiO₂ nanoparticles (PANI-TiO₂) were characterized with the FT-IR, XRD, SEM and TEM techniques. Results confirmed that PANI was grafted successfully on the surface of TiO₂ nanoparticles, therefore agglomeration of nanoparticles decreased dramatically. Polyvinyl chloride nanocomposites filled with 1 wt%−5 wt% of PANI-TiO₂ and TiO₂ nanoparticles were prepared via the solution blending method. PVC nanocomposites were analyzed with FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TG/DTA, DSC and tensile test techniques. Effect of PANI as surface modifier of nanoparticles was discussed according to the final properties of PVC nanocomposites. Results demonstrated that deposition of PANI on the surface of TiO₂ nanoparticles improved the interfacial adhesion between the constituents of nanocomposites, which resulted in better dispersion of nanoparticles in the PVC matrix. Also PVC/PANI-TiO₂ nanocomposites showed higher thermal resistance, tensile strength and Young's modulus compared to those of unfilled PVC and PVC/TiO₂ nanocomposites.

A method was developed to modify silicon surfaces with good protein resistance and specific cell attachment. A silicon surface was initially deposited using a block copolymer of N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) (PVP-b-PHEMA) film through surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization and then further immobilized using a short arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) peptide. Our results demonstrate that the RGD-modified surfaces (Si-RGD) can suppress non-specific adsorption of proteins and induce the adhesion of L929 cells. The Si-RGD surface exhibited higher cell proliferation rates than the unmodified silicon surface. This research established a simple method for the fabrication of dual-functional silicon surface that combines antifouling and cell attachment promotion.

In this paper, electromagnetic poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/γ-Fe₂O₃ (PEDOT/γ-Fe₂O₃) micro-bowls, 1−2 μm in diameter, were prepared by a simple environment-friendly process. In this method, the aqueous solution of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) instead of any organic solvent was used. FeCl₃ acted as a source of FeIII for the formation of γ-Fe₂O₃ and as an oxidant for the polymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT). The bowl-shaped morphology of PEDOT/γ-Fe₂O₃ composites was strongly influenced by the concentration of CTAB, FeCl₂, ammonia solution and the reaction temperature. The saturation magnetization of PEDOT/γ-Fe₂O₃ micro-bowls increased with the increase of FeCl₂ concentration and reached 6.20 Am²/kg at the FeCl₂ concentration of 0.30 mol/L. The conductivity of the PEDOT/γ-Fe₂O₃ composites was in the range of 101 S/cm. The electrical and magnetic sources of PEDOT/γ-Fe₂O₃ micro-bowls were confirmed by SEM-EDX, TEM, XRD and XPS spectra. And the possible formation mechanism of PEDOT//γ-Fe₂O₃ was proposed.

In our previous work, it was found that large Bird's Nest patterned nanofibrous membranes can be simply electrospun from chlorinated polypropylene solution doped with an ionic liquid, and a plausible formation mechanism of Bird's Nest patterned architectures was proposed. Here, we use Ansoft Maxwell version 12 software (3D, electrostatic solver) to simulate the electrical field distribution of the electrospinning setup, and to clarify the rationality of proposed formation mechanism. Calculation results clearly show that the introduction of charged nanofibrous bundles would produce a similar patterned electrical field distribution, which definitely confirms the important role of surface residual charges. The proposed mechanism can be well extended to other polymer systems including polystyrene, poly(acrylonitrile-co-acrylic acid) and chitosan/poly(ethylene oxide).

Sound absorption properties of natural kapok fibers have been investigated. Kapok fibrous assemblies with different bulk density, thickness, fiber length and orientation were manufactured, and their acoustical performances were evaluated by using an impedance tube instrument. Results show that the kapok fiber has excellent acoustical damping performance due to its natural hollow structure, and the sound absorption coefficients of kapok fibrous assemblies are significantly affected by the bulk density, thickness and arrangement of kapok fibers but less dependent on the fiber length. Compared with assemblies of commercial glass wool and degreasing cotton fibers, the kapok fiber assemblies with the same thickness but much smaller bulk density may have the similar sound absorption coefficients. Theoretical modelling of the acoustical damping performance of kapok fibers shows a good agreement with the experimental data. All the results demonstrate that kapok fiber is a promising light and environment-friendly sound absorption material.

Hyperbranched polysulfonamine (HPSA) is a promising biomaterial due to its highly branched spherical architecture and efficient intracellular translocation. To realize the functionalization of HPSA, both N-succinimidyl 3-(2- pyridyldithio) propionate (SPDP) for tethering the human-mouse chimeric monoclonal antibody CH12 and N-hydroxy succinimidyl S-acetylmercaptoacetyltriglycinate (NHS-MAG₃) for labeling ¹⁸⁸Re were sequentially grafted onto the primary amine terminals of HPSA via covalent linkages, attaining the SPDP-HPSA-MAG₃ intermediate. In order to reserve the structural integrity of CH12, the fragment crystallizable (Fc) region was also processed by oxidation of oligosaccharide moieties with sodium periodate and then reacted with N-(κ-maleimidoundecanoic acid) hydrazide (KMUH). After chelating ¹⁸⁸Re with MAG₃ group, the SPDP was reduced to PDP and connected onto the maleinimide group at the Fc region. As a result, both the epidermal growth factor receptor vIII (EGFRvIII) targeted monoclonal antibody CH12 and the radionuclide ¹⁸⁸Re were conjugated to the HPSA-based vehicles, forming the ¹⁸⁸Re-labeled and CH12-tethered HPSA (CH12-HPSA- ¹⁸⁸Re). The molecular weight and in vitro stability of CH12-HPSA-¹⁸⁸Re were evaluated by gel electrophoresis and paper chromatography. On one hand, the CH12-HPSA-¹⁸⁸Re could specifically bind to the EGFRvIII-positive human hepatocarcinoma cells in vitro. On the other hand, it could also target at the tumor tissue of nude mice in vivo. Hence, the CH12-HPSA-¹⁸⁸Re could effectively target at the human hepatocarcinoma and facilitate the tumor detection and targeted radioimmunotherapy.