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Full-Text Articles in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Solution And Surface Properties Of Architecturally- And Compositionally-Complex Block Copolymers And Their Binary Mixtures, Jesse Lawrence Davis
Solution And Surface Properties Of Architecturally- And Compositionally-Complex Block Copolymers And Their Binary Mixtures, Jesse Lawrence Davis
Doctoral Dissertations
The spontaneous generation of complex structures from polymeric building blocks provides a simple yet effective route to create useful soft matter structures having potential application in a variety of nanotechnologies. The topology, chemical structure, block composition, and sequence of the constituent building blocks of polymers are tunable through synthetic chemistry. This tunability offers attractive opportunities to generate complex, yet well-defined structures with control over the geometry, packing symmetry, and microdomain structure. This thesis work involves the study of the self-assembly behaviors of architecturally complex amphiphilic block copolymers (ABCs). ABCs are composed of two or more chemically distinct blocks that are …
Structure And Energetics Of Nanoparticles And Ionomer Films In Fuel Cell Catalyst Layers, Qianping He
Structure And Energetics Of Nanoparticles And Ionomer Films In Fuel Cell Catalyst Layers, Qianping He
Doctoral Dissertations
Improving the durability and utilization efficiency of the platinum-on-carbon (Pt/C) catalyst is of vital importance to the commercialization of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). This body of work provides molecular level insights to aid the fulfillment of this goal. Chapter 1 describes the use of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation in an effort to understand the Pt/C degradation issue from the nano-adhesion point of view. The roles of catalyst nanoparticle size, shape, Pt/C surface oxidation and the extent of ionomer film hydration are investigated to study their effects on nano-particle adhesion. It is found that the adhesion force strengthens …