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Full-Text Articles in Polymer Science

Self-Assembling Networks In Soft Materials, Ishan Prasad Jul 2018

Self-Assembling Networks In Soft Materials, Ishan Prasad

Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation presents a study on heterogeneous network structure in two distinct classes of soft material systems: disordered assemblies of jammed binary spheres and ordered morphologies of block copolymer melts. The aim is to investigate the combined role of geometry and entropy in structure formation of soft matter assemblies. First, we investigate the influence of particle size asymmetry on structural properties of jammed binary sphere mixtures. We give evidence of two distinct classes of materials separated by a critical size ratio that marks the onset of a sharp transition due to simultaneous jamming of a sub-component of the packing. We …


Hybrid Polymer Electrolyte For Lithium-Oxygen Battery Application, Amir Chamaani Oct 2017

Hybrid Polymer Electrolyte For Lithium-Oxygen Battery Application, Amir Chamaani

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The transition from fossil fuels to renewable resources has created more demand for energy storage devices. Lithium-oxygen (Li-O2) batteries have attracted much attention due to their high theoretical energy densities. They, however, are still in their infancy and several fundamental challenges remain to be addressed. Advanced analytical techniques have revealed that all components of a Li-O2 battery undergo undesirable degradation during discharge/charge cycling, contributing to reduced cyclability. Despite many attempts to minimize the anode and cathode degradation, the electrolyte remains as the leading cause for rapid capacity fading and poor cyclability in Li-O2 batteries. In this …


(I) Polymer Nanocomposites: Rheology And Processing For Mesoporous Materials And (Ii) Nanopatterning Of Metal Oxides Using Soft Lithography, Rohit Kothari Mar 2016

(I) Polymer Nanocomposites: Rheology And Processing For Mesoporous Materials And (Ii) Nanopatterning Of Metal Oxides Using Soft Lithography, Rohit Kothari

Doctoral Dissertations

The research in this dissertation is categorized into two parts. The first part is focused on investigation of order-to-disorder transitions (ODT) in nanocomposites of an amphiphilic block copolymer containing various hydrogen-bonded additives, and fabrication of novel mesoporous silica based materials by utilizing such nanocomposites as templates. Disordered Pluronic®, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO)−poly(propylene oxide) (PPO)−PEO triblock copolymer upon blending with small molecule additives containing hydrogen-bond-donating functional groups (carboxyl or hydroxyl) result into ordered nanoscale morphologies by preferentially interacting with the hydrophilic PEO chains in the Pluronic®. The dependence of ODT-temperature in these novel Pluronic®/small-molecule-additive complexes on composition, number and type of functional …


Lanthanide Coordination Polymers With Tetrafluoroterephthalate As A Bridging Ligand: Thermal And Optical Properties, Christiane Seidel, Chantal Lorbeer, Joanna Cyninska, Anja V. Mudring, Uwe Ruschewitz Jan 2012

Lanthanide Coordination Polymers With Tetrafluoroterephthalate As A Bridging Ligand: Thermal And Optical Properties, Christiane Seidel, Chantal Lorbeer, Joanna Cyninska, Anja V. Mudring, Uwe Ruschewitz

Anja V. Mudring

Seven new coordination polymers ∞2[Ln(tfBDC)(NO3)(DMF)2]·DMF (Ln3+ = Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Dy, Er, Yb) with the perfluorinated linker ligand tetrafluoroterephthalate (tfBDC2−) have been synthesized. Their crystal structures consist of layers (44 nets) weakly bound by van der Waals interactions. In addition, differential thermal analysis/thermogravimetry (DTA/TG) curves, as well as absorption and emission spectra, have been recorded for all compounds.