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Polymer Science Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Polymer Science

Light-Emitting Nanocomposites And Novel Amorphous Polymers For Optical Applications, Kyle Gipson Dec 2011

Light-Emitting Nanocomposites And Novel Amorphous Polymers For Optical Applications, Kyle Gipson

All Dissertations

Polymeric optical materials generally are comprised of amorphous polymers that are transparent in at visible wavelengths but exhibit strong absorption bands in the near-infrared making them less useful for many optical applications. Attenuation, which is the absorption per unit length, largely results from the high vibrational energy associated with carbon-hydrogen bonds contained in the polymer backbone. Attenuation can be mitigated by optical amplification utilizing light emitting additives. Investigated in this dissertation are synthesis techniques for the fabrication of light-emitting polymer nanocomposites and their resultant thermal and rheological characteristics for potential use as polymer optical fibers or films.
Inorganic nanocrystals doped …


Determining A Method For Rendering Low Cost Cdse(Zns) Core(Shell) Quantum Dots Aqueous Soluble Via Amphiphilic Polymer Wrapping, Patrick Mcbride Jun 2011

Determining A Method For Rendering Low Cost Cdse(Zns) Core(Shell) Quantum Dots Aqueous Soluble Via Amphiphilic Polymer Wrapping, Patrick Mcbride

Materials Engineering

Herein is described the procedure of two amphiphilic polymer wrapping techniques that may be employed for obtaining aqueous soluble quantum dots (QDs) for use in biological fluorescent imaging applications. The advent of QDs has led to new nanoscale fluorescent materials that exhibit unparalleled quantum yields (QYs), high resistance to photobleaching, tunable emissions, and
absorption over a large optical range. However, the QD synthesis employed here at Cal Poly to obtain bright, photostable CdSe(ZnS) core(shell) QDs involves the use of organic solvents and surfactants, leading to hydrophobic QDs. Since all of biology relies on aqueous solubility, this hydrophobicity creates a major …


Mechanical Characterization Of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane With Optical Methods, Xinyu Huang, Luis Alva, Jay Neutzler Jan 2011

Mechanical Characterization Of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane With Optical Methods, Xinyu Huang, Luis Alva, Jay Neutzler

Faculty Publications

Mechanical properties of polymer electrolyte membrane have important implications in the endurance of many electrochemical energy conversion devices [1]. Mechanical experiments are effective method to reveal discrete damage developed in the membrane by quantifying the change of mechanical strength and toughness. Regular strain measurement methods are overly intrusive to the thin and relatively fragile polymer electrolyte membrane; hence optical-based minimal invasive stress/strain measurement methods are studied.