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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Preparation And Characterization Of Thermodynamically Controlled Polymer Nanocomposites, Jiadi Hou
Preparation And Characterization Of Thermodynamically Controlled Polymer Nanocomposites, Jiadi Hou
Masters Theses
The mechanical and physical properties of polymeric materials can be greatly improved by adding nanoscale additives. To mediate the dispersion of nanoparticles in polymers, it is often necessary to modify their surfaces to prevent aggregation. While polymer nanocomposites system consisting of homopolymer-grafted nanoparticles are well understood, copolymer-functionalized nanoparticles are less well understood but provide additional ways to alter dispersion through the use of chemically different comonomers. In this thesis, polystyrene nanocomposites blended with copolymer-grafted nanoparticles were prepared and studied. The particular comonomers used were methyl methacrylate and cyclohexyl methacrylate, which provides miscibility with polystyrene. Polymers with varying comonomer ratios were …
Siloxane And Silane-Functionalized Polynorbornenes As Membranes For Passive Carbon Dioxide Separation, Eunice Koheun Hong
Siloxane And Silane-Functionalized Polynorbornenes As Membranes For Passive Carbon Dioxide Separation, Eunice Koheun Hong
Masters Theses
In 2012, carbon dioxide (CO2) [carbon dioxide] accounted for approximately 82% [percent] of all U.S greenhouse gas emissions.1 These excessive CO2 levels have been attributed to climate changes that have a range of negative effects on human health and welfare.1 In an effort to decrease these emissions, polymeric membranes consisting of silane- and siloxane-functionalized norbornene units have been targeted as a potential solution for the passive separation of CO2 from other non-greenhouse gases. These substituted norbornene-based polymers were synthesized via vinyl-addition polymerization. Through a series of catalyst trials, commercially available palladium and nickel catalysts were compared along …
Biodegradable Nano-Hybrid Polymer Composite Networks For Regulating Cellular Behavior, Charles Henley Sprague
Biodegradable Nano-Hybrid Polymer Composite Networks For Regulating Cellular Behavior, Charles Henley Sprague
Masters Theses
Photo-crosslinkable polymeric biomaterials have emerged in the field of biomedical research to promote tissue regeneration. For example, scaffolds that can be crosslinked and hardened in situ have been known to make suitable implant alternatives. Since injectable and photo-crosslinkable biomaterials offer the advantage of being minimally invasive, they have emerged to compete with autografts, a current highly invasive method to repair diseased tissue. A series of novel photo-crosslinkable, injectable, and biodegradable nano-hybrid polymers consisting of poly(ε-caprolactone fumarate) (PCLF) and polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) has been synthesized in our laboratory via polycondensation. To engineer the material properties of the nano-hybrid networks, varied …
Correlating Morphology To Performance In Conjugated Polymer Nanocomposite Thin Films, Siddharth Pradhan
Correlating Morphology To Performance In Conjugated Polymer Nanocomposite Thin Films, Siddharth Pradhan
Masters Theses
The morphology and performance of thin films that consist of conjugated polymers and nanoparticles are investigated in this thesis. In the first system, the morphology of the nanocomposite that consists of low band gap alternating copolymers with a methano-fullerene are determined by neutron scattering and correlated to their photovoltaic performance as polymer solar cells. These results show that the conjugated alternating copolymers have high miscibility relative to other conjugated polymers. The analysis of the scattering data shows that the morphology of the conjugated polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction can be described as the formation of aggregates on two length scales. Important parameters …