Influence of ionic association on the nonisothermal crystallization kinetics of sodium sulfonate poly(butylene succinate) ionomers

Preparation, characterization and degradation study of novel sulfonated furanic poly(ester-amide)s

A series of novel-sulfonated furanic polyesteramides have been synthesized by polycondensation in the melt-phase. The copolymers were obtained with reasonable molecular weights and high inherent viscosities between 0.2 and 0.4 dL/g. The hydrolytic degradability of polyesteramides was enhanced by the increasing of amide units in the copolymers backbone.

Fully Biobased Aliphatic Anionic Oligoesters: Synthesis and Properties

Biobased aliphatic sulfonated oligoesters with 10 to 30% of sulfonated units were synthesized by melt polycondensation of biobased monomers such as diethyl succinate, z-octadec-9-enedioic acid, dimer fatty acid, sodium (sulfonated dimethyl succinate), and various diols like 1,4-butane diol and isosorbide. Structural characterization of the resulting oligoesters was determined by 1H NMR spectroscopy and MALDI-TOF MS technique. Showing a regular structure, the nature of the different expected species present in the macromolecular structure allowed the detection of etherification and cyclisation side reactions. The study of the thermal properties indicates that the resulting oligoesters are amorphous or semicrystalline that essentially depend on the nature of monomers. Films of oligoesters treated in acidic, basic, and natural media at 37°C indicate that the remaining weight depends essentially on the composition of oligoesters. Finally, sulfonated oligoester was used to prepare a biobased poly(ester-urethane) thermoset, a material having tunable properties.

Humidity-modulated phase control and nanoscopic transport in supramolecular assemblies

Supramolecular assembly allows for enhanced control of bulk material properties through the fine modulation of intermolecular interactions. We present a comprehensive study of a cross-linkable amphiphilic wedge molecule based on a sulfonated trialkoxybenzene with a sodium counterion that forms liquid crystalline (LC) phases with ionic nanochannel structures. This compound exhibits drastic structural changes as a function of relative humidity (RH). Our combined structural, dynamical, and transport studies reveal deep and novel information on the coupling of water and wedge molecule transport to structural motifs, including the significant influence of domain boundaries within the material. Over a range of RH values, we employ (23)Na solid-state NMR on the counterions to complement detailed structural studies by grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering. RH-dependent pulsed-field-gradient (PFG) NMR diffusion studies on both water and the wedge amphiphiles show multiple components, corresponding to species diffusing within LC domains as well as in the domain boundaries that compose 10% of the material. The rich transport and dynamical behaviors described here represent an important window into the world of supramolecular soft materials, carrying implications for optimization of these materials in many venues. Cubic phases present at high RH show fast transport of water (2 × 10(-10) m(2)/s), competitive with that observed in benchmark polymeric ion conductors. Understanding the self-assembly of these supramolecular building blocks shows promise for generating cross-linked membranes with fast ion conduction for applications such as next-generation batteries.