A comprehensive model for kinetics and development of film structure in interfacial polycondensation

Polyureas Versatile Polymers for New Academic and Technological Applications

Polyureas (PURs) are a competitive polymer to their analogs, polyurethanes (PUs). Whereas PUs' main functional group is carbamate (urethane), PURs contain urea. In this revision, a comprehensive overview of PUR properties, from synthesis to technical applications, is displayed. Preparative routes that can be used to obtain PURs using diisocianates or harmless reagents such as CO₂ and NH₃ are explained, and aterials, urea monomers and PURs are discussed; PUR copolymers are included in this discussion as well. Bulk to soft components of PUR, as well as porous materials and meso, micro or nanomaterials are evaluated. Topics of this paper include the general properties of aliphatic and aromatic PUR, followed by practical synthetic pathways, catalyst uses, aggregation, sol-gel formation and mechanical aspects.

Mapping and Tuning the Fluorescence of Perfluorinated Polyanilines Synthesized through Liquid-Liquid Interfaces

A series of light-emitting perfluorinated polyanilines were synthesized by the oxidative polymerization of 3-perfluorooctyl aniline through a variety of aqueous/organic interfaces. According to the interfacial tension between the two solvents (the organic being chloroform, dichloromethane, perfluorinated ether, toluene, or o-dichlorobenzene), we obtain distinctive classes of materials based on the crystal packing, protonation, and oxidation state of the polymeric chains. We distinguish between soluble fractions with a distinctive, strong, and red-shifted photoluminescence pattern and an insoluble precipitate which can be subsequently solubilized in a mixture of acetone and toluene. The emission maximum for the insoluble fraction is located in the ultraviolet or blue region with a small Stokes shift; maxima for the soluble counterparts are in the green to yellow region. The soluble derivatives demonstrate a significantly smaller band gap compared to the monomer and large Stokes shifts up to 163 nm; the emission maximum for the most red-shifted emission was located at λ(em) = 548 nm. Their redox activity toward silver nanoparticles, their sensor reactivity with organic acid and bases, and the subsequent changes in the optical properties were demonstrated and the structure of the materials was evaluated with NMR, X-ray diffraction, and FTIR/Raman spectroscopy.

Interfacial polymerization of conductive polymers: Generation of polymeric nanostructures in a 2-D space

In the recent advances in the field of conductive polymers, the fibrillar or needle shaped nanostructures of polyaniline and polypyrrole have attracted significant attention due to the potential advantages of organic conductors that exhibit low-dimensionality, uniform size distribution, high crystallinity and improved physical properties compared to their bulk or spherically shaped counterparts. Carrying the polymerization reaction in a restricted two dimensional space, instead of the three dimensional space of the one phase solution is an efficient method for the synthesis of polymeric nanostructures with narrow size distribution and small diameter. Ultra-thin nanowires and nanofibers, single crystal nanoneedles, nanocomposites with noble metals or carbon nanotubes and layered materials can be efficiently synthesized with high yield and display superior performance in sensors and energy storage applications. In this critical review we will focus not only on the interfacial polymerization methods that leads to polymeric nanostructures and composites and their properties, but also on the mechanism and the physico-chemical processes that govern the diffusion and reactivity of molecules and nanomaterials at an interface. Recent advances for the synthesis of conductive polymer composites with an interfacial method for energy storage applications and future perspectives are presented.

Fabrication and characterization of a novel nanofiltration membrane by the interfacial polymerization of 1,4-diaminocyclohexane (DCH) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC)

A novel thin-film composite polyamide membrane for nanofiltration is prepared, and the addition of sodium N-cyclohexylsulfamate is found to have a significant influence on its performance.