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Li X, Zhao W, Jin Y, Huang J, Chen D. Phase Behaviors and Photoresponsive Thin Films of Syndiotactic Side-Chain Liquid Crystalline Polymers with High Densely Substituted Azobenzene Mesogens. Chemphyschem 2024:e202400421. [PMID: 38825850 DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202400421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2024] [Revised: 05/30/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 06/04/2024]
Abstract
Azobenzene-containing polymers (azopolymers) are a kind of fascinating stimuli-responsive materials with broad and versatile applications. In this work, a series of syndiotactic C1 type azopolymers of Pm-Azo-Cn with side-chain azobenzene mesogens of varied length alkoxy tails (n=1, 4, 8, 10) and different length alkyl spacers (m=6, 10) have been prepared via Rh-catalyzed carbene polymerization. The thermal properties and ordered assembly structures of thus synthesized side chain liquid crystalline polymers (SCLCPs) have been systematically investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized optical microscopy (POM) and variable-temperature small/wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) analyses. P10-Azo-C1 and P10-Azo-C4 with shorter alkoxy tails exhibited hierarchical structures SmB/Colob and transformed into SmA/Colob at a higher temperature, while P10-Azo-C8 and P10-Azo-C10 with longer alkoxy tails only displayed side group dominated layered SmB phase and transformed into SmA phase at higher temperatures. For P6-Azo-C4 with a shorter spacer only showed a less ordered SmA phase owing to interference by partly coupling between the side chain azobenzene mesogens and the helical backbone. More importantly, the series high densely substituted syndiotactic C1 azopolymer thin films, exhibited evidently and smoothly reversible photoresponsive properties, which demonstrated promising photoresponsive device applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Li
- Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology (Ministry of Education), Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China
- School of Information Technology, Suzhou Institute of Trade & Commerce, 215009, Suzhou, China
| | - Weiguang Zhao
- Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology (Ministry of Education), Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China
| | - Ye Jin
- Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology (Ministry of Education), Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China
| | - Jianjia Huang
- Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology (Ministry of Education), Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China
| | - Dongzhong Chen
- Key Laboratory of High Performance Polymer Materials and Technology (Ministry of Education), Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, 210023, Nanjing, China
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Toujani C, Padilla LA, Alhraki N, Hur SM, Ramírez-Hernández A. Self-assembly of rod-coil-rod block copolymers in a coil-selective solvent: coarse-grained simulation results. SOFT MATTER 2024; 20:3131-3142. [PMID: 38497125 DOI: 10.1039/d4sm00251b] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
The solution self-assembly of amphiphilic polymers provides a versatile approach to design novel nanostructured materials. Multiblock polymers, particularly those composed of liquid crystalline and coil blocks, are of significant interest due to the potential display of nematic ordering in liquid crystalline domains, offering intriguing optical and mechanical properties. In this study, dissipative particle dynamics is used to investigate the solution self-assembly of rod-coil-rod copolymers in a coil-selective solvent. Extensive molecular simulations were conducted to elucidate the impact of polymer composition, concentration and flexibility on the self-assembly behavior. A quantitative analysis was performed to investigate how polymer conformations varied with changes in composition, concentration, and rigidity. Simulation results show that, at small rod compositions, rod-coil-rod polymers self-assemble into micelles at low concentrations, transitioning to network formation as concentration increases. An increase in rod composition leads to the formation of larger aggregates, resulting in cylindrical micelles and membranes. The results reported here also offer insights into the role of flexibility in shaping the self-assembly behavior of rod-coil-rod triblocks in selective solvents, thus, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the factors governing the formation of diverse structures in the solution self-assembly of triblock copolymers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiraz Toujani
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
| | - Luis A Padilla
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
| | - Nour Alhraki
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
| | - Su-Mi Hur
- Department of Polymer Engineering, Graduate School, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 61186, South Korea
| | - Abelardo Ramírez-Hernández
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78249, USA.
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Long L, Medina Rivero S, Sun F, Wang D, Chekulaev D, Tonnelé C, Casanova D, Casado J, Zheng Y. A Single-Crystal Monomer to Single-Crystal Polymer Reaction Activated by a Triplet Excimer in a Zipper Mechanism. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2023; 62:e202308780. [PMID: 37533303 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202308780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 07/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
A combined experimental and theoretical study focused on the elucidation of the polymerization mechanism of the crystal monomer to crystal polymer reaction of a bisindenedione compound in the solid state. The experimental description and characterization of the polymer product have been reported elsewhere and, in this article, we address the first detailed description of the polymerization process. This reaction pathway consists of the initial formation of a triplet excimer state that relaxes to an intermolecularly bonded triplet state that is the starting point of the propagation step of the polymerization. The overall process can be visualized in the monomer starting state as an open zipper in which a cursor or slider is formed by light absorption and the whole zipper is then closed by propagation of the cursor. To this end, variable-temperature electron spin resonance (ESR), femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, and vibrational Raman spectroscopic data have been implemented in combination with quantum chemical calculations. The presented mechanistic insight is of great value to understand the intricacies of such an important reaction and to envisage and diversify the products produced thereof.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lanxin Long
- Department of Pharmacy, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 610072, Chengdu, P. R. China
| | - Samara Medina Rivero
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Málaga, Andalucia-Tech Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071, Málaga, Spain
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Sheffield, S3 7RH, Sheffield, UK
| | - Fanxi Sun
- Department of Pharmacy, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 610072, Chengdu, P. R. China
| | - Dongsheng Wang
- Department of Pharmacy, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 610072, Chengdu, P. R. China
| | - Dimitri Chekulaev
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Sheffield, S3 7RH, Sheffield, UK
| | - Claire Tonnelé
- Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), 20018, Donostia, Euskadi, Spain
| | - David Casanova
- Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), 20018, Donostia, Euskadi, Spain
- Ikerbasque Foundation for Science, 48009, Bilbao, Euskadi, Spain
| | - Juan Casado
- Department of Physical Chemistry, University of Málaga, Andalucia-Tech Campus de Teatinos s/n, 29071, Málaga, Spain
| | - Yonghao Zheng
- Department of Pharmacy, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences & Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, School of Optoelectronic Science and Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 610072, Chengdu, P. R. China
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Weng L, Ma M, Yin C, Fei ZX, Yang KK, Ross CA, Shi LY. Synthesis and Self-Assembly of Silicon-Containing Azobenzene Liquid Crystalline Block Copolymers. Macromolecules 2023. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c02343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lin Weng
- College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Mingchao Ma
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Chenxiao Yin
- College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Zhi-Xiong Fei
- College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
| | - Ke-Ke Yang
- The Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Friendly and Fire-Safety Polymeric Materials (MoE), National Engineering Laboratory of Eco-Friendly Polymeric Materials (Sichuan), College of Chemistry, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
| | - Caroline A. Ross
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Ling-Ying Shi
- College of Polymer Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
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Angelopoulou PP, Moutsios I, Manesi GM, Ivanov DA, Sakellariou G, Avgeropoulos A. Designing high χ copolymer materials for nanotechnology applications: A systematic bulk vs. thin films approach. Prog Polym Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2022.101625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Wei W, Xiong H. Liquid-Crystalline Polymers: Molecular Engineering, Hierarchical Structures, and Applications. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2022; 38:11514-11520. [PMID: 36103648 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c01768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Liquid-crystalline polymers (LCPs) are a unique class of soft materials that combine liquid crystal and polymer characteristics. This perspective highlights recent advances of LCPs on the aspects of molecular engineering, hierarchical structures, and emerging applications. The strategy of sequence control in polymer synthesis has been introduced to tailor the primary structures of LCPs as well as their phases and orders. By incorporating mesogenic motifs rich in shape, order, and interaction into LCPs, novel bulk and interfacial structures on hierarchical scales are anticipated. The intrinsic features and fascinating properties of LCPs enable them to find potential applications in emerging areas including integrated circuits, lasing, environment, and energy, implying compelling opportunities for LCPs in fundamental science and transformative technologies.
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Mu B, Zhang Z, Hao X, Ma T, Tian W. Positional Isomerism-Mediated Copolymerization Realizing the Continuous Luminescence Color-Tuning of Liquid-Crystalline Polymers. Macromolecules 2022. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.macromol.2c00458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bin Mu
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
| | - Zhelin Zhang
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
| | - Xiangnan Hao
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
| | - Tianshu Ma
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
| | - Wei Tian
- Shanxi Key Laboratory of Macromolecular Science and Technology, MOE Key Laboratory of Material Physics and Chemistry under Extraordinary Conditions, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an 710072, China
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Abstract
Smart soft materials are envisioned to be the building blocks of the next generation of advanced devices and digitally augmented technologies. In this context, liquid crystals (LCs) owing to their responsive and adaptive attributes could serve as promising smart soft materials. LCs played a critical role in revolutionizing the information display industry in the 20th century. However, in the turn of the 21st century, numerous beyond-display applications of LCs have been demonstrated, which elegantly exploit their controllable stimuli-responsive and adaptive characteristics. For these applications, new LC materials have been rationally designed and developed. In this Review, we present the recent developments in light driven chiral LCs, i.e., cholesteric and blue phases, LC based smart windows that control the entrance of heat and light from outdoor to the interior of buildings and built environments depending on the weather conditions, LC elastomers for bioinspired, biological, and actuator applications, LC based biosensors for detection of proteins, nucleic acids, and viruses, LC based porous membranes for the separation of ions, molecules, and microbes, living LCs, and LCs under macro- and nanoscopic confinement. The Review concludes with a summary and perspectives on the challenges and opportunities for LCs as smart soft materials. This Review is anticipated to stimulate eclectic ideas toward the implementation of the nature's delicate phase of matter in future generations of smart and augmented devices and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hari Krishna Bisoyi
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, United States
| | - Quan Li
- Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute and Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242, United States.,Institute of Advanced Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Jiangsu Hi-Tech Key Laboratory for Biomedical Research, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
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