Effect of nanointegration on photoinduced hydrogen-generating nanogel systems

Polymeric Design for Electron Transfer in Photoinduced Hydrogen Generation through a Coil-Globule Transition

To realize a renewable energy society, a polymeric system for photoinduced hydrogen generation utilizing a copolymer containing an electron acceptor was designed. In this system, the redox changes of viologen introduced into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) cause cyclic conformational changes owing to the shifting of the phase transition temperature (PTT). The polymeric coil-globule transitions with hydrophilic/hydrophobic changes accelerate the electron transfer for hydrogen generation. In particular, hydrogen generation using visible-light energy with high efficiency is achieved around the PTT. In contrast to conventional solution systems, our polymeric system enables efficient hydrogen generation in a close molecular arrangement without the aggregation of catalytic nanoparticles. The utilization of conformational changes will provide a new strategy for synthesizing artificial photosynthetic hydrogels that split water to generate both hydrogen and oxygen.

Design of Polymer Networks Involving a Photoinduced Electronic Transmission Circuit toward Artificial Photosynthesis

Many strategies have been explored to achieve artificial photosynthesis utilizing mediums such as liposomes and supramolecules. Because the photochemical reaction is composed of multiple functional molecules, the surrounding microenvironment is expected to be rationally integrated as observed during photosynthesis in chloroplasts. In this study, photoinduced electronic transmission surrounding the microenvironment of Ru(bpy)3(2+) in a polymer network was investigated using poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-Ru(bpy)3), poly(acrylamide-co-Ru(bpy)3), and Ru(bpy)3-conjugated microtubules. Photoinduced energy conversion was evaluated by investigating the effects of (i) Ru(bpy)3(2+) immobilization, (ii) polymer type, (iii) thermal energy, and (iv) cross-linking. The microenvironment surrounding copolymerized Ru(bpy)3(2+) in poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) suppressed quenching and had a higher radiative process energy than others. This finding is related to the nonradiative process, i.e., photoinduced H2 generation with significantly higher overall quantum efficiency (13%) than for the bulk solution. We envision that useful molecules will be generated by photoinduced electronic transmission in polymer networks, resulting in the development of a wide range of biomimetic functions with applications for a sustainable society.

Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Study on Internal Microscopic Structures of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-tris(2,2'-bipyridyl))ruthenium(II) Complex Microgels

Internal microscopic structures of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-tris(2,2'-bipyridyl))ruthenium(II) complex microgels were investigated using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) in the extended q-range of 0.07 ≤ q/nm(-1) ≤ 20. The microgels were prepared by aqueous free-radical precipitation polymerization, resulting in formation of monodispersed, submicrometer-sized microgels, which was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering. To reveal the changes in the microscopic structures of the microgels during swelling/deswelling or dispersing/flocculating oscillation, the redox state of Ru(bpy)3 complexes was fixed in the microgels using Ce(IV) or Ce(III) ions under high ionic strength (1.5 M) during the SAXS measurements. The scattering intensity of the microgels manifested five different structural features. In particular, the correlation length (ξ), which was obtained from the fitting analysis using the Ornstein-Zernike equation, of the microgels both in the reduced and oxidized Ru(bpy)3 states exhibited divergent-like behavior. In addition, a low-q peak centered at q ≈ 5 nm(-1) did not appear clearly in both the reduced [Ru(bpy)3](2+) and oxidized [Ru(bpy)3](3+) states, indicating that the formation of a polymer-rich domain was suppressed; thus, Ru(bpy)3 complexes can be active even though the microgels are deswollen or flocculated during the oscillation reaction.

Effect of microtubule polymerization on photoinduced hydrogen generation

Herein we report a novel reaction field for photoinduced H2 generation by using microtubules as a medium. By controlling the tubulin/microtubule hierarchical structure, synergistic effects by which the Ru(bpy)3(2+)-conjugated microtubule network causes suppression of energy loss by collision are clarified.

Liquid/Liquid interfacial fabrication of thermosensitive and catalytically active Ag nanoparticle-doped block copolymer composite foam films

An aqueous solution of AgNO3 (upper phase) and a DMF/CHCl3 solution of polystyrene-b-poly(acryl acid)-b-polystyrene (PS-b-PAA-b-PS) or PS-b-PAA-b-PS/1,6-diaminohexane (DAH) (lower phase) constituted a planar liquid/liquid interface. The lower phase gradually transformed to a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion via spontaneous emulsification due to the "ouzo effect". Polymer molecules, DAH molecules, and Ag(+) ions assembled into microcapsules around emulsion droplets that adsorbed at the planar liquid/liquid interface, resulting in formation of a foam film. DAH acted as a cross-linker during this process. Transmission electron microscopic observations indicated that Ag nanoclusters that were generated through reduction of Ag(+) ions by DMF were homogeneously dispersed in the walls of the foam structure. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic investigations revealed that Ag(I) and Ag(0) coexisted in the film, and Ag(I) transformed to Ag(0) after further treatment. The film formed without DAH was not stable, while the film formed with DAH was very stable due to intermolecular attraction between PAA and DAH and formation of amides, as revealed by FTIR spectra. The film formed with DAH exhibited high and durable catalytic activity for hydrogenation of nitro compounds and, very interestingly, exhibited thermoresponsive catalytic behavior.

Tuning Surface Microstructure and Gradient Property of Polymer by Photopolymerizable Polysiloxane-modified Nanogels

This paper reports a series of photopolymerizable polysiloxane-modified nanogels for regulating surface microstructure and gradient property of polymers, which were synthesized by solution polymerization under different feed ratios of a methacrylate-modified polysiloxane, urethane dimethacrylate (UDMA) and isobornyl methacrylate (IBMA) in the presence of a thiol chain transfer agent. The nanogel structure and composition were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), transmission electron microscope (TEM), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The dispersion of these nanogels in triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) can reduce the onset and magnitude of shrinkage stress during polymerization without compromise to mechanical properties of the resulting polymers. Most importantly, as demonstrated by elemental analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the nanogels exhibit good self-floating ability in the monomer/polymer matrix and the increase of polysiloxane content in the nanogel can enhance the self-floating capability due to the lower surface tension and energy associated with the polysiloxane component. As a result, the polysiloxane-modified nanogels can spontaneously form a concentration gradient that can be locked in upon photopolymerization leading to a well-controlled heterogeneous polymer that presents a gradient change in thermal stability. With the increase of polysiloxane content, the thermal stability of the polymer was improved significantly. Furthermore, the enrichment of the nanogel on the surface resulting from the good self-floating ability can reduce the dispersion surface energy of gradient polymer film and generate a more hydrophobic surface with altered surface microstructure. These photopolymerizable polysiloxane-modified nanogels are demonstrated to have potential broad application in the preparation of gradient polymer with controlled surface properties.

Responsive hydrogels--structurally and dimensionally optimized smart frameworks for applications in catalysis, micro-system technology and material science

Although the technological and scientific importance of functional polymers has been well established over the last few decades, the most recent focus that has attracted much attention has been on stimuli-responsive polymers. This group of materials is of particular interest due to its ability to respond to internal and/or external chemico-physical stimuli, which is often manifested as large macroscopic responses. Aside from scientific challenges of designing stimuli-responsive polymers, the main technological interest lies in their numerous applications ranging from catalysis through microsystem technology and chemomechanical actuators to sensors that have been extensively explored. Since the phase transition phenomenon of hydrogels is theoretically well understood advanced materials based on the predictions can be prepared. Since the volume phase transition of hydrogels is a diffusion-limited process the size of the synthesized hydrogels is an important factor. Consistent downscaling of the gel size will result in fast smart gels with sufficient response times. In order to apply smart gels in microsystems and sensors, new preparation techniques for hydrogels have to be developed. For the up-coming nanotechnology, nano-sized gels as actuating materials would be of great interest.