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Hsu CC, Rückel M, Bonn D, Brouwer AM. Super-resolution Fluorescence Imaging of Recycled Polymer Blends via Hydrogen Bond-Assisted Adsorption of a Nile Red Derivative. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2023; 39:14652-14659. [PMID: 37788122 PMCID: PMC10586370 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.3c01976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 08/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023]
Abstract
A key challenge in the recycling of multilayer plastic films of polyethylene and polyamide, as typically used for food packaging, is to assess and control the phase separation of the two types of polymers in the recycled material, the specifics of which determine the mechanical strength of the recycled material. However, visualizing the polyamide-in-polyethylene domains with conventional fluorescence methods or electron microscopy is challenging. We present a new approach that combines the point accumulation in nanoscale topography (PAINT) super-resolution method with a newly synthesized Nile Red probe (diOHNR) as the fluorescent label. The molecule was modified to undergo a hydrogen bond-assisted interaction with the polyamide phase in the blend due to its two additional hydroxyl groups but preserves the spectral properties of Nile Red. As a result, the localization density of the probe in the PAINT image is 13 times larger at the polyamide phase than at the polyethylene phase, enabling quantitative evaluation of the spatial polyamide/polyethylene distribution down to the nanoscale. The method achieved a spatial resolution of 18.8 nm, and we found that over half of the polyamide particles in a recycled sample were smaller than the optical diffraction limit. Being able to image the blends with nanoscopic resolution can help to optimize the composition and mechanical properties of recycled materials and thus contribute to an increased reuse of plastics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao-Chun Hsu
- van’t
Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University
of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Markus Rückel
- Group
Research, BASF SE, Ludwigshafen D-67056, Germany
| | - Daniel Bonn
- van
der Waals-Zeeman Institute, Institute of
Physics, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Albert M. Brouwer
- van’t
Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences, University
of Amsterdam, Science Park 904, 1098 XH Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Mrđenović D, Abbott D, Mougel V, Su W, Kumar N, Zenobi R. Visualizing Surface Phase Separation in PS-PMMA Polymer Blends at the Nanoscale. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2022; 14:24938-24945. [PMID: 35590476 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c03857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Phase-separated polymer blend films are an important class of functional materials with numerous technological applications in solar cells, catalysis, and biotechnology. These technologies are underpinned by the precise control of phase separation at the nanometer length-scales, which is highly challenging to visualize using conventional analytical tools. Herein, we introduce tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS), in combination with atomic force microscopy (AFM), confocal Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), as a sensitive nanoanalytical method to determine lateral and vertical phase-separation in polystyrene (PS)-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer blend films. Correlative topographical, molecular, and elemental information reveals a vertical phase separation of the polymers within the top ca. 20 nm of the blend surface in addition to the lateral phase separation in the bulk. Furthermore, complementary TERS and XPS measurements reveal the presence of PMMA within 9.2 nm of the surface and PS at the subsurface of the polymer blend. This fundamental work establishes TERS as a powerful analytical tool for surface characterization of this important class of polymers at nanometer length scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dušan Mrđenović
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Abbott
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Victor Mougel
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Weitao Su
- School of Sciences, Hangzhou Dianzi University, 310018 Hangzhou, China
| | - Naresh Kumar
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Renato Zenobi
- Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zurich, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
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Dispersion of Few-Layer Black Phosphorus in Binary Polymer Blend and Block Copolymer Matrices. NANOMATERIALS 2021; 11:nano11081996. [PMID: 34443827 PMCID: PMC8398111 DOI: 10.3390/nano11081996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Exfoliated black phosphorus (bP) embedded into a polymer is preserved from oxidation, is stable to air, light, and humidity, and can be further processed into devices without degrading its properties. Most of the examples of exfoliated bP/polymer composites involve a single polymer matrix. Herein, we report the preparation of biphasic polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate) (50/50 wt.%) composites containing few-layer black phosphorus (fl-bP) (0.6–1 wt.%) produced by sonicated-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation. Micro-Raman spectroscopy confirmed the integrity of fl-bP, while scanning electron microscopy evidenced the influence of fl-bP into the coalescence of polymeric phases. Furthermore, the topography of thin films analyzed by atomic force microscopy confirmed the effect of fl-bP into the PS dewetting, and the selective PS etching of thin films revealed the presence of fl-bP flakes. Finally, a block copolymer/fl-bP composite (1.2 wt.%) was prepared via in situ reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization by sonication-assisted exfoliation of bP into styrene. For this sample, 31P solid-state NMR and Raman spectroscopy confirmed an excellent preservation of bP structure.
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Sen-Britain S, Hicks WL, Hard R, Gardella JA. Differential orientation and conformation of surface-bound keratinocyte growth factor on (hydroxyethyl)methacrylate, (hydroxyethyl)methacrylate/methyl methacrylate, and (hydroxyethyl)methacrylate/methacrylic acid hydrogel copolymers. Biointerphases 2018; 13:06E406. [PMID: 30360629 PMCID: PMC6905655 DOI: 10.1116/1.5051655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2018] [Revised: 09/27/2018] [Accepted: 10/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The development of hydrogels for protein delivery requires protein-hydrogel interactions that cause minimal disruption of the protein's biological activity. Biological activity can be influenced by factors such as orientational accessibility for receptor binding and conformational changes, and these factors can be influenced by the hydrogel surface chemistry. (Hydroxyethyl)methacrylate (HEMA) hydrogels are of interest as drug delivery vehicles for keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) which is known to promote re-epithelialization in wound healing. The authors report here the surface characterization of three different HEMA hydrogel copolymers and their effects on the orientation and conformation of surface-bound KGF. In this work, they characterize two copolymers in addition to HEMA alone and report how protein orientation and conformation is affected. The first copolymer incorporates methyl methacrylate (MMA), which is known to promote the adsorption of protein to its surface due to its hydrophobicity. The second copolymer incorporates methacrylic acid (MAA), which is known to promote the diffusion of protein into its surface due to its hydrophilicity. They find that KGF at the surface of the HEMA/MMA copolymer appears to be more orientationally accessible and conformationally active than KGF at the surface of the HEMA/MAA copolymer. They also report that KGF at the surface of the HEMA/MAA copolymer becomes conformationally unfolded, likely due to hydrogen bonding. KGF at the surface of these copolymers can be differentiated by Fourier-transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry in conjunction with principal component analysis. The differences in KGF orientation and conformation between these copolymers may result in different biological responses in future cell-based experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shohini Sen-Britain
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo, 475 Natural Sciences Complex, Buffalo, New York 14221
| | - Wesley L Hicks
- Department of Head and Neck/Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Roswell Comprehensive Cancer Center, 665 Elm Street, Buffalo, New York 14203
| | - Robert Hard
- Department of Pathological and Anatomical Sciences, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, 955 Main St, Buffalo, New York 14203
| | - Joseph A Gardella
- Department of Chemistry, State University of New York at Buffalo, 475 Natural Sciences Complex, Buffalo, New York 14221
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Zhang Y, Hu X, Wang SW, Zhang B, Shi L, Liu X, Zi J, Lu W. High transparent mid-infrared silicon "window" decorated with amorphous photonic structures fabricated by facile phase separation. OPTICS EXPRESS 2018; 26:18734-18748. [PMID: 30114046 DOI: 10.1364/oe.26.018734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/29/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
High transparency in the infrared (IR) region is desirable for most common IR materials and devices, due to their high interfacial reflectance, resulting from the high refractive indices of constituent substances. Herein, a new strategy, with using phase-separated polystyrene (PS)/polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) blends as masks, is proposed to fabricate subwavelength structures for Si with significantly enhanced mid-IR transmission. Maximum transmittance approaching to 70% and 90% are achieved with single and double- side structured Si respectively. The fabricated subwavelength structures are short-range ordered amorphous photonic structures (APSs). By using different spin-coating speeds and molar ratios of PS to PMMA and by adjusting the etching duration time, tunable enhanced transmission are also obtained. The good performance of high transmission is confirmed by mid-IR thermal imaging experiments. Furthermore, the enhanced transmission is effective over a wide range of incident angles up to 50° and well maintained at high temperatures up to 600 °C.
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Fang Q, Ye F, Yang X. Hierarchical Morphology of Polymer Blend Films Induced by Convection-Driven Solvent Evaporation. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2018; 34:5551-5557. [PMID: 29671600 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b00600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Homogeneous thin films of polymer blends with a desired morphology are necessary because of their applications in the fields such as optoelectronics, sensors, biomedicine, and so on. The frequently employed approach for the thin film preparation, spin coating is only able to achieve a homogeneous film for a small area because of the overwhelming spin-driven solvent evaporation with increased size. Here, a convection-guided morphology formation for polystyrene:poly(methyl methacrylate) blend films is reported. In situ observation shows that the morphology changed from homogeneous deposition with a scale less than 10 μm to a self-organized cellular pattern with a scale of more than 100 μm after the fluid flow is involved. Selective dissolution of the hierarchical films reveals that the cellular morphology is attributed to the flow-field-guided deposition of sequentially generated precipitates. The coupling of phase separation and fluid convection results in the hierarchical morphology that includes Voronoi cellular division as the primary structure and the detailed heterogeneous inner-cell features as the secondary structure. Isolated modulation of either micro- or mesoscale in the hierarchical morphology could be carried out via adjusting phase interaction or the convection disturbance correspondingly, providing a flexible and straightforward strategy to construct designed hierarchical structures for polymer thin films toward desired function or property.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinghua Fang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry , Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 5625 Renmin Street , Changchun 130022 , P. R. China
- College of Applied Chemistry and Engineering , University of Science and Technology of China , Jinzhai Road No. 96 , Baohe District, Hefei 230026 , P. R. China
| | - Feng Ye
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry , Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 5625 Renmin Street , Changchun 130022 , P. R. China
| | - Xiaoniu Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry , Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences , 5625 Renmin Street , Changchun 130022 , P. R. China
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Harirchian-Saei S, Wang MCP, Gates BD, Moffitt MG. Simultaneous patterning of two different types of nanoparticles into alternating domains of a striped array of a polymer blend in a single spin-casting step. J Colloid Interface Sci 2014; 433:123-132. [PMID: 25128863 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2014.07.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2014] [Revised: 07/14/2014] [Accepted: 07/18/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
A fast and convenient method is developed for simultaneously patterning inorganic nanoparticles with different optical, electronic or magnetic functionality to specific surface regions, by spin-casting onto microcontact printed substrates blend solutions in which the two nanoparticle types are functionalized with surface polymer brush layers of different surface energies. The process is based on phase separation of different nanoparticles based on their immiscible brush layers during spin-casting, with the underlying surface energy heterogeneity of the patterned substrate directing the different NP types to domains of different surface energies. Here, we specifically demonstrate the simultaneous localization of cadmium sulfide quantum dots (CdS QDs), addressed with a surface layer of polystyrene (PS), and silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs), addressed with a surface layer of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), onto the non-polar and polar surface domains, respectively, of hydrophilic glass patterned with hydrophobic octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) stripe arrays with micron-scale periodicities. In order to prevent gelation of solvent-swollen polymer-brush coated NPs during spin casting, which effects strong kinetic constraints on phase separation and localization, PS, PMMA or PS/PMMA homopolymer blends of sufficiently high Mw were added to the NP blends to increase the free volume between approaching NPs. The process parameters were fine-tuned to obtain control over defects in the obtained patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saman Harirchian-Saei
- Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3065, Victoria, BC V8W 3V6, Canada
| | - Michael C P Wang
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Byron D Gates
- Department of Chemistry, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
| | - Matthew G Moffitt
- Department of Chemistry, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3065, Victoria, BC V8W 3V6, Canada.
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