Morphology-Retaining Carbonization of Honeycomb-Patterned Hyperbranched Poly(phenylene vinylene) Film

Self-assembly of graphene oxide at interfaces

Due to its amphiphilic property, graphene oxide (GO) can achieve a variety of nanostructures with different morphologies (for example membranes, hydrogel, crumpled particles, hollow spheres, sack-cargo particles, Pickering emulsions, and so on) by self-assembly. The self-assembly is mostly derived from the self-concentration of GO sheets at various interfaces, including liquid-air, liquid-liquid and liquid-solid interfaces. This paper gives a comprehensive review of these assembly phenomena of GO at the three types of interfaces, the derived interfacial self-assembly techniques, and the as-obtained assembled materials and their properties. The interfacial self-assembly of GO, enabled by its fantastic features including the amphiphilicity, the negatively charged nature, abundant oxygen-containing groups and two-dimensional flexibility, is highlighted as an easy and well-controlled strategy for the design and preparation of functionalized carbon materials, and the use of self-assembly for uniform hybridization is addressed for preparing hybrid carbon materials with various functions. A number of new exciting and potential applications are also presented for the assembled GO-based materials. This contribution concludes with some personal perspectives on future challenges before interfacial self-assembly may become a major strategy for the application-targeted design and preparation of functionalized carbon materials.

Multiple interfaces in self-assembled breath figures

Progress in the breath figure method is reviewed by emphasizing the role of the multiple interfaces and the applications of honeycomb films in separation, biocatalysis, biosensing, templating, stimuli-responsive surfaces and adhesive surfaces.

Dimensional architecture of ferrocenyl-based oligomer honeycomb-patterned films: from monolayer to multilayer

We report a fabrication of highly ordered honeycomb-patterned films by the breath figure method from ferrocenyl-based oligomer with ferrocene units in the main chain and hydrophobic cholesteryl groups as side chains and investigate their dimensionality nature, i.e., the array of pores varying from monolayer to multilayer structure. A tentative model, including several key influencing parameters, is described to illustrate the varying layer numbers in the one film. The formation of the multilayer structure is ascribed to the Marangoni convection, thermocapillary effects, wet thickness, and evaporation speed.

Biological identification of peptides that specifically bind to poly(phenylene vinylene) surfaces: recognition of the branched or linear structure of the conjugated polymer

Peptides that bind to poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) were identified by the phage display method. Aromatic amino acids were enriched in these peptide sequences, suggesting that a π-π interaction is the key interaction between the peptides and PPV. The surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments using chemically synthesized peptides demonstrated that the Hyp01 peptide, with the sequence His-Thr-Asp-Trp-Arg-Leu-Gly-Thr-Trp-His-His-Ser, showed an affinity constant (7.7 × 10(5) M(-1)) for the target, hyperbranched PPV (hypPPV) film. This value is 15-fold greater than its affinity for linear PPV (linPPV). In contrast, the peptide screened for linPPV (Lin01) showed the reverse specificity for linPPV. These results suggested that the Hyp01 and Lin01 peptides selectively recognized the linear or branched structure of PPVs. The Ala-scanning experiment, circular dichroism (CD) spectrometry, and molecular modeling of the Hyp01 peptide indicated that adequate location of two Trp residues by forming the polyproline type II (P(II)) helical conformation allowed the peptide to specifically interact with hypPPV.

Quantum-dot-embedded ionomer-derived films with ordered honeycomb structures via breath figures

A new approach for fabricating a series of multi-functional honeycomb-patterned films was successfully achieved using ionomers via breath figures.

Nanophase separation in polystyrene-polyfluorene block copolymers thin films prepared through the breath figure procedure

The amphiphilic block copolymer formed by a hydrophobic body of polystyrene and a hydrophilic head of poly[9,9-di(2-(2-tetrahydropyranyl-oxy)hexyl)fluorene-alt-9,9-dioctylfluorene] was synthesized, and its solution was used to create thin films with ordered pattern of holes, by means of the breath figure technique. These porous films, after a thermal treatment, were found to show ordered aggregates of the pi-conjugated blocks in the place of the cavities. This is probably due to a preorganization of the two different blocks of the copolymer occurring during the breath figure formation, which is driven by the condensation of water microdroplets on the polymer solution, and to a following phase segregation occurring during the thermal annealing. This approach is a promising tool to be employed for the organization of organic materials at the micro and nanoscale.