Solution-Crystallization and Related Phenomena in 9,9-Dialkyl-Fluorene Polymers. I. Crystalline Polymer-Solvent Compound Formation for Poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene)

Polymer-solvent compound formation, occurring via co-crystallization of polymer chains and selected small-molecular species, is demonstrated for the conjugated polymer poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) and a range of organic solvents. The resulting crystallization and gelation processes in PFO solutions are studied by differential scanning calorimetry, with X-ray diffraction providing additional information on the resulting microstructure. It is shown that PFO-solvent compounds comprise an ultra-regular molecular-level arrangement of the semiconducting polymer host and small-molecular solvent guest. Crystals form following adoption of the planar-zigzag β-phase chain conformation, which, due to its geometry, creates periodic cavities that accommodate the ordered inclusion of solvent molecules of matching volume. The findings are formalized in terms of nonequilibrium temperature–composition phase diagrams. The potential applications of these compounds and the new functionalities that they might enable are also discussed. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015, 53, 1481–1491

Solution-crystallization and related phenomena in 9,9-dialkyl-fluorene polymers. II. Influence of side-chain structure

Solution-crystallization is studied for two polyfluorene polymers possessing different side-chain structures. Thermal analysis and temperature-dependent optical spectroscopy are used to clarify the nature of the crystallization process, while X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy reveal important differences in the resulting microstructures. It is shown that the planar-zigzag chain conformation termed the β-phase, which is observed for certain linear-side-chain polyfluorenes, is necessary for the formation of so-called polymer-solvent compounds for these polymers. Introduction of alternating fluorene repeat units with branched side-chains prevents formation of the β-phase conformation and results in non-solvated, i.e. melt-crystallization-type, polymer crystals. Unlike non-solvated polymer crystals, for which the chain conformation is stabilized by its incorporation into a crystalline lattice, the β-phase conformation is stabilized by complexation with solvent molecules and, therefore, its formation does not require specific inter-chain interactions. The presented results clarify the fundamental differences between the β-phase and other conformational/crystalline forms of polyfluorenes. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015, 53, 1492-1506.

A Replica Exchange Molecular Dynamics Simulation of a Single Polyethylene Chain: Temperature Dependence of Structural Properties and Chain Conformational Study at the Equilibrium Melting Temperature

The conformational properties of a finite length polyethylene chain were explored over a wide range of temperatures using a replica exchange molecular dynamics simulation providing high quality simulation data representative for the equilibrium behavior of the chain molecule. The radial distribution function (RDF) and the structure factor S(q) of the chain as a function of temperature are analyzed in detail. The different characteristic peaks in the RDF and S(q) were assigned to specific distances in the chain and structural changes occurring with the temperature. In S(q), a peak characteristic for the order in the solid state was found and used to determine the equilibrium melting temperature. A detailed scaling analysis of the structure factor covering the full q range was performed according to the work of Hammouda. In the Θ region, a quantitative analysis of the full structure factor was done using the equivalent Kuhn chain, which enabled us to assign the Θ region of our chain and to demonstrate, in our particular case, the failure of the Gaussian chain approach. The chain conformational properties at the equilibrium melting temperature are discussed using conformational distribution functions, using the largest principal component of the radius of gyration and shape parameters as order parameters. We demonstrate that for the system studied here, the Landau free energy expression based on this conformational distribution information leads to erroneous conclusions concerning the thermodynamic transition behavior. Finally, we focus on the instantaneous conformational properties at the equilibrium melting temperature and give a detailed analysis of the conformational shapes using different shape parameters and a simulation snapshot. We show that the chain does not only take the lamellar rod-like and globular conformational shapes, typical of the solid and liquid states, but can also explore many other conformational states, including the toroidal conformational state. It is the first demonstration that a flexible molecule like PE can also take a toroidal conformational state, which is normally linked to stiffer chains.