Rheological characterization of liquid-to-solid transitions in bulk polyelectrolyte complexes.

Polyelectrolyte complexation has long been known to result in both liquid and solid complexes. However, the exact nature of the liquid-to-solid transition remains an open question. We have used rheology to explain this phenomenon for the model system of poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid, sodium salt) (PSS) and poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride) (PDADMAC) in the presence of potassium bromide (KBr). The use of a time-salt superposition allows for a detailed analysis of changes in the linear viscoelastic response for both liquid complex coacervates and solid polyelectrolyte complexes as a function of salt concentration, and facilitates unambiguous determination of the mechanism for this phase transition. Decreasing salt concentration, and the commensurate decrease in the water content of PSS/PDADMAC/KBr complexes is shown to lead to the formation of a physical gel due to the development of a network with trapped electrostatic crosslinks that percolates the sample at a critical salt concentration.

Exfoliation of two-dimensional zeolites in liquid polybutadienes.

Layered zeolite precursors were successfully exfoliated by brief shearing or sonication with the assistance of commercially available telechelic liquid polybutadienes at room temperature. The exfoliated zeolite nanosheets can form a stable suspension in an organic solvent, providing exciting potential for the fabrication of zeolite membranes, composite materials and hierarchical zeolites.

Linear viscoelasticity of complex coacervates.

Rheology is a powerful method for material characterization that can provide detailed information about the self-assembly, structure, and intermolecular interactions present in a material. Here, we review the use of linear viscoelastic measurements for the rheological characterization of complex coacervate-based materials. Complex coacervation is an electrostatically and entropically-driven associative liquid-liquid phase separation phenomenon that can result in the formation of bulk liquid phases, or the self-assembly of hierarchical, microphase separated materials. We discuss the need to link thermodynamic studies of coacervation phase behavior with characterization of material dynamics, and provide parallel examples of how parameters such as charge stoichiometry, ionic strength, and polymer chain length impact self-assembly and material dynamics. We conclude by highlighting key areas of need in the field, and specifically call for the development of a mechanistic understanding of how molecular-level interactions in complex coacervate-based materials affect both self-assembly and material dynamics.

Fast Production of High-Quality Graphene via Sequential Liquid Exfoliation.

A novel and practical approach of exfoliating graphite into graphene uses a sequence of flow and sonication on graphite suspensions. Graphite sediment after intense mixing is found to be altered, graphite having curled-up edges, which increases its sensitivity to ultrasound. Quadrupled graphene yield is achieved through introducing flow pretreatment.

Controlled integration of oligo- and polythiophenes at the molecular scale.

High molecular weight PBTTT-C12 is blended with the pure trimer, BTTT-3, to enhance intergrain connectivity and charge transport. Analysis of the morphology and crystallinity of the blends shows that the polymer and oligomer are well-integrated, leading to high hole mobilities, greater than 0.1 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1), in films that contain as much as 83% oligomer.

Time and frequency dependent rheology of reactive silica gels.

In a mixture of sodium silicate and low concentrated sulfuric acid, nano-sized silica particles grow and may aggregate to a system spanning gel network. We studied the influence of the finite solubility of silica at high pH on the mechanical properties of the gel with classical and piezo-rheometers. Direct preparation of the gel sample in the rheometer cell avoided any pre-shear of the gel structure during the filling of the rheometer. The storage modulus of the gel grew logarithmically with time with two distinct growth laws. The system passes the gel point very quickly but still shows relaxation at low frequency, typically below 6 rad/s. We attribute this as a sign of structural rearrangements due to the finite solubility of silica at high pH. The reaction equilibrium between bond formation and dissolution maintains a relatively large bond dissolution rate, which leads to a finite life time of the bonds and behavior similar to physical gels. This interpretation is also compatible with the logarithmic time dependence of the storage modulus. The frequency dependence was more pronounced for lower water concentrations, higher temperatures and shorter reaction times. With two relaxation models (the modified Cole-Cole model and the empirical Baumgaertel-Schausberger-Winter model) we deduced characteristic times from the experimental data. Both models approximately described the data and resulted in similar relaxation times.

Synthesis, electronic structure, molecular packing/morphology evolution, and carrier mobilities of pure oligo-/poly(alkylthiophenes).

Monodispersed conjugated oligothiophenes are receiving attention in fundamental and applied science due to their interesting optical, optoelectronic, and charge transport properties. These "low molecular weight" polymers serve as model structures for the corresponding polymer analogues, which are inherently polydispersed. Here we report the synthesis, electronic structure, molecular packing/morphology, and charge transport properties of monodispersed oligothiophenes with up to six didodecylquaterthiophene (DDQT) building block repeat units (i.e., 24 thiophene units). At the point where the effective conjugation length is reached, the electronic structure showed convergence behavior to the corresponding polymer, poly(3,3"-didodecyl-quaterthiophene) (PQT-12). X-ray crystal structure analysis of the dimer (DDQT-2) showed that terminal thiophenes exhibit syn-conformations, similar to the terminal syn-conformations observed in the trimer (DDQT-3). The dimer also exhibits a rare bending of the terminal alkyl side chains in order to prevent steric hindrance with neighboring hydrogens attached to core thiophenes. Grazing incidence X-ray scattering measurements revealed a morphology evolution from small molecule-like packing to polymer-like packing in thin films, with a morphology transition occurring near the effective conjugation length. Charge transport measurements showed a mobility increase with decreasing chain length. We correlated the molecular packing and morphology to charge transport and determined that carrier mobilities are most sensitive to crystallinity and crystal grain misorientation. This indicates that molecular weight is not a decisive factor for improved carrier mobility in the low molecular weight region, but rather the degree in crystallinity and in-plane crystal orientation. These results represent a fundamental advancement in understanding the relationship between conjugation length and carrier mobilities in oligothiophene semiconductors.

Ultraslow dynamics in asymmetric block copolymers with nanospherical domains.

Low shear rate and low frequency measurements focused on the extremely slow dynamics of a three-dimensional body-centered cubic (BCC) structure of an asymmetric block copolymer under nanophase-separated conditions. The material studied was poly(styrene-b-ethylene-co-butylene-b-styrene) swollen in a hydrocarbon oil selective for the midblock. Transient viscosities during start-up of shear flow at extremely low shear rates are governed by very long relaxation times and by a modulus that is nearly the same as the plateau modulus obtained from oscillatory shear experiments. Only at extremely low shear rates a zero shear viscosity could be attained. Its very high value is close to the viscosity calculated from stress relaxation experiments. The steady shear viscosity decreases by several orders of magnitude when increasing the shear rate. SAXS experiments on samples sheared even at very low rates indicated loss of the BCC order that was present in the annealed samples before shearing. The SAXS profile recorded on such a sample showed a first-order maximum followed by a broad shoulder indicating a liquid-like short-range order of PS nanospheres in the swollen EB matrix.