Category

Characteristic dimension

(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCompositesCustomer publicationsMaterialNanoparticles & colloidsParticle interactionsParticle size and size distributionPolymer researchSAXSShapeSizeTechnique

Effects of Hairy Nanoparticles on Polymer Crystallization Kinetics

Jimenez, Andrew M.; Krauskopf, Alejandro A.; Pérez-Camargo, Ricardo A.; Zhao, Dan; Pribyl, Julia; Jestin, Jacques; Benicewicz, Brian C.; Müller, Alejandro J.; Kumar, Sanat K.

We previously showed that nanoparticles (NPs) could be ordered into structures by using the growth rate of polymer crystals as the control variable. In particular, for slow enough spherulitic growth fronts, the NPs grafted with amorphous polymer chains are selectively moved into the interlamellar, interfibrillar, and interspherulitic zones of a…
12 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialPolymer researchTechniqueWAXS

A facile approach to thermomechanically enhanced fatty acid-containing bioplastics using metal–ligand coordination

Lamm, Meghan E.; Song, Lingzhi; Wang, Zhongkai; Lamm, Benjamin; Fu, Lin; Tang, Chuanbing

Biomass-based polymers show promise for the mitigation of environmental issues associated with petroleum-derived commodity polymers; however, due to poor entanglement, many of these polymers typically lack mechanical strength and toughness. Herein, we report a facile approach to utilizing metal–ligand coordination to create physical crosslinking, and thus chain entanglements for plant…
12 March 2021
ApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsLipidsMaterialProteins & DNA/RNASAXSSizeStructural biologyTechnique

Ultrastructural modeling of small angle scattering from photosynthetic membranes

Jakubauskas, Dainius; Kowalewska, Lucja; Sokolova, Anna V.; Garvey, Christopher J.; Mortensen, Kell; Jensen, Poul Erik; Kirkensgaard, Jacob J. K.

The last decade has seen a range of studies using non-invasive neutron and X-ray techniques to probe the ultrastructure of a variety of photosynthetic membrane systems. A common denominator in this work is the lack of an explicitly formulated underlying structural model, ultimately leading to ambiguity in the data interpretation.…
12 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCompositesCustomer publicationsMaterialOrientation analysisPolymer researchSAXSTechnique

Nanofiller Dispersion, Morphology, Mechanical Behavior, and Electrical Properties of Nanostructured Styrene-Butadiene-Based Triblock Copolymer/CNT Composites

Staudinger, Ulrike; Satapathy, Bhabani K.; Jehnichen, Dieter

A nanostructured linear triblock copolymer based on styrene and butadiene with lamellar morphology is filled with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) of up to 1 wt% by melt compounding. This study deals with the dispersability of the MWCNTs within the nanostructured matrix and its consequent impact on block copolymer (BCP) morphology,…
12 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsLiquid crystalsMaterialPhase analysisPolymer researchSAXSTechnique

Tough Ordered Mesoporous Elastomeric Biomaterials Formed at Ambient Conditions

Rajasekharan, Anand K.; Gyllensten, Christoffer; Blomstrand, Edvin; Liebi, Marianne; Andersson, Martin

Synthetic dry elastomers are randomly cross-linked polymeric networks with isotropic and unordered higher-level structural features. However, their growing use as soft-tissue biomaterials has demanded the need for an ordered and anisotropic nano-micro (or) mesoarchitecture, which is crucial for imparting specific properties such as hierarchical toughening, anisotropic mechanics, sustained drug…
12 March 2021
ApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialPorous materialRenewable energySAXSTechnique

Bromomethylation of high-surface area carbons as a versatile synthon: adjusting the electrode–electrolyte interface in lithium–sulfur batteries

Fretz, Samuel J.; Lyons, Christopher T.; Levin, Ella; Chidsey, Christopher E. D.; Palmqvist, Anders E. C.; Stack, T. Daniel P.

A two-step procedure for the surface functionalization of carbon materials has been developed. In the first step, mesoporous carbon (CMK3), carbon black (XC-72R Vulcan), and activated carbon (AC) are bromomethylated efficiently under mild conditions using commercially available reagents, resulting in reproducible surface bromine loadings, the concentrations of which correlate to…
12 March 2021
(Hydro)gelsApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCosmetics & consumer careCustomer publicationsMaterialSAXSTechnique

The Influence of Structure and Morphology on Ion Permeation Behaviour in Commercial Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lenses

Saez-Martinez, Virginia; Mann, Aisling; Lydon, Fiona; Molock, Frank; Layton, Siân A.; Toolan, Daniel T. W.; Howse, Jonathan R.; Topham, Paul D.; Tighe, Brian J.

The importance of the microstructure on the permeability of silicone hydrogels is widely appreciated but is poorly understood and minimally investigated. In contrast with most conventional hydrogels, the water content and water structuring within silicone hydrogels cannot be solely used to predict their permeability. To ensure comfort and eye health,…
12 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsGIWAXSMaterialParticle interactionsRenewable energySurface structure and patternsTechniqueThin films

Highly Crystalline Near-Infrared Acceptor Enabling Simultaneous Efficiency and Photostability Boosting in High-Performance Ternary Organic Solar Cells

Yin, Hang; Zhang, Chujun; Hu, Hanlin; Karuthedath, Safakath; Gao, Yajun; Tang, Hua; Yan, Cenqi; Cui, Li; Fong, Patrick W. K.; Zhang, Zhuoqiong; Gao, Yaxin; Yang, Junliang; Xiao, Zuo; Ding, Liming; Laquai, Frédéric; So, Shu Kong; Li, Gang

The near-infrared (NIR) absorbing fused-ring electron acceptor, COi8DFIC, has demonstrated very good photovoltaic performance when combined with PTB7-Th as a donor in binary organic solar cells (OSCs). In this work, the NIR acceptor was added to state-of-the-art PBDBT-2F:IT4F-based solar cells as a third component, leading to (i) an efficiency increase…
12 March 2021
ApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsInorganic materialsMaterialMetalsSAXSTechnique

Ambient synthesis of nanomaterials by in situ heterogeneous metal/ligand reactions

S. Chang, Boyce; Thomas, Brijith; Chen, Jiahao; D. Tevis, Ian; Karanja, Paul; Çınar, Simge; Venkatesh, Amrit; J. Rossini, Aaron; M. Thuo, Martin

Coordination polymers are ideal synthons in creating high aspect ratio nanostructures, however, conventional synthetic methods are often restricted to batch-wise and costly processes. Herein, we demonstrate a non-traditional, frugal approach to synthesize 1D coordination polymers by in situ etching of zerovalent metal particle precursors. This procedure is denoted as the…
12 March 2021
(Natural) polymersApplicationCharacteristic dimensionCharacterizationCustomer publicationsMaterialPolymer researchSAXSSelf-assembled materialTechnique

CO2-Triggered and temperature-switchable crystallization-driven self-assembly of a semicrystalline block copolymer in aqueous medium

Zhu, Rui; Luo, Xinjie; Feng, Yujun; Billon, Laurent

The synthesis of a semicrystalline block copolymer comprising a hydrophilic poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) pure block and an amphiphilic poly(acrylic acid)-r-poly(octadecyl acrylate) (PAA-r-PODA) random block by nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP) is reported. The aggregation behavior of the copolymer in aqueous medium was studied by using a MicroCal VP differential scanning calorimeter (VP-DSC)…
12 March 2021