We have prepared polyion complex (PIC) hydrogel consisting of poly(3-(methacryloylami no)propyl-trimethylamonium chloride) and poly(sodium p-styrenesulfonate) polyelectrolytes via a two-step polymerization pro...We have prepared polyion complex (PIC) hydrogel consisting of poly(3-(methacryloylami no)propyl-trimethylamonium chloride) and poly(sodium p-styrenesulfonate) polyelectrolytes via a two-step polymerization procedure and have investigated specific ion effects on the self- healing of the PIC hydrogel. Our study demonstrates that the mechanical properties of the PIC hydrogel are strongly dependent on the type of the ions doped in the hydrogel. The ion-specific effects can be used to modulate the self-healing efficiency of the PIC hydrogel. As the doped anions change from kosmotrops to chaotropes, the self-healing efficiency of the PIC hydrogel increases. A more chaotropic anion has a stronger ability to break the ionic bonds formed within the hydrogel, leading to a higher efficiency during the healing.展开更多
The binary decision diagrams (BDDs) can give canonical representation to Boolean functions; they have wide applications in the design and verification of digital systems. A new method based on cultural algorithms fo...The binary decision diagrams (BDDs) can give canonical representation to Boolean functions; they have wide applications in the design and verification of digital systems. A new method based on cultural algorithms for minimizing the size of BDDs is presented in this paper. First of all, the coding of an individual representing a BDDs is given, and the fitness of an individual is defined. The population is built by a set of the individuals. Second, the implementations based on cultural algorithms for the minimization of BDDs, i.e., the designs of belief space and population space, and the designs of acceptance function and influence function, are given in detail. Third, the fault detection approaches using BDDs for digital circuits are studied. A new method for the detection of crosstalk faults by using BDDs is presented. Experimental results on a number of digital circuits show that the BDDs with small number of nodes can be obtained by the method proposed in this paper, and all test vectors of a fault in digital circuits can also be produced.展开更多
It had very long been a dream in polymer science to synthesize long multi-block polymer chains with an orderedchain sequence and controllable block lengths. Using ionic or living free radical polymerization or furnish...It had very long been a dream in polymer science to synthesize long multi-block polymer chains with an orderedchain sequence and controllable block lengths. Using ionic or living free radical polymerization or furnishing each end ofpolymer blocks with a reactive functional group, one can only prepare heteropolymer chains with few long blocks, such asdiblock and triblock copolymers. The most plausible result so far was a pentablock copolymer. Recently, using a combinationof polymer physics and synthetic chemistry, we have invented self-assembly assisted polycondensation (SAAP). Thiscommunication reports the results of using this novel. method to connect 10-100 triblock polymer chains together to formlong multi-block heteropolymer chains with an ordered sequence and controllable block lengths.展开更多
Two narrowly-distributed poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAM) samples were prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) with a novel dansyl functionalized initiator. The other end of the PNIPAM was function...Two narrowly-distributed poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAM) samples were prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) with a novel dansyl functionalized initiator. The other end of the PNIPAM was functionalized by dabcyl group via click reaction. From the static fluorescence measurements, the fluorescence intensity of dansyl group and energy transfer efficiency between dansyl and dabcyl groups increased when the temperature increased from 36 °C to 45 °C, indicating that the microenvironment surrounding dansyl became hydrophobic and the distance between dansyl and dabcyl decreased. The kinetics of the conformational change of the dye-labeled PNIPAM was studied by a home-made laser-induced temperature jump device with fluorescent measurement. Our results revealed that the characteristic transition time was 3.8 and 5.8 ms for PNIPAM with degrees of polymerization of 85 and 142, respectively, indicating that the characteristic transition time was related to the chain length. Besides, characteristic transition time for the change of the energy transfer efficiency was 2.9 ms for PNIPAM with the degree of polymerization of 85, suggesting that the energy transfer efficiency change was faster than the fluorescence intensity change of dansyl group.展开更多
The effect of salt concentration on layer-by-layer deposition of poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) (PSSS)/poly(vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride) (PVTC) was investigated by use of quartz crystal microbalan...The effect of salt concentration on layer-by-layer deposition of poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) (PSSS)/poly(vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride) (PVTC) was investigated by use of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). The changes in frequency and dissipation demonstrate that the addition of NaC1 leads the thickness of PSSS/PVTC multilayer to increase. The deposition of PSSS/PVTC is dominated by surface charge overcompensation level at lower salt concentrations. However, it is mainly determined by the interpenetration of polyelectrolytes at a higher salt concentration, as reflected in the oscillation of dissipation change.展开更多
Triggered by environmental concerns and the rising demands for metal-free polymers in e.g. bio-related and microelectronic applications, studies on organocatalytic polymerization have been launched and developed unpre...Triggered by environmental concerns and the rising demands for metal-free polymers in e.g. bio-related and microelectronic applications, studies on organocatalytic polymerization have been launched and developed unprecedentedly during the last 15 years. A wide range of organic molecules are now available in polymer chemists' toolbox to choose from as catalysts for polymerization of (hetero)cyclic and polar vinyl monomers. Apart from the intrinsic merits such as lower toxicity and better solubility compared with (transition) metal catalysts/initiators, organocatalysts have also shown, in many cases, excellence to achieve high polymerization rates and/or good control (selectivity). In addition, particular natures and catalytic/activating mechanisms of organocatalysts have led to new opportunities for rational design and efficient synthesis of macromolecular architectures, i.e. chain structures, topological structures and functionalities. This mini-review is specially themed on pathways to construct copolymer chain structures by organocatalytic copolymerization of mixed type monomers (comonomers bearing different polymerizing moieties) and will be sectioned by different comonomer combinations, including cyclic monoesters of different sizes, cyclic monoesters and lactides, cyclic esters and cyclic carbonates or epoxides, heterocycles and vinyl monomers.展开更多
Highly potent ionic organocatalyst is developed for room-temperature controlled ring-opening polymerization(ROP)of lactones,includingδ-valerolactone,ε-caprolactone,andδ-hexalactone.The catalysts are prepared by sim...Highly potent ionic organocatalyst is developed for room-temperature controlled ring-opening polymerization(ROP)of lactones,includingδ-valerolactone,ε-caprolactone,andδ-hexalactone.The catalysts are prepared by simply mixing tetra-n-butyl ammonium hydroxide and a(thio)urea at elevated temperature under vacuum,and used in cooperation with an alcoholic initiator.The performance of the catalyst is readily adjusted and optimized through variation of the(thio)urea precursor,catalyst composition,and reaction condition.Urea-derived catalysts are generally superior to thiourea-derived ones.Provided with proper N-substituents,the catalyst affords both high polymerization efficiency and high selectivity for monomer enchainment over macromolecular transesterification,even at high monomer conversion and/or substantially extended reaction time.In addition to acidity,structural symmetry of the urea also proves decisive for the catalytic activity,which enables a catalyst-assisted proton transfer process for the ring-opening of lactone and thus provides a novel mechanistic insight for ROP catalyzed by hydrogen-bonding type bifunctional ionic organocatalysts.展开更多
Simultaneous realization of superior mechanical and antifouling properties is critical for a coating. The use of stereoscopic polysiloxanes in place of linear polysiloxanes to fabricate antifouling coatings can combin...Simultaneous realization of superior mechanical and antifouling properties is critical for a coating. The use of stereoscopic polysiloxanes in place of linear polysiloxanes to fabricate antifouling coatings can combine properties of organic and inorganic materials, i.e., they can exhibit both high hardness and wear resistance from inorganic components as well as the flexibility and tunability from organic components. This strategy is used to prepare hard yet flexible antifouling coatings or polymer-ceramic hybrid antifouling coatings. In this mini-review, we report the recent advances in this field. Particularly, the effects of stereoscopic polysiloxane structures on their mechanical and antifouling properties are discussed in detail.展开更多
The hybrid CMOS molecular (CMOL) circuit, which combines complementary metal-oxide- semiconductor (CMOS) components with nanoscale wires and switches, can exhibit significantly improved performance. In CMOL circui...The hybrid CMOS molecular (CMOL) circuit, which combines complementary metal-oxide- semiconductor (CMOS) components with nanoscale wires and switches, can exhibit significantly improved performance. In CMOL circuits, the nanodevices, which are called cells, should be placed appropriately and are connected by nanowires. The cells should be connected such that they follow the shortest path. This paper presents an efficient method of cell allocation in CMOL circuits with the hybrid CMOS/nanodevice structure; the method is based on a cultural algorithm with chaotic behavior. The optimal model of cell allocation is derived, and the coding of an individual represent- ing a cell allocation is described. Then the cultural algorithm with chaotic behavior is designed to solve the optimal model. The cultural algorithm consists of a population space, a belief space, and a protocol that describes how knowledge is exchanged between the population and belief spaces. In this paper, the evolutionary processes of the population space employ a genetic algorithm in which three populations undergo parallel evolution. The evolutionary processes of the belief space use a chaotic ant colony algorithm. Extensive experiments on cell allocation in benchmark circuits showed that a low area usage can be obtained using the proposed method, and the computation time can be reduced greatly compared to that of a conventional genetic algorithm.展开更多
文摘We have prepared polyion complex (PIC) hydrogel consisting of poly(3-(methacryloylami no)propyl-trimethylamonium chloride) and poly(sodium p-styrenesulfonate) polyelectrolytes via a two-step polymerization procedure and have investigated specific ion effects on the self- healing of the PIC hydrogel. Our study demonstrates that the mechanical properties of the PIC hydrogel are strongly dependent on the type of the ions doped in the hydrogel. The ion-specific effects can be used to modulate the self-healing efficiency of the PIC hydrogel. As the doped anions change from kosmotrops to chaotropes, the self-healing efficiency of the PIC hydrogel increases. A more chaotropic anion has a stronger ability to break the ionic bonds formed within the hydrogel, leading to a higher efficiency during the healing.
基金supported by Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Provincial of China (No.7005833)
文摘The binary decision diagrams (BDDs) can give canonical representation to Boolean functions; they have wide applications in the design and verification of digital systems. A new method based on cultural algorithms for minimizing the size of BDDs is presented in this paper. First of all, the coding of an individual representing a BDDs is given, and the fitness of an individual is defined. The population is built by a set of the individuals. Second, the implementations based on cultural algorithms for the minimization of BDDs, i.e., the designs of belief space and population space, and the designs of acceptance function and influence function, are given in detail. Third, the fault detection approaches using BDDs for digital circuits are studied. A new method for the detection of crosstalk faults by using BDDs is presented. Experimental results on a number of digital circuits show that the BDDs with small number of nodes can be obtained by the method proposed in this paper, and all test vectors of a fault in digital circuits can also be produced.
基金Financial support of the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region Earmarked Grant (CUHK4267/00P, CUHK 4209/99P, 2160122) and NNSFC 29974027 is gratefully acknowledged.
文摘It had very long been a dream in polymer science to synthesize long multi-block polymer chains with an orderedchain sequence and controllable block lengths. Using ionic or living free radical polymerization or furnishing each end ofpolymer blocks with a reactive functional group, one can only prepare heteropolymer chains with few long blocks, such asdiblock and triblock copolymers. The most plausible result so far was a pentablock copolymer. Recently, using a combinationof polymer physics and synthetic chemistry, we have invented self-assembly assisted polycondensation (SAAP). Thiscommunication reports the results of using this novel. method to connect 10-100 triblock polymer chains together to formlong multi-block heteropolymer chains with an ordered sequence and controllable block lengths.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21674107 and No.21274140)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(No.WK2340000066)
文摘Two narrowly-distributed poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAM) samples were prepared via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) with a novel dansyl functionalized initiator. The other end of the PNIPAM was functionalized by dabcyl group via click reaction. From the static fluorescence measurements, the fluorescence intensity of dansyl group and energy transfer efficiency between dansyl and dabcyl groups increased when the temperature increased from 36 °C to 45 °C, indicating that the microenvironment surrounding dansyl became hydrophobic and the distance between dansyl and dabcyl decreased. The kinetics of the conformational change of the dye-labeled PNIPAM was studied by a home-made laser-induced temperature jump device with fluorescent measurement. Our results revealed that the characteristic transition time was 3.8 and 5.8 ms for PNIPAM with degrees of polymerization of 85 and 142, respectively, indicating that the characteristic transition time was related to the chain length. Besides, characteristic transition time for the change of the energy transfer efficiency was 2.9 ms for PNIPAM with the degree of polymerization of 85, suggesting that the energy transfer efficiency change was faster than the fluorescence intensity change of dansyl group.
基金This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.20474060).
文摘The effect of salt concentration on layer-by-layer deposition of poly(sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) (PSSS)/poly(vinylbenzyl trimethylammonium chloride) (PVTC) was investigated by use of quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D). The changes in frequency and dissipation demonstrate that the addition of NaC1 leads the thickness of PSSS/PVTC multilayer to increase. The deposition of PSSS/PVTC is dominated by surface charge overcompensation level at lower salt concentrations. However, it is mainly determined by the interpenetration of polyelectrolytes at a higher salt concentration, as reflected in the oscillation of dissipation change.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.21504024 and 21674038)Fundamental Research Funds for Central Universities
文摘Triggered by environmental concerns and the rising demands for metal-free polymers in e.g. bio-related and microelectronic applications, studies on organocatalytic polymerization have been launched and developed unprecedentedly during the last 15 years. A wide range of organic molecules are now available in polymer chemists' toolbox to choose from as catalysts for polymerization of (hetero)cyclic and polar vinyl monomers. Apart from the intrinsic merits such as lower toxicity and better solubility compared with (transition) metal catalysts/initiators, organocatalysts have also shown, in many cases, excellence to achieve high polymerization rates and/or good control (selectivity). In addition, particular natures and catalytic/activating mechanisms of organocatalysts have led to new opportunities for rational design and efficient synthesis of macromolecular architectures, i.e. chain structures, topological structures and functionalities. This mini-review is specially themed on pathways to construct copolymer chain structures by organocatalytic copolymerization of mixed type monomers (comonomers bearing different polymerizing moieties) and will be sectioned by different comonomer combinations, including cyclic monoesters of different sizes, cyclic monoesters and lactides, cyclic esters and cyclic carbonates or epoxides, heterocycles and vinyl monomers.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 21734004 and 21674038)
文摘Highly potent ionic organocatalyst is developed for room-temperature controlled ring-opening polymerization(ROP)of lactones,includingδ-valerolactone,ε-caprolactone,andδ-hexalactone.The catalysts are prepared by simply mixing tetra-n-butyl ammonium hydroxide and a(thio)urea at elevated temperature under vacuum,and used in cooperation with an alcoholic initiator.The performance of the catalyst is readily adjusted and optimized through variation of the(thio)urea precursor,catalyst composition,and reaction condition.Urea-derived catalysts are generally superior to thiourea-derived ones.Provided with proper N-substituents,the catalyst affords both high polymerization efficiency and high selectivity for monomer enchainment over macromolecular transesterification,even at high monomer conversion and/or substantially extended reaction time.In addition to acidity,structural symmetry of the urea also proves decisive for the catalytic activity,which enables a catalyst-assisted proton transfer process for the ring-opening of lactone and thus provides a novel mechanistic insight for ROP catalyzed by hydrogen-bonding type bifunctional ionic organocatalysts.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.52273073,U2241286 and 52003082)National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2022YFB3806403)Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.
文摘Simultaneous realization of superior mechanical and antifouling properties is critical for a coating. The use of stereoscopic polysiloxanes in place of linear polysiloxanes to fabricate antifouling coatings can combine properties of organic and inorganic materials, i.e., they can exhibit both high hardness and wear resistance from inorganic components as well as the flexibility and tunability from organic components. This strategy is used to prepare hard yet flexible antifouling coatings or polymer-ceramic hybrid antifouling coatings. In this mini-review, we report the recent advances in this field. Particularly, the effects of stereoscopic polysiloxane structures on their mechanical and antifouling properties are discussed in detail.
文摘The hybrid CMOS molecular (CMOL) circuit, which combines complementary metal-oxide- semiconductor (CMOS) components with nanoscale wires and switches, can exhibit significantly improved performance. In CMOL circuits, the nanodevices, which are called cells, should be placed appropriately and are connected by nanowires. The cells should be connected such that they follow the shortest path. This paper presents an efficient method of cell allocation in CMOL circuits with the hybrid CMOS/nanodevice structure; the method is based on a cultural algorithm with chaotic behavior. The optimal model of cell allocation is derived, and the coding of an individual represent- ing a cell allocation is described. Then the cultural algorithm with chaotic behavior is designed to solve the optimal model. The cultural algorithm consists of a population space, a belief space, and a protocol that describes how knowledge is exchanged between the population and belief spaces. In this paper, the evolutionary processes of the population space employ a genetic algorithm in which three populations undergo parallel evolution. The evolutionary processes of the belief space use a chaotic ant colony algorithm. Extensive experiments on cell allocation in benchmark circuits showed that a low area usage can be obtained using the proposed method, and the computation time can be reduced greatly compared to that of a conventional genetic algorithm.