Investigation on the folding mode of a single polymer chain in its crystal is significant to the understanding of the mechanism of the fundamental crystallization as well as the engineering of new polymer crystal-base...Investigation on the folding mode of a single polymer chain in its crystal is significant to the understanding of the mechanism of the fundamental crystallization as well as the engineering of new polymer crystal-based materials. Herein, we use the combined techniques of atomic force microscopy （AFM） imaging and force spectroscopy to pull a single polyethylene oxide （PEO） chain out of its spiral crystal in amyl acetate. From these data, the folding mode of polymer chains in the spiral crystal has been reconstructed. We find that the stems tilt in the typical flat area, leading to the decrease in the apparent lamellar height. While in the area of screw dislocation, the lamellar height gradually increases in the range of several nanometers. These results indicate that the combined techniques present a novel tool to directly unravel the chain folding mode of spiral crystals at single-molecule level.展开更多
In this work,the single-chain elasticity of polyformaldehyde(POM)is studied,for the first time,by employing atomic force microscopy(AFM)-based single molecule force spectroscopy(SMFS).We find that the single-chain ela...In this work,the single-chain elasticity of polyformaldehyde(POM)is studied,for the first time,by employing atomic force microscopy(AFM)-based single molecule force spectroscopy(SMFS).We find that the single-chain elasticity of POM in a nonpolar organic solvent(nonane)can be described well by a theoretical model(QM-FRC model),when the rotating unit length is 0.144 nm(C―O bond length).After comparison,POM is more flexible than polystyrene(a typical polymer with C―C backbone)at the single-chain level,which is reasonable since the C―O bond has a lower rotation barrier than C―C bond.This result indicates that the flexibility of a polymer chain can be tuned by the C―O bond proportion in backbone,which casts new light on the rational design of new synthetic polymers in the future.展开更多
A facile approach to assembled virus film with tunable structure is presented.Rod-like tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was selected as the prototype in this study for its anisotropic structural feature.TMV can either "...A facile approach to assembled virus film with tunable structure is presented.Rod-like tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was selected as the prototype in this study for its anisotropic structural feature.TMV can either "lie down" or "stand up" on gold substrate by tuning the solution pH.A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring was used to monitor the pH-dependent self-assembly behavior of TMV nanoparticles,and atomic force microscopy and single molecule force spectroscopy further confirmed the different assembly structures.展开更多
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.20974039,21221063 and 91127031)the National Basic Research Program(2013CB834503)the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in Universities(NCET-11-0205)
文摘Investigation on the folding mode of a single polymer chain in its crystal is significant to the understanding of the mechanism of the fundamental crystallization as well as the engineering of new polymer crystal-based materials. Herein, we use the combined techniques of atomic force microscopy （AFM） imaging and force spectroscopy to pull a single polyethylene oxide （PEO） chain out of its spiral crystal in amyl acetate. From these data, the folding mode of polymer chains in the spiral crystal has been reconstructed. We find that the stems tilt in the typical flat area, leading to the decrease in the apparent lamellar height. While in the area of screw dislocation, the lamellar height gradually increases in the range of several nanometers. These results indicate that the combined techniques present a novel tool to directly unravel the chain folding mode of spiral crystals at single-molecule level.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.21774102).
文摘In this work,the single-chain elasticity of polyformaldehyde(POM)is studied,for the first time,by employing atomic force microscopy(AFM)-based single molecule force spectroscopy(SMFS).We find that the single-chain elasticity of POM in a nonpolar organic solvent(nonane)can be described well by a theoretical model(QM-FRC model),when the rotating unit length is 0.144 nm(C―O bond length).After comparison,POM is more flexible than polystyrene(a typical polymer with C―C backbone)at the single-chain level,which is reasonable since the C―O bond has a lower rotation barrier than C―C bond.This result indicates that the flexibility of a polymer chain can be tuned by the C―O bond proportion in backbone,which casts new light on the rational design of new synthetic polymers in the future.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (20423003 & 20774097)Z.S. thanks the NSFC Fund for Creative Research Groups (50921062) for support+1 种基金the financial support from US NSF (DMR-0706431, CHE-0748690)US DoD, US DoE-BES, and the W. M. Keck Foundation
文摘A facile approach to assembled virus film with tunable structure is presented.Rod-like tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was selected as the prototype in this study for its anisotropic structural feature.TMV can either "lie down" or "stand up" on gold substrate by tuning the solution pH.A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring was used to monitor the pH-dependent self-assembly behavior of TMV nanoparticles,and atomic force microscopy and single molecule force spectroscopy further confirmed the different assembly structures.
