Determination of interfacial adhesive properties for polymeric film by blister test

The interfacial adhesive properties ofpolypropylene/stainless steel were studied by the blister test. The polypropylene film with a squared free-standing window was pressured by oil from one side of film. The corresponding deformation field was observed by a digital speckle correlation method. The experimental results show that the squared film deforms and debonds from stainless steel with the increase of pressure. The debonding of the squared film in initiates from the center of edge and extends to the comer, and then the deformation of film evolves from square to circle shape. The interfacial adhesive energy of polypropylene/stainless steel is （22.60±1.55） J/m2, which is in agreement with that measured by film with a circular window.

Visible transparent,infrared stealthy polymeric films with nanocoating of ITO@MXene enable efficient passive radiative heating and solar/electric thermal conversion

Visible transparent yet low infrared-emissivity(ε)polymeric materials are highly anticipated in many applications,whereas the fabrication of which remains a formidable challenge.Herein,visible transparent,flexible,and low-εpolymeric films were fabricated by nanocoating decoration of indium tin oxide(ITO)and MXene on polyethylene terephthalate(PET)film surface through magnetron sputtering and spray coating,respectively.The obtained PET-ITO@MXene(PET-IM)film exhibits lowεof 24.7%and high visible transmittance exceeding 50%,endowing it with excellent visible transparent infrared stealthy by reducing human skin radiation temperature from 32 to 20.8°C,and remarkable zero-energy passive radiative heating capability(5.7°C).Meanwhile,the transparent low-εPET-IM film has high solar absorptivity and electrical conductivity,enabling superior solar/electric to thermal conversion performance.Notably,the three heating modes of passive radiative and active solar/electric can be integrated together to cope with complex heating scenarios.These visible transparent low-εpolymeric films are highly promising in infrared stealth,building daylighting and thermal management,and personal precision heating.

Significantly Improved High-Temperature Energy Storage Performance of BOPP Films by Coating Nanoscale Inorganic Layer

Biaxially oriented polypropylene(BOPP)is one of the most commonly used commercial capacitor films,but its upper operating temperature is below 105℃due to the sharply increased electrical conduction loss at high temperature.In this study,growing an inorganic nanoscale coating layer onto the BOPP film's surface is proposed to suppress electrical conduction loss at high temperature,as well as increase its upper operating temperature.Four kinds of inorganic coating layers that have different energy band structure and dielectric property are grown onto the both surface of BOPP films,respectively.The effect of inorganic coating layer on the high-temperature energy storage performance has been systematically investigated.The favorable coating layer materials and appropriate thickness enable the BOPP films to have a significant improvement in high-temperature energy storage performance.Specifically,when the aluminum nitride(AIN)acts as a coating layer,the AIN-BOPP-AIN sandwich-structured films possess a discharged energy density of 1.5 J cm^(-3)with an efficiency of 90%at 125℃,accompanying an outstandingly cyclic property.Both the discharged energy density and operation temperature are significantly enhanced,indicating that this efficient and facile method provides an important reference to improve the high-temperature energy storage performance of polymer-based dielectric films.

Fabrication of Neutral Supramolecular Polymeric Films via Post-electropolymerization of Discrete Metallacycles

Self-assembly post-modification has proven to be an efficient strategy to build higher-order supramolecular architectures and functional materials. In this study, we successfully realized the construction＇of a new family of neutral supramolecular polymeric films containing well-defined metallacycles as the main scaffolds through combination Of coordination-driven self-assembly with post-electropolymerization. The obtained neutral polymeric materials were fully characterized by the cyclic voltammogram （CV）, SEM, and TEM. The thickness of the films was able to be well regulated by the number of scanning cycles. Moreover, we found that the shape of the metallacycles and the number of triphenylamine moieties played important roles in the formation of the final polymer films. We believe that the introduction of the neutral metallacycles into the final polymer structures not only enriches the library of supramolecular polymeric films but also provides a new platform to study neutral molecule detection, separation, and capture.

Imprinted Polymeric Film-Based Sensor for the Detection of Dopamine Using Cyclic Voltammetry

The imprinted polymeric film was synthesized on the glass-carbon electrodes directly. The response to the template molecule-dopamine and other molecules with similar structure was measured by cyclic voltammetry. The response of dopamine on imprinted electrode was much higher than that of other molecules, because of the existing of micro-cavities in polymeric film fitting with the size and shape of dopamine in the imprinted polymer. Experimental results showed that dopamine can be enriched by the imprinted film, therefore increasing the sensitivity of the sensor. The imprinted film could also efface the interference of ascorbic acid, indicating that dopamine can be determined with a large excess of ascorbic acid.

Performance improvement in polymeric thin film transistors using chemically modified both silver bottom contacts and dielectric surfaces

An efficient interface modification is introduced to improve the performance of polymeric thin film transistors. This efficient interface modification is first achieved by 4-fluorothiophenol（4-FTP） self-assembled monolayers（SAM） to chemically treat the silver source–drain（S/D） contacts while the silicon oxide（SiO2） dielectric interface is further primed by either hexamethyldisilazane（HMDS） or octyltrichlorosilane（OTS-C8）. Results show that contact resistance is the dominant factor that limits the field effect mobility of the PTDPPTFT4 transistors. With proper surface modification applied to both the dielectric surface and the bottom contacts, the field effect mobilities of the bottom-gate bottom-contact PTDPPTFT4 transistors were significantly improved from 0.15 cm^2·V^-1·s^-1 to 0.91 cm^2·V^-1·s^-1.

Layered Foam/Film Polymer Nanocomposites with Highly Efficient EMI Shielding Properties and Ultralow Reflection

Lightweight,high-efficiency and low reflection electromagnetic interference(EMI)shielding polymer composites are greatly desired for addressing the challenge of ever-increasing electromagnetic pollution.Lightweight layered foam/film PVDF nanocomposites with efficient EMI shielding effectiveness and ultralow reflection power were fabricated by physical foaming.The unique layered foam/film structure was composed of PVDF/SiCnw/MXene(Ti_(3)C_(2)Tx)composite foam as absorption layer and highly conductive PVDF/MWCNT/GnPs composite film as a reflection layer.The foam layer with numerous heterogeneous interfaces developed between the SiC nanowires(SiCnw)and 2D MXene nanosheets imparted superior EM wave attenuation capability.Furthermore,the microcellular structure effectively tuned the impedance matching and prolonged the wave propagating path by internal scattering and multiple reflections.Meanwhile,the highly conductive PVDF/MWCNT/GnPs composite(~220 S m^(−1))exhibited superior reflectivity(R)of 0.95.The tailored structure in the layered foam/film PVDF nanocomposite exhibited an EMI SE of 32.6 dB and a low reflection bandwidth of 4 GHz(R<0.1)over the Kuband(12.4-18.0 GHz)at a thickness of 1.95 mm.A peak SER of 3.1×10^(-4) dB was obtained which corresponds to only 0.0022% reflection efficiency.In consequence,this study introduces a feasible approach to develop lightweight,high-efficiency EMI shielding materials with ultralow reflection for emerging applications.

Simulation of Morphologies and Mechanical Properties of A/B Polymer Blend Film

The effects of blend composition and micro-phase structure on the mechanical behavior of A/B polymer blend film are studied by coupling the Monte Carlo(MC) simulation of morphology with the lattice spring model(LSM) of micro mechanics of materials.The MC method with bond length fluctuation and cavity diffusion algorithm on cubic lattice is adopted to simulate the micro-phase structure of A/B polymer blend.The information of morphology and structure is then inputted to the LSM composed of a three-dimensional network of springs to obtain the mechanical properties of polymer blend film.Simulated results show that the mechanical response is mainly affected by the density and the composition of polymer blend film through the morphology transition.When a force is applied on the outer boundary of polymer blend film,the vicinity of the inner cavities experiences higher stresses and strains responsible for the onset of crack propagation and the premature failure of the entire system.

Investigation of working pressure on the surface roughness controlling technology of glow discharge polymer films based on the diagnosed plasma

The effects of working pressure on the component, surface morphology, surface roughness, and deposition rate of glow discharge polymer （GDP） films by a trans-2-butene/hydrogen gas mixture were investigated based on plasma characteristics diagnosis. The composition and ion energy distributions of a multi-carbon （CaHs/H2） plasma mixture at different working pressures were diagnosed by an energy-resolved mass spectrometer （MS） during the GDP film deposition process. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FT-IR）, field emission scanning electron microscope （SEM） and white-fight interferometer （WLI） results were obtained to investigate the structure, morphology and roughness characterization of the deposited films, respectively. It was found that the degree of ionization of the C4H8/H2 plasma reduces with an increase in the working pressure. At a low working pressure, the C-H fragments exhibited small-mass and high ion energy in plasma. In this case, the film had a low CH3/CH2 ratio, and displayed a smooth surface without any holes, cracks or asperities. While the working pressure increased to 15 Pa, the largest number of large-mass fragments led to the deposition rate reaching a maximum of 2.11 #m h-1, and to hole defects on the film surface. However, continuing to increase the working pressure, the film surface became smooth again, and the interface between clusters became inconspicuous without etching pits.

Influence of Solid-liquid Interaction and Temperature on the Dynamic Dewetting of a Thin Polymer Film:A Molecular Dynamics Study

Coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations were carried out to investigate the dewetting behavior of a polymer thin film on partial wetting solid surface at the early stage of the dewetting process. Spontaneous dewetting is initiated by removing a band of strip from both the ends of the liquid polymer film which has achieved equilibrium. The solid-liquid interaction and temperature were varied to show their influence on the dewetting dynamics during dewetting as well as the shape evolution of the liquid polymer film. As is consistent with the results obtained in previous researches, the liquid film recedes at a constant speed initially with different solid-liquid couplings and tempe- ratures. Furthermore, smaller coupling parameters or higher temperatures tend to accelerate the recession speed of the liquid film and shorten the constant-speed recession duration. Obvious rims were not always observed. Both coupling parameter and temperature can influence the emergence of the rims.

PREPARATION OF PHOTOFUNCTIONAL POLYMER THIN FILMS BY LANGMUIR-BLODGETT TECHNIQUE

Polymer LB films containing photofuntional groups were prepared by the copolymerization of N-dodecylacrylamide (DDA), which has an excellent property to form a stable monolayer and LB multilayerswith photofunctional monomers. Tris(2, 2'-bipyridine) ruthenium complex, Ru(bpy)_3^(2+), one of the most well-known redox-active sensitizer, was incorporated into the DDA copolymer. The photogalvanic effect based onthe photoinduced electron transfer using the ruthenium complex in the polymer LB monolayer was discussed.

Measurement Method of the Thickness Uniformity for Polymer Films

Several methods for investigating the thickness uniformity of polymer thin films are presented as well as their measurement principles. A comparison of these experimental methods is given.The cylindrical lightwave reflection method is found to can obtain the thickness distribution along a certain direction.It is a simple and suitable method to evaluate the film thickness uniformity.

Measurement and control for a repetitive nanosecond-pulse breakdown experiment in polymer films

In order to perform data acquisition and avoid unwanted over-current damage to the power supply, a convenient and real-time method of experimentally investigating repetitive nanosecond-pulse breakdown in polymer dielectric samples is presented. The measurement-acquisition and control system not only records breakdown voltage and current, and time-to-breakdown duration, but also provides a real-time power-off protection for the power supply. Furthermore, the number of applied pulses can be calculated by the product of the time-to-breakdown duration and repetition rate. When the measured time-to-breakdown duration error is taken into account, the repetition rate of applied nanosecond-pulses should be below 40kHz. In addition, some experimental data on repetitive nanosecond-pulse breakdown of polymer films are presented and discussed.

SIMULTANEOUS POLYMERIZATION AND FORMATION OF POLYPHENYLACETYLENE FILMS BY RARE-EARTH COORDINATION CATALYSIS Ⅳ.KINETICS AND MECHANISM OF POLYMERIZATION

The CO_2 quenching method has been used for the first time to determine the active complex concen- tration in Nd(naph)_3-Al(i-Bu)_3 catalyst system for polymerization of phenylacetylene into polyphenylacetylene(PPA)films.The kinetics and mechanism of this polymerization have been investigated by CO_2 quenching and IR,UV analytical methods.The kinetic equation can be expressed as Rp=k[M][Cp],and the apparent activation energy is about 13.6 kJ/mol.There is self-termination of chain propagating.Models for formation of the active complex and polymerization mechanism are proposed.

Synthesis and Investigation of Phenol Red Dye Doped Polymer Films

The optical properties of the pure polymer film and polymer films doped with Phenol Red dye at different concentrations were investigated. The films were prepared using the casting technique. Poly (methyl-methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer was doped with the Phenol Red dye dissolved in a mixture of chloroform and little quantity of methanol, used as suitable solvent for both the dye and the polymer. The spectral absorption measurements of these films were carried out at different dye concentrations using UV-Vis double-beam spectrophotometer in the wavelength range 300 - 800 nm. The optical parameters of the prepared Phenol Red dye doped polymer films, absorption coefficient (α), extinction coefficient (κ), refractive index (n), optical and electrical conductivities (σopt and σelect), and optical energy band gap (Eg), were determined. The results showed that the Phenol Red dye doped polymer film is a good candidate for photonic applications such as, solar cells, optical sensors, and other photonic devices.

PHOTOCHROMIC PROPERTIES OF (E)-DICYCLOPROPYLMETHYLENE-(2,5-DIMETHYL-3-FURYLETHYLIDENE)-SUCCINIC ANHYDRIDE DOPED IN POLYSTYRENE THIN FILMS

Fulgide 1-E doped in polystyrene polymer films was heated at various annealing temperatures.Upon irradiation with UV light(366 nm),fulgide 1-E undergoes a conrotatory ring closure to the pink colored closed form 1-C.The later color was switched back to the original color when the films were irradiated with white light.The kinetics of photocoloration and photobleaching processes were followed spectrophotometrically by monitoring the absorbance of the ring closed product 1-C at itsλ_(max) of 525 nm.The first-...

CHEMICALLY DEPOSITED SILVER FILM USED AS A SERS-ACTIVE OVER-COATING LAYER FOR POLYMER FILM

When colloidal silver particles were chemically deposited onto polymer film as an over-coating layer, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra could be collected for the surface analysis. SERS measurements of liquid crystal film were successfully performed without disturbing the surface morphology.

RUPTURING OF POLYMER FILMS WITH RUBBING-INDUCED SURFACE DEFECTS

It has been a long-standing question whether dewetting of polymer film from non-wettable substrate surfaceswherein the bicontinuous morphology never forms in the dewetting film is due to spinodal instability or heterogeneousnucleation. In this experiment, we use a simple method to make the distinction through introduction of topographical defectsof the films by rubbing the sample surface with a rayon cloth. Spinodal dewetting is identified for those films that dewet by acharateristic wavevector, q, independent of the density of rubbing-induced defects. Heterogeneous nucleation, on the otherhand, is identified for those with q increasing with increasing density of defects. Our result shows that PS films on oxidecoated silicon with thickness less than ≈ 13 nm are dominated by spinodal dewetting, but the thicker films are dominated bynucleation dewetting. We also confirm that spinodal dewetting does not necessarily lead to a bicontinuous morphology in thedewetting film, contrary to the classic theory of Cahn.

Temperature Controlled Lateral Pattern Formation in Confined Polymer Thin Films

The thermal induced topography change in a model system consisting of a polymer film on a Si substrate capped by a thin metal layer has been studied by using AFM. Regular lateral patterns over large areas were observed on the surface when the system was heated to a sufficiently high temperature. 2D-FFT analysis to the AFM images indicates that the patterns are isotropic and have well defined periodicities. The periodicities of the characteristic patterns are found to depend strongly on the annealing temperature. The study of the kinetics of the formation reveals that such a topography forms almost instantaneously once the critical temperature is reached. It is suggested that this wave-like surface morphology is driven by the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch of the different layers. This method for generating regular wave-like patterns could be used as a general method for patterning various organic materials into micro/nanostructures.

A USEFUL AND PRECISE EXPRESSION FOR ORIENTATION FACTOR OF POLED POLYMER FILMS

Based on ID ROGM, d_(33) of poled films can be estimated from orientation factor <cos^3θ>. In this letter, a direct expression