AQUEOUS STABLE FREE RADICAL POLYMERIZATION PROCESSES

An overview of aqueous polymerizations, which include emulsion, miniemulsion and suspension polymerizations, under stable free radical polymerization (SFRP) conditions is presented. The success of miniemulsion and suspension SFRP polymerizations is contrasted with the difficulties associated with obtaining a stable emulsion polymerization. A recently developed unique microprecipitation technique is referenced as a means of making submicron sized particles that can be used to achieve a stable emulsion SFRP process.

Hybrid Solar Cells from Aqueous Polymers and Colloidal Nanocrystals

Recently,photovoltaic devices based on aqueous materials are drawing more and more attentions following the green chemistry concept.This review aims to present a general overview of polymer-nanocrystal hybrid photovoltaic devices based on aqueous materials.First,all-organic polymer solar cells based on water-soluble polymers as the active layer are briefly introduced.After that,we focus on the recent development of hybrid solar cells from aqueous polymers and colloidal nanocrystals.Finally,the remaining part of this review is focused on the challenges and proposed solutions associated with the aqueous-solution-processed hybrid solar cells.

Vapor Pressure Osmometry and Its Applications in the Osmotic Coefficients Determination of the Aqueous Monomer Glycol and Polymer Polyethylene Glycol Solutions at Various Temperature

Based on the principle and calibration of vapor pressure os-mometer and itsapplication in the thermodynamics of the aqueous solutions, the results on aqueous solutions ofmonomer glycol, PEG_(200), PEG_(400), PEG_(1500) and PEG_(2000) over the different concentrationrange at various temperatures were reported. Using a linear least-square fitting routing, theosmotic coefficients were fitted by a simple polynomial equation. It was found that the relationshipbetween the molar osmotic coefficients (Φ) and the molar concentration (c) of the solutions are ina quite good agreement with the fitted polynomial equation at various temperatures over thedifferent concentration range. The experimental results also show that over the studiedconcentration range and at various temperatures, the concentration dependence of the molar osmoticcoefficients of the aqueous solution systems with the solutes of PEG_(200), PEG_(400), PEG_(1500)and PEG_(2000) are totally presented in a rising trend, and their temperature dependence of theosmotic coefficients of the aqueous solution systems of the molar concentration exhibits their ownregularities, respectively. The aqueous glycol solution system exhibits the properties of the dilutesolution.

An Ion-imprinted Silica Gel Polymer Prepared by Surface Imprinting Technique Combined with Aqueous Solution Polymerization for Selective Adsorption of Ni(Ⅱ) from Aqueous Solution

A novel Ni（Ⅱ） ion-imprinted silica gel polymer was prepared via the surface imprinting technique combined with aqueous solution polymerization by using 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid（AMPS） as a functional monomer for the selective separation of Ni（Ⅱ） from aqueous solution. The sorbent showed good chemical and thermal stability. Kinetics studies indicated that the equilibrium adsorption was achieved within 10 min and the adsorption kinetics fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacity of the ion-imprinted polymer towards Ni（Ⅱ） at the optimal p H of 7.0 was 66.22 mg·g^（-1）. The relative selectivity coefficients of the sorbent were 9.23, 15.71, 14.72 and 20.15 for Ni（Ⅱ）/Co（Ⅱ）, Ni（Ⅱ）/Cu（Ⅱ）, Ni（Ⅱ）/Zn（Ⅱ） and Ni（Ⅱ）/Pb（Ⅱ）, respectively. The adsorption isotherm fitted well with Langmuir isotherm model. The thermodynamic results indicated that the adsorption of Ni（Ⅱ） was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The sorbent showed good reusability evidenced by six cycles of adsorption/desorption experiments. The precision of this method is satisfactory. Thus, the prepared sorbent can be considered as a promising sorbent for selective separation of Ni（Ⅱ） in real water samples.

Aqueous RAFT Polymerization of Acrylamide： A Convenient Method for Polyacrylamide with Narrow Molecular Weight Distribution

Controlled and homogeneous flee-radical polymerization of acrylamide （AM） in aqueous phase was realized by using S,S＇-bis（α, α＇-dimethyl-α＂-acetic acid）-trithiocarbonate as a reversible addition-fragmentation transfer （RAFT） agent. Linear increases in molecular weight with conversion and narrow molecular weight distribution were observed for polyacrylamide （PAM） throughout the polymerization. By this method, PAMs with controlled molecular weight （up to 1.0 ~ 106） and narrow molecular weight distribution （Mw/Mn 〈 1.2） were prepared. This study provides an effective method for synthesis of PAMs with narrow molecular weight distribution under environmentally friendly conditions.

Chromatographic Characterization of Molecularly Imprinted Microspheres Synthesized by Aqueous Microsuspension Polymerization: Influences of pH, Kinds and Concentration of Buffer on Capacity Factors

Molecularly imprinted microspheres (MIMs) were prepared using 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) as template molecule by aqueous microsuspension polymerization. The MIMs were packed into stainless steel column (250×4.6 mm I.D.) for selective separation of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) and 2-aminopyridine (2-AP). The influences of pH, kinds and concentration (c) of buffer on capacity factors were investigated in detail. The relationships of capacity factor (k′) with pH and concentration of buffer are quantitatively described firstly. The effects of pH of phosphate and acetate buffer on capacity factors are very different. The relationship between k′ and pH can be described by the following equation: k′=-8.23 + 9.23 pH-0.99 pH 2 (in phosphate buffer) with R 2=0.9775 and k′=6.79-3.76 pH + 0.68 pH 2 (in acetate buffer) with R 2=0.9866. Furthermore, the capacity factors were also greatly affected by the concentration of acetate buffer in mobile phase while non-imprinted molecule is poorly changed. It increases with decreasing the concentration of buffer-especially in low concentration buffer (c acetate<0.02 mol/L, final concentration in mobile phase). The fit curve of log k′ to log c is described by equation: log k′=-0.571-1.256×log c-0.186×(log c) 2 with R 2=0.9979. The ratio of acetate buffer to methanol was investigated and the optimal ratio for separation of 4-AP and 2-AP is below 1∶7.5 (V/V).