Thermal conductivity of natural rubber nanocomposites with hybrid fillers

Natural rubber nanocomposites filled with hybrid fillers of multi-walled carbon nanotubes(CNTs) and carbon black(CB) were prepared. CNTs were ultrasonically modified in mixture of hydrogen peroxide(H2O2) and distilled water(H2O). The functional groups on the surface of CNTs, changes in nanotube structure and morphology were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR), Raman Spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). It shows that hydroxyl(OH·) is successfully introduced. The surface defects of modified CNTs were obviously higher than those of original CNTs, and the degree of agglomeration was greatly reduced. Thermal conductivity of the composites was tested by protection heat flow meter method. Compared with unmodified CNTs/CB filling system, the thermal conductivity of hybrid composites is improved by an average of 5.8% with 1.5 phr(phr is parts per hundred rubber) of hydroxyl CNTs and 40 phr of CB filled. A three-dimensional heat conduction network composed of hydroxyl CNTs and CB, as observed by TEM, contributes to the good properties. Thermal conductivity of the hybrid composites increases as temperature rises. The mechanical properties of hybrid composites are also good with hydroxyl CNTs filled nanocomposites;the tensile strength, 100% and 300% tensile stress are improved by 10.1%, 22.4% and 26.2% respectively.

Molten salt assisted fabrication of Fe@Fe_(SA)-N-C oxygen electrocatalyst for high performance Zn-air battery

Non-noble-metal-based electrocatalysts with superior oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)activity to platinum(Pt)are highly desirable but their fabrications are challenging and thus impeding their applications in metal-air batteries and fuel cells.Here,we report a facile molten salt assisted two-step pyrolysis strategy to construct carbon nanosheets matrix with uniformly dispersed Fe_(3) N/Fe nanoparticles and abundant nitrogen-coordinated Fe single atom moieties(Fe@Fe_(SA)-N-C).Thermal exfoliation and etching effect of molten salt contribute to the formation of carbon nanosheets with high porosity,large surface area and abundant uniformly immobilized active sites.Aberration-corrected high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy(HAADF-STEM)image,X-ray absorption fine spectroscopy,and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy indicate the generation of Fe(mainly Fe_(3) N/Fe)and Fe_(SA)-N-C moieties,which account for the catalytic activity for ORR.Further study on modulating the crystal structure and composition of Fe_(3) N/Fe nanoparticles reveals that proper chemical environment of Fe in Fe_(3) N/Fe notably optimizes the ORR activity.Consequently,the presence of abundant Fe_(SA)-N-C moieties,and potential synergies of Fe_(3) N/Fe nanoparticles and carbon shells,markedly promote the reaction kinetics.The as-developed Fe@Fe_(SA)-N-C-900 electrocatalyst displays superior ORR performance with a half-wave potential(E_(1/2))of 0.83 V versus reversible hydrogen electrode(RHE)and a diffusion limited current density of 5.6 mA cm^(-2).In addition,a rechargeable Zn-air battery device assembled by the Fe@Fe_(SA)-N-C-900 possesses remarkably stable performance with a small voltage gap without obvious voltage loss after500 h of operation.The facile synthesis strategy for the high-performance composites represents another viable avenue to stable and low-cost electrocatalysts for ORR catalysis.

Ultrafine Fe/Fe3C decorated on Fe-N_(x)-C as bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for efficient Zn-air batteries

Efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for ORR and OER are fundamental to the development of high performance metal-air batteries.Herein,a facile cost-efficient two-step pyrolysis strategy for the fabrication of a bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst has been proposed.The efficient non-preciousmetal-based electrocatalyst,Fe/Fe_(3)C@Fe-N_(x)-C consists of highly curved onion-like carbon shells that encapsulate Fe/Fe_(3)C nanoparticles,distributed on an extensively porous graphitic carbon aerogel.The obtained Fe/Fe_(3)C@Fe-N_(x)-C aerogel exhibited superb electrochemical activity,excellent durability,and high methanol tolerance.The experimental results indicated that the assembly of onion-like carbon shells with encapsulated Fe/Fe_(3)C yielded highly curved carbon surfaces with abundant Fe-Nxactive sites,a porous structure,and enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards ORR and OER,hence displaying promising potential for application as an air cathode in rechargeable Zn-air batteries.The constructed Zn-air battery possessed an exceptional peak power density of~147 mW cm^(-2),outstanding cycling stability(200 cycles,1 h per cycle),and a small voltage gap of 0.87 V.This study offers valuable insights regarding the construction of low-cost and highly active bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts for efficient air batteries.

The Assembly of C60 in Semicrystalline PLLA Matrix

It has increasingly become a research focus to build higher structure composed of C60. However, there has been very few reports on the influence of polymer addition on the self-assembling behavior of fullerene in organic solvents. In this research, big needle-like C60 assemblings have been obtained in the form of PLLA/C60 composites. The largest C60 needles can be observed by naked eyes. The amount of C60 in the composite influences the length of C60 needles to some extent. DSC results indicate C60 accelerates the crystallization and lift the relative crystallinity of PLLA matrix. the results also imply the addition of semicrystalline PLLA influence the assembling behavior of C60. i.e., the crystallization of PLLA accelerated by C60 also act a driving force for the enriching and the linear assembling of C60 in PLLA matrix via Van der Waals force.

Impact of Annealing on the Melt Recrystallization of a-PDLA/α-PLLA Double-layered Films

Poly(lactic acid)(PLA) as a bio-based polymer with biodegradability and biocompatibility has attracted much attention. To manipulate its properties for different applications, regulation of crystal structure and crystalline morphology becomes an attractive research topic. In this work, the structure evolution of layered samples containing an amorphous poly(D-lactide)(PDLA) layer and a crystalline poly(L-lactide)(PLLA)layer with highly oriented edge-on α lamellar crystals after annealing at 150 ℃ or/and after melt-recrystallization has been studied by AFM, FTIR,and TEM combined with electron diffraction. The results demonstrate that melt recrystallization of the as-prepared sample leads to the formation of abundant randomly oriented PLA stereo-complex(PLA SC) crystals. Annealing at 150 ℃ results in the formation of a small amount of oriented PLA SC crystals at the interface. These PLA SC crystals show great impact on the recrystallization behavior of sample after melting at 190 ℃ and then crystallizing at 90 ℃. First, they impede the mutual diffusion of the overlying PDLA and underlying PLLA, and thus reduce their stereocomplexation ability as manifested by the decreased amount of PLA SC crystals. Second, they act as substrate to initiate the epitaxial crystallization of the overlying PDLA and underlying PLLA, which ensures the production of a highly oriented structure of PDLA and PLLA after melt recrystallization again.

Highly efficient and stable 2D/3D perovskite solar cells based on surface reconstruction and energy level alignment

Realizing simultaneous adjustment of energy levels and work functions in two-dimensional/three-dimensional(2D/3D)perovskite solar cells(PSCs)is a challenge.Here,a pseudohalide 3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzylammonium tetrafluoroborate(TFPMABF_(4))was used to react with unreacted Pb I2on the surface of 3D bulky perovskite to form a mixed halide of 2D perovskite denoted(TF-PMA)_(2)FA_(2)Pb_(3)I_(8)(BF_(4))_(2).This novel 2D/3D perovskite enables the simultaneous adjustment of energy levels and work functions on the surface of active layers.Due to the significantly enhanced quality of 2D/3D perovskite film,decreased surface defects and increased charge carrier lifetime,the 2D/3D PSCs exhibit an outstanding power conversion efficiency(PCE)of 25.15%and a high V_(OC)of 1.194 V.Importantly,2D/3D PSCs exhibit remarkable enhancements in environmental stability,unencapsulated devices retaining more than 90%of their initial PCE at 50%humidity for 2,280 h.

Influence of Freezing Layer on the Crystallization Kinetics of PCL on Oriented PE Film

The effect of freezing layer on the crystallization kinetics of poly(ε-caprolactone)(PCL)thin and ultrathin films was investigated by monitor the growth process of it on oriented polyethylene(PE)and CaF_(2)with and without freezing layer,respectively.It was found that the PCL films with similar thicknesses crystallize much faster on oriented PE than on CaF_(2)substrate.For example,the crystallization rate constant of a 102 nm thick PCL film decreases tremendously by 3 orders of magnitude from 1.1×10^(-1) on PE substrate at 50℃to 7×10^(-4)on CaF_(2)surface at 40℃.Moreover,the crystallization of PCL accelerates on CaF_(2)surface while slows down at PE surface with increasing film thickness.The ultrathin films of PCL with thickness less than 14 nm exhibits the fastest crystallization rate on oriented PE with a rate constant of about 3.5×10^(-1),which is 3 times higher than that of a ca.50 nm thick film.This illustrates the great influence of freezing layer on the crystallization process of PCL.The freezing layer thickness of PCL on PE is estimated to be in the range of 14-17 nm.Taking the radius of gyration(R_(g)~15.6 nm)of the used PCL material into account,the obtained results may imply the existence of a correlation between the R_(g)of PCL and its freezing layer thickness at PE substrate.

Realizing External Quantum Efficiency over 25% with Low Efficiency Roll-Off in Polymer-Based Light-Emitting Diodes Synergistically Utilizing Intramolecular Sensitization and Bipolar Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Monomer

Since polymer-based light-emitting diodes(PLEDs)arewellsuited building blocks for large-area and low-cost flexible display equipment,state-of-the-art thermally activated delayed fluorescence(TADF)PLEDs are in high demand.To respond to this demand,light-emitting TADF units have initially been modified with electron-transporting units to balance the carrier transport of regiorandom TADF polymers,and simultaneously,an intramolecular sensitizing strategy has also been employed by covalently incorporating TADF sensitizers with light-emitting TADF units and hosts in conjugated polymers to accelerate the spin-flip of triplet excitons.Superior photophysical properties have been achieved by a rational regulation of the proportions of each component,achieving a photoluminescence quantumyield of 90%,an extremely high rate of reverse intersystem crossing of 3×106 s−1,and a relatively low nonradiative decay rate of around 105 s−1.As a result,the solutionprocessed PLEDs can attain an external quantum efficiency(EQE)value of 25.4%with emission peaks of around 550 nm,representing record-high performance for PLEDs.The efficiency roll-off can also be significantly suppressed,maintaining an EQE value of 24.2%at 1000 cd/m2 with ideal efficiency roll-off of lower than 5%.Encouragingly,this work provides a valid strategy to tackle the imperative need for PLEDs with high EQE and low efficiency roll-off.

Constructing an efficient deep-blue TADF emitter by host-guest interactions towards solution-processed OLEDs with narrowband emission

High-efficiency thermally activated delayed fluorescence(TADF) emitters and corresponding well-designed solution-processed organic light emitting diodes(OLEDs) are presently attractive due to their potential for exploiting large-area flexible displays. In this context, we innovatively integrate 2,12-di-tert-butyl-5,9-dioxa-13b-boronaphtho [3,2,1] anthracene as the acceptor with 3,6-bis(3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazol-N-yl) carbazole as the donor to construct a rigid deep-blue emitter, TB-3t BuCz, which exhibits a narrow emission with full-width-at-half-maximum(FWHM) of 46 nm. TB-3t BuCz itself dispalys no TADF characteristics both in solution or in pure film states. However, the significant TADF behavior can be observed when TB-3t BuCz is doped with 2,6-DCzPPy host due to the formation of exciplex-like species in 2,6-DCzPPy/TB-3t BuCz system. It is also found that the discernible spin-flip of triplet excitons is feasible when the S1/T1states of the formed exciplex stay slightly lower than S1 and T1states of TB-3t BuCz for the other host/TB-3t BuCz systems. Eventually, thanks to the synergetic effect of rigid structure and favorable photophysical properties of TB-3t BuCz, the solution-processed OLEDs based on 2,6-DCzPPy/TB-3t BuCz as emitting layer has achieved the significantly improved external quantum efficiency(EQE) of 14.6% with suppressed efficiency roll-off.The CIE1931 coordinate of(0.158, 0.052) is typically in deep-blue region. Note that, this EQE value is among the highest echelon of solution-processed OLEDs with deep-blue emission by utilizing boron-containing TADF emitters.

Polyisoprene Bearing Dual Functionalized Mini-blocky Chain-ends Prepared from Neodymium-mediated Coordinative Chain Transfer Polymerizations

Through neodymium-mediated coordinative chain transfer copolymerizaiton(CCTcoP),polyisoprenes bearing dual hydroxylated mini-blocky chain-ends were prepared via a three-step strategy.Kinetic studies revealed that,the polymerization demonstrated typical features of CCTcoP across the whole polymerization process,i.e.,quasi-living polymerization characteristic,tunable molecular weights,narrow molecular weight distributions,and atom economies.Comparing to previously reported CCTP homopolymerization systems,the presence of oxygen-containing IpOAl polar comonomer slowed down chain transfer rates obviously,rendering slightly higher molecular weights of the resultant PIps and smaller Np(number of polymer chains per Nd atom)values.Moreover,to mimic the structure of natural rubber,the hydroxyl end groups can be facilely modified into phosphonate,amide,and UPy,whose structures were further confirmed by NMR spectra.Incorporation these functionalities could greatly improve the hydrophilic properties of the polymers,as revealed from the significantly reduced static water contact angles.

Ni(acac)_(2)Mediated Vinyl Polymerization of Norbornene in the Presence of Bulky Salicylaldiminate Ligands:An Effective Strategy to Access Soluble Polynorbornenes

Late transition metals have long served as workhorses for vinyl polymerization of norbornene derivatives.Nevertheless,for such catalytic systems,insoluble polynorbornene(PNB)products are often produced which hampers their further detailed characterizations,such as molecular weights,polydispersities,stereoregularities,etc.In this work,we surprisingly found that for a traditional Ni(acac)_(2)/MAO system that was previously reported to give insoluble PNBs,incorporation of highly bulk salicylaldiminate ligands could significantly improve the solubility of the PNBs in common organic solvents,which allowed for subsequent thorough detailed analysis of the polymer products.Moreover,it was also observed that high-temperature polymerization was beneficial for further improving the PNB’s solubilities due to the decreased molecular weights and stereoregularities.Different ligand skeletons and ligand equivalents were also investigated to give a comprehensive view of their influences on the polymers’solubilities,and based on these results,a plausible mechanism that caused such a big difference was tentatively proposed.

Visualization of Macrophase Separation and Transformation in Immiscible Polymer Blends

Identification and visualization of phase structures inside polymer blends are of critical importance in the understanding of their intrinsic structure and dynamics.However,the direct optical observation of the individual component phase in a dense bulk material poses a significant challenge.Herein,three-dimensional fluorescence imaging of phase separation and realtime visualization of phase transformation in immiscible polymer blends of polypropylene and polystyrene is realized through multiphoton laser scanning microscopy.Owing to the specific fluorescence behavior of the cyanostyrene derivative 2-(4-bromophenyl)-3-(4-(4-(diphenylamino)styryl)phenyl)fumaronitrile,the high-contrast imaging of the macrophase of the component polymer in two and three dimensions with a maximum depth of 140μm and a high signal-to-noise ratio of 300 can be achieved.Detailed spectroscopic and structural studies reveal that the distinctive fluorescence features of each phase domain should originate from the formation of a completely different aggregate between probes and component polymer.Furthermore,visualizations of the internal morphology deformation and macrophase transformation were realized by employing a stretched dumbbell sample under constant tension.

Synthesis and Characterization of Trans-1,4-butadiene/Isoprene Copolymers: Determination of Sequence Distribution and Thermal Properties

Abstract Two series of trans-1,4-poly（butadiene-co-isoprene） copolymers （TBIR） were prepared using the catalyst system TiCl4/MgCl2-Al（i-Bu）3 at different reaction temperatures. All dyad and triads sequence distributions, the number-average sequence length and the sequence concentration of the copolymers were calculated according to 13C-NMR spectra. The influences of temperature and initial molar ratio of butadiene to isoprene （Bd to Ip） on the distribution of the chain segments in the TBIR copolymers were discussed. The correlation of copolymer compositions and thermal properties were also evaluated, which facilitated the understanding of controlling the degree of crystallinity and the transition tempera^re by changing Bd content and temperature.

PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF SPHERICAL PP/PB ALLOYS WITH MgCl_2-SUPPORTED ZIEGLER-NATTA CATALYST

Polypropylene （PP）/polybutene-1 （PB） alloys within reactor were prepared by MgCl2-supported Ziegler-Natta catalyst with sequential two-stage polymerization technology. First, propylene homo-polymerizations were carried out to form isotactic polypropylene （iPP） particles containing active catalyst. Then, butene-1 was subsequently polymerized to form polybutene-1 phase inside the iPP particles. Finally, iPP/PB alloys with spherical shape and adjustable PB content were synthesized. The catalytic activity and catalytic stereospecificity of the Z-N catalyst in the two-stage polymerization process are discussed. The composition and physical properties of the PP alloys were characterized by FT-IR, 13C-NMR, SEM, DSC and XRD. It was found that the in-reactor PP alloys are mainly composed of PP and PB with a little amount of poly（butene- co-propylene） random copolymers and poly（butene-block-propylene） block copolymers. SEM measurements verified that the PB phases with size in the range of 300-400 nm dispersed in the PP matrix uniformly. The incorporation of PB upon the PP matrix affects the properties of final products greatly.

Self-healing Behavior of Ethylene Propylene Diene Rubbers Based on Ionic Association

To meet the increasing demand for safe, environmentally friendly and high-performance smart materials, self-healing rubbers are highly desired. Here, the self-healing performance of ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber (EPDM) is reported, which was designed by graft-polymerization of zinc dimethacrylate (ZDMA) onto rubber chains to form a reversible ionic cross-linked network. Single ionic cross-linked network and dual network, combining covalent and ionic cross-links, could be tuned by controlling vulcanization process to achieve tailorable mechanical and self-healing properties. It was found that ionic cross-linked EPDM showed a recovery of more than 95% of the original mechanical strength through a healing process of 1 h at 100 °C. The covalent cross-links could improve mechanical properties but block self-healing. Adding 50 wt% liquid rubber to “dry” EPDM could effectively enhance self-healing capability of the dual cross-linked network and the healed tensile strength could reach 0.9 MPa. A compromise between mechanical performance and healing capability could be potentially tailored by controlling vulcanization process and liquid rubber content.

Synthesis and Characterization of trans-1,4-Butadiene/Isoprene Copolymers: Determination of Monomer Reactivity Ratios and Temperature Dependence

A series of trans-1,4-butadiene/isoprene copolymers were prepared using the catalyst system TiCl4/MgCl2-Al（i- Bu）3 with bulk precipitation technology at different temperatures. Monomers reactivity ratios were calculated based on the Kelen-Tiid6s （K-T） method and the Mao-Huglin （M-H） method. The influence of temperature on copolymer composition and polymerization rate was discussed in detail. The increase of reaction temperature brought the decrease of butadiene reactivity ratio rBd and supplied an effective adjustment on copolymers＇ composition distribution.

Study on Phase Transformation Behavior of Strain-induced PLLA Mesophase by Polarized Infrared Spectroscopy

The structural transformation of mesophase to crystalline phase of strain-induced poly(L-lactic acid) has been investigated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and in situ temperature dependent polarized Fourier transform infrared(FTIR) spectroscopy. It is found that, as the drawing temperature increases, melting of strain-induced mesophase in the heating process can remarkably interfere the crystallization behavior subsequently. Coupling with in situ polarized FTIR, from 60 °C to 76 °C, the mesophase melts partially rather than completely melting, and changes immediately to three-dimensional ordered structure. Of particular note, through monitoring the subtle spectral change in the critical phase transformation temperature from 60 °C to 64 °C, it is clearly demonstrated that relaxation of oriented amorphous chains initially takes place prior to the melting of mesophase.

Influence of Catalyst Residues on Thermo-oxidative Aging and Thermal Stability of Poly(butene-1)

Isotactic poly（butene-1） （iPB） with spherical morphology was synthesized successfully with bulk precipitation polymerization without post-treatment of the products. The bulk precipitation polymerization process made it possible for iPB to be used as general plastic due to the acceptable decreased cost compared with the solution polymerization process. The influence of catalyst residues on the aging and thermal stability of iPB synthesized by bulk precipitation polymerization method was investigated by gel permeation chromatography, mechanical performance testing, thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopic analysis. Commercial iPB and the lab-made iPB with varied catalyst residue contents were studied. The results demonstrated that the catalyst residues played an important role in the aging process of the iPB. A possible mechanism of aging promotion by catalyst residues was proposed.

SYNTHESIS OF EXFOLIATED ISOTACTIC POLYPROPYLENE/FUNCTIONAL ALKYL-TRIPHENYLPHOSPHONIUM-MODIFIED CLAY NANOCOMPOSITES BY IN SITU POLYMERIZATION

Diphenyl （4-hydroxyphenyl） hexadecyl phosphonium bromide （POH） -modified montmorillonite （POHMMT） was used to prepare a novel TiC14/MgC12/POHMMT compound catalyst and exfoliated iPP/POHMMT nanocomposites were prepared by the in situ intercalative polymerization of propylene with the TiC14/MgC12/POHMMT compound catalyst. The POH surfactants don＇t change the catalytic characteristic of the Z-N catalyst and the obtained PP presents high isotacticity, normal molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. The WAXD, SAXS and TEM results demonstrate the highly exfoliated iPP/POHMMT nanocomposites were produced by the in situ polymerization with this novel catalyst, while the intercalated iPP/Na＋MMT nanocomposites were produced with the TiC14/MgC12/Na＋MMT compound catalyst. Through this approach, in situ propylene polymerization can actually take place between the silicate layers and lead not only to PP with high isotacticity and molecular weight, but also to highly exfoliated PP nanocomposites.

Highly Efficient and Thermal Robust Cobalt Complexes for 1,3-Butadiene Polymerization

A family of highly bulky bis(salicylaldiminate)Co(Ⅱ)complexes bearing cavity-like conformations are disclosed herein.Due to their unique bulky nature around the cobalt atoms that are reflected from space-filling models and the buried volume percentages,obviously longer bond distances of Co―N and Co―O are revealed from those complexes.Moreover,because of these well-protected active species,the cobalt complexes are able to catalyze 1,3-butadiene polymerization in high yields at extreme low catalyst concentrations,revealing a ultra high catalytic efficiency.At a ratio of 50000,all the complexes can afford polybutadiene with yields higher than 90%.Furthermore,the highly steric bulkiness of the ligand can also significantly enhance the thermostability of the active species.At temperature of 80-120°C,the complexes are able to successfully maintain high activities,giving polymer yields up to 90%.