Journal of Polymer Science, Part B: Polymer Physics

Utilization of polymers as biomaterials has greatly impacted the advancement of modern medicine. Specifically, polymeric biomaterials that are biodegradable provide the significant advantage of being able to be broken down and removed after they have served their function. Applications are wide ranging with degradable polymers being used clinically as surgical sutures and implants. To fit functional demand, materials with desired physical, chemical, biological, biomechanical, and degradation properties must be selected. Fortunately, a wide range of natural and synthetic degradable polymers has been investigated for biomedical applications with novel materials constantly being developed to meet new challenges. This review summarizes the most recent advances in the field over the past 4 years, specifically highlighting new and interesting discoveries in tissue engineering and drug delivery applications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011

With the prospect of extremely fast manufacture of very low cost devices, organic electronics prepared by thin film processing techniques that are compatible with roll‐to‐roll (R2R) methods are presently receiving an increasing interest. Several technologies using organic thin films are at the point, where transfer from the laboratory to a more production‐oriented environment is within reach. In this review, we aim at giving an overview of some of the R2R‐compatible techniques that can be used in such a transfer, as well the current status of R2R application within some of the existing research fields such as organic photovoltaics, organic thin film transistors, light‐emitting diodes, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, and electrochromic devices. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012

The field of organic thin films and devices is progressing at an extremely rapid pace. Organic–metal and organic–organic interfaces play crucial roles in charge injection into, and transport through, these devices. Their electronic structure, chemical properties, and electrical behavior must be fully characterized and understood if the engineering and control of organic devices are to reach the levels obtained for inorganic semiconductor devices. This article provides an extensive, although admittedly nonexhaustive, review of experimental work done in our group on the electronic structure and electrical properties of interfaces between films of π‐conjugated molecular films and metals. It introduces several mechanisms currently believed to affect the formation of metal–organic interface barriers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2529–2548, 2003

The crystallization behavior after partial or complete melting of the α phase of iPP is examined by combined differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and optical microscopy: calorimetric results are directly correlated with corresponding morphologies of microtome sections of DSC samples. On partial melting at various temperatures (hereafter referred to as T_s) located in a narrow range (4°C) below and near T_m, the number of nuclei increases (as in classical self‐nucleation experiments), by several orders of magnitude; on subsequent cooling, the crystallization peak is shifted by up to 25°C. After partial melting in the lower part of the T_s range and recrystallization, the polymers display a prominent morphology “memory effect” whereby a phantom pattern of the initial spherulite morphology is maintained.

After partial melting in the upper part of the T_s range the initial morphology is erased and self‐nucleation affects only the total number of nuclei. The present experimental procedures make it possible to define, under “standard” conditions, the crystallization range of the polymer and in particular, the maximum crystallization temperature achievable when “ideally” nucleated. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The swelling of crosslinked poiy(N,N′‐alkyl substituted acrylamides) in water was studied in relation to temperature changes. Conventional swelling theory and separation of the polymer solvent interaction parameter into enthalpic and entropic contributions were used to characterize the temperature dependence of swelling in water. The thermosensitivity of swelling can be attributed to the delicate hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance of polymer chains and is affected by the size, configuration, and mobility of alkyl side groups. A sharp swelling transition may occur at an optimum hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance but was found only in the N‐isopropylacrylamide network among the networks tested. This swelling transition pattern was also reflected by the endothermic peak of the DSC thermogram of the swollen sample.

Thermochromism and solvatochromism of solutions of poly(3‐alkylthienylenes) are reported. The experimental results indicate the presence of two coexisting phases: polymer in solution and polymer in microcrystalline aggregates. From the concentration independence of the thermochromism, it is concluded that the transition is fundamentally driven by a single chain mechanism, and that the aggregation (microcrystallization) of the poly(3‐alkylthienylene) macromolecules can occur only after the single chain conformational change has occurred.

Permeability coefficients P for He, O₂, N₂, CO₂ CH₄, C₂H₄, C₂H₆, and C₃H₈ in 12 different silicone polymer membranes were determined at 35.0°C and pressures up to 9 atm. Values of P for CO₂, CH₄, and C₃H₈ were also determined at 10.0 and 55.0°C. In addition, mean diffusion coefficients D and solubility coefficients S were obtained for CO₂, CH₄, and C₃H₈ in 6 silicone polymers at 10.0, 35.0, and 55.0°C. Substitution of increasingly bulkier functional groups in the side and backbone chains of silicone polymers results in a significant decrease in P for a given penetrant gas. This is due mainly to a decrease in D, whereas S decreases to a much lesser extent. Backbone substitutions appear to have a somewhat lesser effect in depressing P than equivalent side‐chain substitutions. The selectivity of a silicone membrane for a gas A relative to a gas B, i.e., the permeability ratio P(A)/P(B), may increase or decrease as a result of such substitutions, but only if the substituted groups are sufficiently bulky. The selectivity of the more highly permeable silicone membranes is controlled by the ratio S(A)/S(B), whereas the selectivity of the less permeable membranes depends on both the ratios D(A)/D(B) and S(A)/S(B). The permeability as well as the selectivity of one silicone membrane toward CO₂ were significantly enhanced by the substitution of a fluorine‐containing side group that increased the solubility of CO₂ in that polymer.

This short review is meant to provide the reader with highlights in anion exchange membrane research, describe current needs in the field, and point out promising directions for future work. Anion exchange membranes (AEMs) provide one possible route to low platinum or platinum‐free fuel cells with the potential for facile oxidation of complex fuels beyond hydrogen and methanol. AEMs and related stable cationic polymers also have applications in energy storage and other electrochemical technologies such as water electrolyzers and redox flow batteries. While anion exchange membranes have been known for a long time in water treatment applications, materials for electrochemical technology with robust mechanical properties in thin film format have only recently become more widely available. High hydroxide and bicarbonate anion conductivity have been demonstrated in a range of AEM formats, but intrinsic stability of the polymers and demonstration of long device lifetime remain major roadblocks. Novel approaches to stable materials have focused on new types of cations that employ delocalization and steric shielding of the positive center to mitigate nucleophilic attack by hydroxide. A number of promising polymer backbones and membrane architectures have been identified, but limited device testing and a lack of understanding of the degradation mechanisms in operating devices is slowing progress on engineered systems with alkaline fuel cell technology. Our objective is to spur more research in this area to develop fuel cell systems that approach the costs of inexpensive batteries for large‐scale applications. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2013, 51, 1727–1735, 2013

This review focuses on the structural control in thin films of regioregular poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT), a workhorse among conjugated semiconducting polymers. It highlights the correlation existing between processing conditions and the resulting structures formed in thin films and in solution. Particular emphasis is put on the control of nucleation, crystallinity and orientation. P3HT can generate a large palette of morphologies in thin films including crystalline nanofibrils, spherulites, interconnected semicrystalline morphologies and nanostructured fibers, depending on the elaboration method and on the macromolecular parameters of the polymer. Effective means developed in the recent literature to control orientation of crystalline domains in thin films, especially by using epitaxial crystallization and controlled nucleation conditions are emphasized. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 49: 1218–1233, 2011

A simple, convenient and reliable calorimetric efficiency scale is proposed for the evaluation of nucleating additives for polymers. The scale is based on conventional differential scanning calorimetry cooling runs and makes use of a crystallization range determined in self‐nucleation experiments. It can be correlated with spherulite sizes, and indicates the potential range of improvement of nucleating additives. Typical nucleating agents for isotactic polypropylene are evaluated; at best they rate at 60 to ca. 70% on this efficiency scale. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.