Alkyl Side Research Articles

Effect of ether chain and isomerism on surface and antimicrobial activity of mono- and dicationic imidazolium-based surface-active ionic liquids

A series of 16 imidazolium-based surface-active ionic liquids (SAILs) were synthesized. The designed SAILs, consisted of either one amphiphilic center, 3-alkoxymethyl-1-benzylimidazolium or 3-alkoxymethyl-1-benzyl-2-methylimidazolium, and two amphiphilic centers, 3,3′-[α,ω-(dioxaalkane)]bis(1-benzylimidazolium) or 3,3′-[α,ω-(dioxaalkane)]bis(1-benzyl-2-methylimidazolium). These compounds were investigated in terms of thermal analysis, ability to self-organize to micelles, and antimicrobial activity. The insertion of an ether moiety in the alkyl side or spacer chain favored adsorption at the air–water interface and micellization in the bulk solution when compared to commercial chloride surfactants. The results showed that attachment of a methyl group to the imidazolium ring led to lower the critical micelle concentration (CMC) than lengthening the alkyl chain or spacer in the imidazolium cation. Additionally, biological activity increased with increasing hydrophobicity of the compounds. The methylation of the imidazole ring at positions 2 and 2′ yielded in a notable increase in bacteriostatic activity, especially against Gram-positive bacteria, notably the Staphylococcus aureus strains. It has been demonstrated that minor structural modifications, specifically substituting the imidazole ring instead of elongating the alkyl chain or spacer, can modify the micellization and aggregation behavior, leading to differences in both the efficacy and variety of antimicrobial activity of amphiphilic SAILs.

Thermal properties and shape-stabilization of poly(propylene-graft-maleic anhydride)-g-alkyl alcohol comb-like polymeric phase change thermal energy storage materials

In this study, a series of polypropylene-g-maleic anhydride-g-CnH2n+1OH (PMCn, n = 18, 22, 26) comb-like polymeric phase change materials (CPCMs) are fabricated through the solvent-free esterification reaction between polypropylene-g-maleic anhydride(PP-g-MAH)and n-alkyl alcohol with side-chain lengths varying from n = 18, 22 to 26. The pendant side alkyl groups along PP-g-MAH exhibit obvious side-chain crystallization behavior, and phase transition temperature and heat enthalpy of PMCn increase from 60.0 to 82.2 °C and from 53.6 to 118.4 J/g with increasing the side-chain length, respectively. PMCn series CPCMs demonstrate excellent shape stabilization and thermal performance owing to the protection and anchoring role of the PP backbone, and the form-stabilized temperature at 135 °C and 300-time thermal cycles further verify their excellent structural stability and reliability. PMC18 shows a longer thermal buffering time of 362 s and the maximum ΔT at 11.3 °C, and the coated fabric by PMC18 gives a 110 s thermal buffering time during the heat storage process, proving its outstanding thermoregulated ability. The presented PMCn series CPCMs with excellent structural-stabilized performance demonstrate a prospective thermal management application.

Dielectric Elastomer Network with Large Side Groups Achieves Large Electroactive Deformation for Soft Robotic Grippers

AbstractDielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) face an acknowledged challenge: On the one hand, the majority of elastomers only achieve small electroactive deformation (<20%) in the absence of prestretch; on the other hand, rare elastomers capable of showing large electroactive deformation require relatively complicated processing and chemistry. This work addresses this challenge by fabricating an elastomer with a network of large side groups, which achieves a very large electroactive deformation (218%) without pre‐stretch. This elastomer can be rapidly and massively fabricated within a few min, by polymerizing a commercial monomer with a large alkyl side group. The large side groups in the polymer network repel each other and extend the load‐bearing strands, which results in a pronounced strain‐hardening behavior. This behavior helps the elastomer to get rid of electromechanical instability during actuation and hence to exhibit a large electro‐active deformation, a high energy density (>> human muscle), and a large output force (≈500 times self‐weight). the elastomer capable of manufacturing a soft electroactive gripper is demonstrated with large deformation, large force, and rapid response, which enables grasping fragile objects of various complex shapes in an agile away.

Side group dependent room temperature crystallization-induced phosphorescence of benzil based all organic phosphors.

In this work, we report alkoxy substituted benzil based all organic room temperature phosphors which showed crystallization induced phosphorescence (CIP). Nine title compounds were prepared with various alkyl lengths (OCnH2n+1: n = 8-16) and the effect of alkyl side group length on the phosphorescence performance was investigated, as compared to p-anisil. It was found that both phosphorescence quantum yield and lifetime increased concomitantly as the alkyl length increased up to nonyloxy (BZL-OC9). Further increase in the carbon number caused the phosphorescence performance to deteriorate due to greater conformational freedom of the side groups. An incredible quantum yield of 70% was achieved for BZL-OC9. A promising finding is that the increased quantum yield was accompanied by the increase in the lifetime relative to p-anisil, which has been historically challenging. Single crystallography coupled with UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed that a higher level of intermolecular π-π interactions was observed from p-anisil while more alkyl interactions with less intermolecular π-orbital overlap were found for BZL-OC8. As a result, molecular rigidification with less phosphorescence quenching was achieved for BZL-OC8 leading to enhanced performance. A precipitation study on a dichloromethane solution as a function of the content of MeOH (poor solvent) proved that the emission of the BZL-OCn system is truly aggregation-induced. The current work demonstrates that strategic side group engineering could be a promising approach to developing high-performance all organic phosphors as well as improving the properties of existing phosphors.

Insight into pyrolysis mechanism of plastic waste with C-O/C-N bonds in the backbone

Pyrolysis is an important method for efficiently recovering plastic monomers, fuels and chemicals from plastic waste. The depolymerization of the backbone structure of plastic waste is a key step of the pyrolysis process. Currently, researches on the pyrolysis mechanism of plastics with C-O/C-N bonds in the backbone are still not sufficiently in-depth and also lack systematic and comprehensive investigation. Therefore, this study for the first time comprehensively investigated both macroscopic and microscopic pyrolysis processes of plastics with C-O/C-N bonds in the backbone, and evaluated the difficulty of breaking different backbone linkages via bond dissociation energy (BDE) obtained by density functional theory (DFT) calculations to deeply reveal the pyrolysis mechanism. The results indicated that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) had a higher initial pyrolysis temperature and its thermal stability was slightly stronger than nylon 6. The backbone of PET was mainly decomposed via the cleavage of Cα-O on the alkyl side, while the degradation of nylon 6 backbone began with NH2 groups at the end of the backbone. The pyrolysis products of PET were mainly derived from the small molecular fragments, which were generated by the degradation of the backbone through the cleavage of CO bonds or CC bonds, while the pyrolysis products of nylon 6 were always dominated by caprolactam. In addition, based on the results of DFT calculations, it could be inferred that the cleavage of CC bond in PET backbone and the cleavage of its adjacent Cα-O were most likely to occur, which followed a competitive reaction mechanism. However, in pyrolysis of nylon 6, the conversion to caprolactam was mainly via the concerted reaction of amide CN bonds. Compared with the concerted cleavage of amide CN bond, the cleavage of CC bond in the backbone of nylon 6 was not predominant.

Structure-Property Relationship Analysis of D-Penicillamine-Derived β-Polythioesters with Varied Alkyl Side Groups

Structure-Property Relationship Analysis of D-Penicillamine-Derived β-Polythioesters with Varied Alkyl Side Groups

Synthesis and Evaluation of Antimicrobial Biobased Waxes as Coating Materials.

The objective of this study was to synthesize and evaluate the efficacy of antimicrobial waxes to be used as both physical and biological protection to perishable fruits and vegetables. The existing wax materials used in postharvest coating applications do not provide this antimicrobial functionality. One class of such waxes was obtained by covalently linking quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) featuring alkyl, benzyl, and stearyl ester hydrophobic side groups to the terminal position of a bromo stearyl ester. A second class was obtained by linking these QACs to the pendant hydroxyl group of an aliphatic diamide made of 12-hydroxystearic acid, stearic acid, and ethylene diamine. In total, six distinct structures having three different QAC groups were synthesized. Compounds containing QACs with C8 alkyl groups exhibited potent inhibition toward the growth of both bacteria and fungi. Notably, the complete inhibition of Penicillium italicum and Geotrichum candidum, two fungi detrimental to the postharvest quality of fruits, as well as the complete destruction of viable cells for Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was observed when these organisms were incubated in contact with QAC waxes or dispersed in an aqueous system at a concentration of 1.0 mM. Comparatively, benzalkonium chloride with an alkyl chain length of 10 carbon can completely inhibit Staphylococcus aureus at a concentration of 1.44 mM. The properties of the attached hydrophobic groups appeared to exert a strong influence on antimicrobial activity presumably due to differences in molecular orientation, size, and differences among microbial cellular structures.

Research in fluorinated block copolymer/polystyrene blends with durable antifouling properties based on chain-entanglement

The durability of antifouling properties is always the problem in fluoropolymer coatings with low surface energy. The bonding between fluorinated polymers of the coating and substrate depends greatly on the penetration with little entanglement in their segments. Segment entanglement is an important factor for the bonding between two polymers, which can be obtained through melt-blending process. In order to create better entanglement and compatibility in fluoropolymers and polystyrene (PS), a kind of block polymers made from pentafluorostyrene (PFS) were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), with both perfluoroalkyl ethyl group (Fx-group) and alkyl group (Cx-group) on the side. Each side-group played its role respectively through a melt-blending process. At that melting temperature, Fx-group could easily move and aggregate to the surface, and Cx-group would entangle and blend with PS as well. Accordingly, the blends had the surface contact angle of 110.60°(water) and 40.48°(n-dodecane) exhibiting a good antifouling property. Besides, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the block polymer changed from two peaks to one, after being blended with PS, indicating that block copolymers were completely compatible with PS at the content of 5%wt to 15%wt. It also has been proved by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) that the melt-blending process of blends enhanced with more possible entanglement, as the carbon number of Cx-group increased. Therefore, the blends with longer alkyl side-group displayed more durable antifouling properties than coating process, after being polished 160 times by 800-mesh sandpaper or being immersed in ethanol for 96 h. This work will probably provide a new strategy as a substitute of coating process to achieve more durable antifouling properties in general polymer materials.

Oxygen Permeability of Fully Conjugated Polymers Consisting of (Di)ethynylene and Phenylene Groups Synthesized by Glaser or Sonogashira Coupling Polycondensation

Fully conjugated polymers are candidates as rigid polymers for good oxygen permselective membrane materials. In this study, we synthesized a series of such polymers with a rigid backbone consisting of (di)ethynylene and phenylene groups and alkyl side groups by Glaser or Sonogashira coupling polycondensation. Some of these polymers gave self-supporting membranes and their oxygen permselectivities were influenced by the alkyl groups. Oxygen permselectivities of polymers containing diynes in the main chain were determined for the first time.

D−π−A Strategy to boost dielectric breakdown strength of polyimide insulation

Polyimide (PI) possesses multiple advantages including excellent thermal stability, mechanical property and chemical resistance, which has been considered as one of the promising candidates for high-performance electrical insulation materials. Optimizing the polymer structure such as extending the band gap can yield high intrinsic breakdown strength, attributed to the inhibition of impact ionization. However, in most cases, large band gap is achieved at the cost of reducing the backbone coplanarity and rigidity or the intermolecular interaction, resulting in undesirable thermal and mechanical performance. Herein, we introduce an effective strategy to produce thermally stable and mechanically strong polyimide insulation with high breakdown strength through introducing aromatic donor groups into the main chains to construct a D−π−A structure. On the one hand, the formation of D−A effect increases the materials polarization and enhances dipole-induced scattering. On the other hand, enhanced intermolecular interaction via π−π stacking decreases free volume in PIs. Then, increased conjugation degree of the backbone and high packing density between the polymer chains benefit to thermal stability and mechanical properties. Based on this strategy, N-arkyl carbazole groups are preferred, in which the soft alkyl side groups can occupy the pores between the polymer chains to further decrease free volume. As a result, we afford polyimide insulation with significantly improved breakdown strength from 291 kV mm−1 to 570−632 kV mm−1, as compared to the reference PI ODA-PMDA. Simultaneously, the resultant PIs, such as PI-Bu, preserve high Td5% above 524 ℃, high Tg above 364 ℃ and tensile strength above 80 MPa.

Chloride Ion‐Containing Polymeric Ionic Liquids for Application as Electrolytes in Solid‐State Batteries

AbstractOrganic, solid‐state batteries require efficient solid electrolytes able to provide stable ion conduction. Here, solid electrolytes based on ionic liquid (IL) polymers with chloride counterions as electrolyte materials for batteries are presented. Acrylic monomers with imidazolium substituents with alkyl side groups that are linked by alkyl spacers to the acrylic group are employed. The IL monomers with chloride counterions are either converted by thermally initiated radical polymerization into linear homopolymers or incorporated into polymer networks by UV‐initiated copolymerization utilizing a bifunctional, non‐ionic cross‐linker. Both procedures successfully yielded the desired materials, which is confirmed by NMR spectroscopy (linear homopolymers) or Raman spectroscopy (IL networks). The ionic conductivities at room temperature are measured by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy. The ionic conductivities of the linear homopolymers are in the range of 10−4 to 10−6 S cm−1, while those of the IL networks are about two orders of magnitude lower. They increase to 10−4 S cm−1 at 70 °C. The electrochemical stability is examined by Linear Sweep Voltammetry and is proven in the voltage range of −2 to +2 V. The results reveal that the materials represent promising electrolytes for potential solid‐state battery applications.

Flexibility, size and hydrophobicity of alkyl side groups in methoxy-poly (ethylene glycol)-polypeptide for the nano-assembly and thermo-sensitivity

Tailoring of amino acid residues is a feasible strategy to design the structure of peptide for special application. We selected poly(ethylene glycol) and α-amino acids with hydrophobic alkyl side group (L-alanine，L-valine and L-leucine) to synthesize di-block co-polypeptide. The copolymers with methyl side group self-assembled into random coil in majority and aggregated further into stable spherical nanoarchitectures with a little filament owing to the small size, less flexibility and less hydrophobicity of methyl group. By lengthening peptide block, the copolymer self-organized into overwhelming β-sheet and ordered nanorods or nanofibers due to the strengthening hydrophobicity as the copolymers with isopropyl side group did. The copolymers with isobutyl side groups showed cloudy solutions and irregular morphology because the flexibility and large size of isobutyl groups hampered the regular stacking of β-plated sheets and agglomerated into micro-sized precipitates despite of the most hydrophobicity. As temperature rising, both the transition of random coil to β-sheet and PEG dehydration contributed to the sol-gel transition for the copolymers with methyl side group, while PEG dehydration was the primary reason of sol-gel transition for the copolymers with isopropyl side group. In this article, we first disclosed the self-organization process of mPEG-b-polypeptide, which would lay the foundation for the designing of polypeptide-related materials with well-defined properties.

Selective Production of Light Aromatics from Hydrocracking of Pyrolytic Lignin over Ni/HZSM-5

Pyrolytic lignin (PL), namely the water-insoluble fraction of bio-oil, is mainly composed of phenolic oligomers, and therefore, it has the potential to be converted into light hydrocarbons and phenols. This work studied the hydrocracking of PL for the generation of light aromatics (including monoaromatic hydrocarbons, double-ring aromatic hydrocarbons, and monophenols). By comparing different PL conversions, the reaction mechanism of PL hydrocracking over Ni/HZSM-5 was proposed, and particularly, the synergistic catalytic effects of Ni and acid sites on hydrodepolymerizatrion and hydrodeoxygenation were explained. Then, the effects of Ni loading on Ni/HZSM-5, reaction temperature, and reaction pressure were investigated and discussed based on the proposed reaction mechanism. It was found that a good balance of Ni and acid sites under the Ni loading of 10% could achieve the best synergistic effect for hydrodepolymerization and hydrodeoxygenation. A suitable reaction temperature of 500 °C achieved the efficient hydrodepolymerization and hydrodeoxygenation, while the removal of alkyl side groups attached to the benzene ring was not intense. Continuously increasing the reaction pressure to 4 MPa also facilitated the hydrodepolymerization of PL as well as the hydrodeoxygenation of the monophenols. Under the optimum reaction parameters, the yields of monoaromatic hydrocarbons, double-ring aromatic hydrocarbons, and monophenols reached 16.61%, 7.81%, and 9.36%, respectively. The spent catalyst was deactivated because of the carbonaceous deposits on it, and it could be well regenerated by burning these carbonaceous deposits.

Structural characterization and antimicrobial evaluation of chromium(III) and cobalt(III) complexes with 2,2-diMe-1,3-pdta: Tuning dimensionality of coordination polymer and the water content by alkyl substitution

Hexadentate 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine-N,N,N’,N’-tetraacetate (2,2-diMe-1,3-pdta) ligand, containing two methyl substituents at the central carbon atom of a 1,3-propanediamine, has been prepared and used for the synthesis of Na[Cr(2,2-diMe-1,3-pdta)]·3.75H2O (1) and Na[Co(2,2-diMe-1,3-pdta)]·3.88H2O (2) complexes. These complexes were characterized by IR and electronic absorption spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. NMR (1H and 13C) spectroscopy was additionally applied for the characterization of complex 2. Crystallographic data indicate that the two investigated crystals are isostructural and contain 2,2-diMe-1,3-pdta ligand coordinated to metal ion through 2N and 4O atoms forming an octahedral complex in which the six-membered 1,3-propanediamine chelate ring adopts a twist-boat conformation. There are four such complex anions in the symmetry independent part of the unit cell. Each complex anion is further connected to the sodium counterion(s) via the bridging carboxylate group(s). Structural changes in 2,2-diMe-1,3-pdta-Cr(III) complex stimulated solely by the presence of alkyl side groups are discussed. The present study shows that in 1,3-pdta-type complexes of Cr(III) and Co(III), the environment at coordination centre can be modified by introducing substitution in one of the carbon atoms of the diamine and the resulting difference in the subunit structure can bring about noticeable change in molecular and crystal structure. The examples illustrate the importance of the steric effect for the fine tuning of the dimensionality of the resulting coordination polymer and the water content. The antimicrobial activity of complexes 1 and 2 was evaluated against different bacterial and Candida spp., while their cytotoxic effects were tested on the normal human lung fibroblast cell line (MRC-5).

On the nature of M[sbnd]L bond and the puckering of some B-heterocyclic carbenes and silylenes in their relevant complexes with coinage metals: A theoretical quest

Boron heterocyclic divalents (BHEs; EC, Si) are organometallic ligands, and their coordination chemistry with transition metals, particularly coinage (G11) metals (Cu, Ag, Au), is interesting. Here, quantum chemical calculations at M06/def2-tzvp level of theory are performed to study the BHEs; EC, Si along with BP86/TZ2P level of theory for the calculation of its corresponding complexes of coinage metals (X2BHE-MCl; MCu(I), Ag(I), Au(I)) with selected halogen and alkyl side groups (XF, Cl, Br, Me, iPr, tBu). Results display that the interaction energies (∆Eint) for EM bond in X2BHE−MCl complexes (MCu(I), Au(I), Ag(I); EC, Si; XF, Cl, Br, Me, iPr, tBu) are significant and follow the familiar trend for the G11 transition metals as Au(I) > Cu(I) > Ag(I). The nature of EM bond in the complexes is evaluated using natural bond orbital (NBO), energy decomposition analysis (EDA), and excited transition state-natural orbitals for chemical valance (ETS-NOCV). The interaction energy (Eint) in X2BHE−MCl complexes studied here is largely electrostatic, and this feature accounts for about 65% of the total interaction energy. Furthermore, it is found that in carbene (1X−MCl) complexes with electron-withdrawing side groups (XF, Cl, Br), the group 11 metals form stronger bonds with X2BHEs rather than their corresponding silylenes (2X−MCl). The comparison of EDA-NOCV results for EM bond with the same M atom and X side groups in 1X−MCl and 2X−MCl indicates that the silylenes are typically stronger σ donors and weaker π acceptors than the corresponding carbene ligands.

Switching on/switching off solubility controlled permeation of hydrocarbons through glassy polynorbornenes by the length of side alkyl groups

A series of vinyl-addition poly(5-alkyl-2-norbornenes) with varied alkyl side group from methyl to tetradecyl was synthesized and systematically studied in terms of pure and mixed gas permeability. It was found that the length of the side group plays a key role in the gas separation performance. For instance, the permeability of permanent gases through these polymers changed non-linearly with the size of alkyl groups and the highest gas permeability was achieved for the polymers with short side-alkyl groups. Interestingly, a traditional trade-off between gas permeability and selectivity was not observed: vinyl-addition polynorbornene with methyl groups displayed both higher CO2 permeability and higher CO2/CH4 selectivity. The solubility-controlled permeability of hydrocarbons is another feature of these polymers, which is unusual for low free-volume and silicon-free glassy polymers. According to the results of the pure gas permeability study, this feature was realized for all investigated polymers with short and long alkyl-side groups. However, the study of mixed gas permeability through these polymers showed that truly solubility-controlled permeability of hydrocarbons appeared only for the polymers bearing alkyl-substituents larger than ethyl-groups and therefore it is possible to switch on/off this feature for vinyl-addition poly(5-alkyl-2-norbornenes) by the choice of the size of alkyl groups. The obtained results are considered and discussed along with WAXD data and free volume fraction in these polymers.

Decisive Influence of Hydrophobic Side Chains of Polyesters on Thermoinduced Gelation of Triblock Copolymer Aqueous Solutions

A series of amphiphilic triblock copolymers composed of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and poly(ε-caprolactone-co-5-alkyl δ-lactone)s bearing distinct alkyl side groups were synthesized via ring-opening copolymerization of ε-caprolactone and a small amount of various 5-alkyl δ-lactones using PEG as the macroinitiator and metal-free diphenyl phosphate as the catalyst. The analysis of 1H NMR, GPC, DSC, and XRD confirmed that the synthetic copolymers had similar molecular weights and bulk properties; nevertheless, they exhibited quite different aqueous behaviors in response to temperature variations. While the polyesters without side chains simply presented a free-flowing sol over the entire examined temperature range, those bearing methyl or n-propyl side groups underwent a sol–gel transition upon heating and harvested a reversed thermosensitive hydrogel (T-Gel). Meanwhile, the sol–gel transition temperature of the polymer/water system could be easily tailored by adjusting the content of the n-propyl side group. In contrast, the polyesters containing longer n-amyl side groups formed a normal hydrogel (N-Gel) exhibiting a gel–sol (suspension) transition upon heating. Their different aqueous behaviors stemmed from the difference in the hydrophilic–hydrophobic equilibrium of the amphiphilic copolymers. The sol–gel transitions of the thermosensitive hydrogels were attributed to the aggregation of micelles and the dehydration of PEG. The copolymers bearing n-propyl side groups had good cytocompatibility and were fairly stable in a phosphate buffered saline for 80 days, whereas the formed thermosensitive hydrogel (20 wt %) was rapidly degraded via surface erosion within half a month after subcutaneous injection into mice. Consequently, this study indicates that subtle variation in the length of hydrophobic side chains plays a decisive role in the physical gelation of PEG/polyester copolymers. In addition, the thermosensitive hydrogels have the potential for drug and cell delivery based on their good biocompatibility and biodegradability.

Photo-induced changes in azobenzene-containing soft materials

Photocontrol of molecular alignment is an exceptionally-intelligent and useful strategy. It enables us to control optical coefficients, peripheral molecular alignments, surface relief structure, and actuation of substances by means of photoirradiation. Epoxy linear polymers with azobenzene and alkyl side groups were synthesized and studied. They showed interesting and variable photo-response upon visible-light irradiation due to trans–cis–trans photoisomerization of the azobenzene units. The influence of physical crosslinks between alkyl chains on optical and mechanical properties was also investigated. Mechanical characterization of the polymers was done by nanoindentation. Light induced reversible or irreversible changes in the polymer after being irradiated with visible light, depend on the polarization states of light used. When using circularly polarized light, reversible mechanical response is observed. Permanent structural changes in films are related to anisotropic alignment of azobenzene molecules (after being illuminated with linear polarized light) and/or physical crosslinks of alkyl chains. This study demonstrated the importance of the polymer architecture and the presence of domains of alkyl chains on the potential photo responsiveness.

Constructing a new polymer acceptor enabled non-halogenated solvent-processed all-polymer solar cell with an efficiency of 13.8.

A new polymer acceptor, PS1, was developed by connecting the non-fullerene acceptor building block of dithienothiophen[3,2-b]pyrrolobenzotriazole capped with 3-(dicyanomethylidene)-indan-1-one through a thiophene spacer. The solubilizing alkyl side groups in the central unit enabled PS1 to be readily dissolved in non-chlorinated solvents. By using 2-methyltetrahydrofuran as the processing solvent, the all-polymer solar cell (all-PSC) containing PS1 and a polymer donor PTzBI-oF in the light-harvesting layer exhibited an impressively high power conversion efficiency of 13.8%.

Hierarchical Structures with Double Lower Disorder-to-Order Transition and Closed-Loop Phase Behaviors in Charged Block Copolymers Bearing Long Alkyl Side Groups

In this work, poly(ionic liquid) (PIL)-containing block copolymers (BCPs), poly(ethylene oxide)-b-poly(1-((2-acryloyloxy)ethyl)-3-docosylimidazolium) with different counterions (PEO-b-P(AOEDIm-X), ...