Copolymers liquid/polymer gels

Ionic liquids have already been demonstrated to be effective membrane materials for gas separation when supported within a porous polymer support. However, supported ionic liquid membranes offer another versatile approach by which to perform two-phase catalysis. This technology combines some of the advantages of the ionic liquid as a catalyst solvent with the ruggedness of the ionic liquid-polymer gels. Transition metal complexes based on palladium or rhodium have been incorporated into gas-permeable polymer gels composed of [BMIM][PFg] and poly(vinyli-dene fluoride)-hexafluoropropylene copolymer and have been used to investigate the hydrogenation of propene [21]. 

Many approaches have been developed for the production of ionic liquid-polymer composite membranes. For example, Doyle et al. [165] prepared RTILs/PFSA composite membranes by swelling the Nafion with ionic liquids. When 1-butyl, 3-methyl imidazolium trifluoromethane sulfonate was used as the ionic liquid, the ionic conductivity ofthe composite membrane exceeded 0.1 S cm at 180 °C. A comparison between the ionic liquid-swollen membrane and the liquid itself indicated substantial proton mobility in these composites. Fuller et al. [166] prepared ionic liquid-polymer gel electrolytes by blending hydrophilic RTILs into a poly(vinylidene fiuoridej-hexafluoropropylene copolymer [PVdF(HFP)] matrix. The gel electrolytes prepared with an ionic liquid PVdF(HFP) mass ratio of 2 1 exhibited ionic conductivities >10 Scm at room temperature, and >10 Scm at 100 °C. When Noda and Watanabe [167] investigated the in situ polymerization of vinyl monomers in the RTILs, they produced suitable vinyl monomers that provided transparent, mechanically strong and highly conductive polymer electrolyte films. As an example, a 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate network polymer in which BPBF4 was dissolved exhibited an ionic conductivity of 10 S cm at 30 °C. 

The concept for the design of supramolecular liquid crystals and supramolecular polymers has opened new fields in materials and polymer science, which are ever expanding. New stable and dynamic structures are generated by self-organization of these materials. Related functional polymeric materials such as dendrimers [140-143], block copolymers [144], polymer blends [145,146], rotaxanes [147-149], anisotropic gels [150-152], metallo-supramolecular polymers [153,154], nanoobjects [155,156] as well as supramolecular polymers are also obtained by self-assembly of multicomponents through noncovalent interactions. 

Because the physical and chemical properties of a number of injectable polymer hydrogels are pH and temperature dependent, a new copolymer of poly (A-isopropylacrylamide)-g-methylcellulose (PNIPAAm-g-MC) has been explored as a 3-D scaffold for AC regeneration. In this system, PNIPAAm has a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of approximately 33°C and undergoes a liquid-to-gel reversible phenomenon while also having the added advantage of an LCST very close... 

Miranda, D.F., Versek, C., Tuominen, M.T., Russell, T.P., Watkins, J.J. 2014. Cross-linked block copolymer/ionic liquid self-assembled blends for polymer gel electrolytes with high ionic conductivity and mechanical strength. Macromolecules 46 9313-9323. 

This chapter is devoted to various physical structures and transitions that occur in polymer systems. It covers simple binary polymer mixtures, amorphous polymers, and crystalline polymers, and discusses briefly diblock copolymers, liquid crystal (LC) polymers, and gels. 

A more detailed discussion of crystallization kinetics, strain-induced crystallization, block copolymers, liquid crystal polymers, and gels... 

The preparation and properties of a novel, commercially viable Li-ion battery based on a gel electrolyte has recently been disclosed by Bellcore (USA) [124]. The technology has, to date, been licensed to six companies and full commercial production is imminent. The polymer membrane is a copolymer based on PVdF copolymerized with hexafluoropropylene (HFP). HFP helps to decrease the crystallinity of the PVdF component, enhancing its ability to absorb liquid. Optimizing the liquid absorption ability, mechanical strength, and processability requires optimized amorphous/crystalline-phase distribution. The PVdF-HFP membrane can absorb plasticizer up to 200 percent of its original volume, especially when a pore former (fumed silica) is added. The liquid electrolyte is typically a solution of LiPF6 in 2 1 ethylene carbonate dimethyl car-... 

High Performance Size Exclusion Chromatography. The Hewlett-Packard 1090 liquid chromatograph was used with the HP 1040 diode array or HP 1037A refractive index (and HP 3392 integrator) detectors. A fifty A (5 mm, 300 x 7 mm) Polymer Laboratories PL gel (polystyrene-divinylbenzene copolymer gel) column was used and standards were as described in Chum et al. (13). Tetrahydrofuran solutions of oil and oil fractions were analyzed. 

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