Metal-containing polymers future research

In conclusion, polymer electrolytes based on phosphazene backbone and containing ether side chains are, after complexation with alkali metal salts, among the highest ionically solvent-free polymer salt complexes, with conductivities in the order of 10" -10" S cm However, these conductivities are still below the value of 10 S cm" which is considered to be the minimum for practical applications. Therefore the design of new polyphosphazenes electrolytes with a higher conductivity and also a higher dimensional stability still remains a challenge for future researchers. 

A novel one-dimensional helical polymer resembling DNA and composed of heterodinuclear subunits containing Pt - Ag dative bonds has been synthesized. The design and utilization of supramolecular metal-metal bonded assemblies such as those shown above can be expected to be an area of intense research effort in the future (see Semiconductor Interfaces). 

Though our research has focused on PS-PI and PS-PB block copolymer thin films to form useful masks for patterning, their poor etch resistance under CF4 RIE limits the aspect ratio of fabricated features to no greater than 1. Future work will include the exploration of other block copolymer systems, such as those embedded with etch resistant metal clusters(J7) or silicon-containing block copolymers(J2). Etch resistant polymers or microdomains would enable the fabrication of features with larger aspect ratios which could be advantageous for filtration devices and memory storage. 

This volume of the Handbook on the Physics and Chemistry of Rare Earths adds five new chapters to the science of rare earths, compiled by researchers renowned in their respective fields. Volume 34 opens with an overview of ternary intermetallic systems containing rare earths, transition metals and indium (Chapter 218) followed by an assessment of up-to-date understanding of the interplay between order, magnetism and superconductivity of intermetallic compounds formed by rare earth and actinide metals (Chapter 219). Switching from metals to complex compounds of rare earths, Chapter 220 is dedicated to molecular stmctural studies using circularly polarized luminescence spectroscopy of lanthanide systems, while Chapter 221 examines rare-earth metal-organic frameworks, also known as coordination polymers, which are expected to have many practical applications in the future. A review discussing remarkable catalytic activity of rare earths in site-selective hydrolysis of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid, or RNA (Chapter 222) completes this book. 

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