Morphology entanglements

Figure 6. Schematic representation of the micro- and nanoscale morphology of nanoclustered metal catalysts supported on gel-type (a) and macroreticular (b) resins [13]. The nanoclusters are represented as black spots. Level 1 is the representation of the dry materials. Level 2 is the representation of the microporous swollen materials at the same linear scale swelling involves the whole mass of the catalyst supported on the gel-type resin (2a) and the macropore walls in the catalyst supported on macroreticular resin (2b). The metal nanoclusters can be dispersed only in the swollen fractions of the supports, hence their distribution throughout the polymeric mass can be homogeneous in the gel-type supports, but not in the macroreticular ones (3a,b). In both cases, the metal nanoclusters are entangled into the polymeric framework and their nano-environment is similar in both cases, as shown in level 4.

Many polymers solidify into a semi-crystalline morphology. Their crystallization process, driven by thermodynamic forces, is hindered due to entanglements of the macromolecules, and the crystallization kinetics is restricted by the polymer s molecular diffusion. Therefore, crystalline lamellae and amorphous regions coexist in semi-crystalline polymers. The formation of crystals during the crystallization process results in a decrease of molecular mobility, since the crystalline regions act as crosslinks which connect the molecules into a sample spanning network. 

Fig. 3.7 Schematic drawings demonstrating the main features of two-stage (A) and one-stage (B) procedures leading to a difference in the morphology of the fabricated materials. (A) Sol nanoparticles initially prepared in the first stage (1, see also Figure 3.3) can self-assemble into a three-dimensional network when they are in direct contact with each other. Forthis reason, a gel formed after cross-linking (sol-gel transition) has a smaller volume (2). (B) The initial stage (1) is represented by a solution of entangled biopolymer macromolecules. The...

Fig. 2.50 An entangled diblock copolymer chain in a lamellar morphology with a sinusoidal composition profile (Lodge and Dalvi 1995). Entanglement constraints are indicated by x. Coupling between the thermodynamic forces produced by the composition gradients and replation dynamics leads to an anisotropic diffusion coefficient.

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