SOFT MATERIALS APPLICATIONS STRUCTURE PROPERTIES

Thus far, we have considered a large number of polymer types, which are used for a diverse range of applications. In this section, we will now consider how the molecular structure of the polymer drastically affects its properties. For polymers, only slight 

As you might expect, the influence of the nature and density of side groups V5. the backbone structure will strongly depend on the relative composition of each polymer unit, as well as how open the structure is to its environment. Regarding the relative composition of a polymer, even though a polymer may have a polar backbone structure e.g., ether and/or ester linkages), the structure may not be soluble within polar solvents. That is, if long nonpolar side chains are also present in the polymeric 

Structure, its solubility and reactivity will be outweighed by the presence of hydrocarbon chains. A useful analogy to keep in mind is the pronounced decrease in water solubility of simple alcohols, from methanol (completely miscible) to hexanol and higher-hydrocarbon chains (complete immiscibility) as the overall ratio of non-polar polar functionality increases. 

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Soft Materials Applications Structure vs. Properties PLGA thin membrane... 

Artificial Soft Biologies. In addition to sutures, polymers are used for a number of biomedical applications, as illustrated in Figure 5.128. Polymers used for hard structural applications such as dentures and bones are presented in this figure, but will be described in the next section. In this section, we will concentrate on polymers for soft biological material applications and will limit the description to mechanical properties as much as possible. 

Among the many applications of ECPs, perhaps the most successful has been the commercialization of OLEDs in automobile radios, electric shavers, cell phones, and cameras displays (in limited venues) [73]. In the case of OTFTs, those produced from ECPs show certain advantages their softness is beneficial to their low-temperature processability and fine-tuning of their structure-property relationships, and they are inexpensive to produce. However, their morphology and microcrystallinity, and hence other important physico-chemical characteristics, may be difficult to control, as might also be their reproducibility of performance. Clearly, the many ongoing investigations with ECPs will contribute much to the future success of these materials. 

These liquid-crystalline gels are a new class of materials that combine the properties of physical gels, which form soft solids, with liquid crystals, which possess dynamic molecular anisotropy. Moreover, these gels are a novel type of composites, which have anisotropic heterogeneous structures. These soft materials will be widely applicable to functional systems responsive to various external stimuli. 

The development of nanostructured conductive polymers also requires the development of advanced characterisation techniques, and this aspect of current research is captured in several chapters. A detailed review of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) covers the wide range of related scanning probe microscopes that are particularly relevant to soft materials. It also shows how techniques such as conductive AFM go beyond structural measurements to image the functional properties of materials relevant to applications such as solar cells. A wide range of spectroscopic techniques has also been reviewed, showing how they can be applied to learn about the interactions between conductive polymers and nanostructured... 

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