The polystyrene-based polymer blends, partially miscible poly(bisphenol A carbonate)/polystyrene (PC/PS) and completely miscible poly(2,6-dimethylphenylene oxide)/polystyrene (PPO/PS), in nanorods with gradient composition distribution were discussed. The polymer blend nanorods were prepared by infiltrating the polymer blends into nanopores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates via capillary action. Their morphology was investigated by micro-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (micro-FTIR) and nano-thermal analysis (nano-TA) with spatial resolution. The composition gradient of polymer blends in the nanopores is governed by the difference of viscosity and miscibility between the two polymers in the blends and the pore diameter. The capillary wetting of porous AAO templates by polymer blends offers a unique method to fabricate functional nanostructured materials with gradient composition distribution for the potential application to nanodevices.
A facile approach to assembled virus film with tunable structure is presented.Rod-like tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was selected as the prototype in this study for its anisotropic structural feature.TMV can either "lie down" or "stand up" on gold substrate by tuning the solution pH.A quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring was used to monitor the pH-dependent self-assembly behavior of TMV nanoparticles,and atomic force microscopy and single molecule force spectroscopy further confirmed the different assembly structures.
Two polyethylene(PE) resins(samples A and B) are synthesized as high-speed extrusion coatings with similar minimum coating thickness and neck-in performance but different maximum coating speeds. Both samples are separated into seven fractions using preparative temperature rising elution fractionation. The microstructures of the original samples and their fractions are studied by high-temperature gel permeation chromatography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and successive self-nucleation/annealing thermal fractionation. Compared with sample B, sample A has a broader MWD, more LCB contents, and less SCB contents. Moreover, sample A contains slightly more 30 °C and 50 °C fractions with lower molecular weights, and more fractions at 75 °C and 85 °C with higher molecular weight. The chain structure and its distribution in the two PE resins are studied in detail, and the relationship between the chain structure and resin properties is also discussed.
