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We show that mechanochemically driven polymorphic transformations can require extremely long induction periods, which can be tuned from hours to days by changing ball milling energy. The robust design and interpretation of ball milling experiments must account for this unexpected kinetics that arises from energetic phenomena unique to the solid state. Detailed thermal analysis, combined with DFT simulations, indicates that these marked induction periods are associated with processes of mechanical activation. Correspondingly, we show that the pre‐activation of reagents can also lead to marked changes in the length of induction periods. Our findings demonstrate a new dimension for exerting control over polymorphic transformations in organic crystals. We expect mechanical activation to have a much broader implication across organic solid‐state mechanochemistry.
Acrylic acid-styrene copolymer films were deposited plasma-chemically more gently using the pulsed plasma mode instead of the continuous mode, with linear and some slightly branched chains and marginal crosslinking.
Then, the styrene unit of copolymers was wet-chemically sulfonated by chlorosulfuric acid. On exposure to air, the formed 4-chlorosulfonic acid groups hydrolyze to sulfonic acid groups (-SO3H).
FTIR, XPS and broadband dielectric spectroscopy were employed to characterize the composition, the structure, the functional groups, and the electrochemical performance for the copolymers. A high concentration of sulfonic acid-containing groups was obtained in the sulfonated PS sample. The values of the DC conductivity DC for the sulfonated sample of the AA/S copolymer are ca. five orders of magnitude higher than that of the not-sulfonated copolymer materials.
Copolymer thin films with two types of functional groups have excellent performance as sensors, for example. The formation and deposition of allyl alcohol‐acrylic acid copolymer films by pulsed high frequency plasma is a complex process. As usual, the chemical composition of the top surface of the films was investigated by XPS and FTIR measurements. Furthermore, contact angle measurements with water were used to characterise the hydrophilicity and wettability of the polymer films.
After plasma deposition, a significant decrease in functional groups (OH and COOH) was observed compared to the classically copolymerised equivalent.
The remaining functional groups, i.e. the majority of these groups, were sufficient for application as sensor layers. Segmental mobility and conductivity, important for sensor applications, were analysed by broadband dielectric spectroscopy.
Two-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (COFs) based on phosphinine and thiophene building blocks have been synthesized with two different side groups. The materials are denoted as CPSF-MeO and CPSF-EtO where CxxF correspond to the covalent framework, whereas P and S are related to heteroatoms phosphorous and sulfur. MeO and EtO indicate the substituents, i.e. methoxy and ethoxy.
Their morphologies were studied by scanning electron microcopy and X-ray scattering. The absence of crystalline reflexes in the X-ray pattern reveal that both materials are amorphous and can be considered as glasses. Furthermore, N2 adsorption measurements indicate substantial Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area values pointing to the formation of three-dimensional pores by stacking of the aromatic 2D layer. An analysis of the porosity of both COFs showed a mean radius of the pores to be of ca. 4 nm, consistent with their chemical structure. The COFs form nanoparticles with a radius of around 100 nm. The thermal behavior of the COFs was further investigated by fast scanning calorimetry. These investigations showed that both COFs undergo a glass transition. The glass transition temperature of CPSF-EtO is found to be ca. 100 K higher than that for CPSF-MeO. This large difference in the glass transition is discussed to be due to a change in the interaction of the COF sheets induced by the longer ethoxy group. It might be assumed that for CPSF-EtO more individual COF sheets assemble to larger stacks than for CPSF-MeO. This agrees with the much larger surface area value found for CPSF-EtO compared to CPSF-MeO. To corroborate the results obtained be fast scanning calorimetry dielectric measurements were conducted which confirm the occurrence of a dynamic glass transition. The estimated temperature dependence of the relaxation rates of the dielectric relaxation and their absolute values agrees well with the data obtained by fast scanning calorimetry. Considering the fragility approach to the glass transition, it was further found that CPSF-MeO is a fragile glass former whereas CPSF-EtO behaves as a strong glass forming material. This difference in the fragility points also to distinct differences in the interaction between the 2D COF molecules in both materials.
A detailed calorimetric study on an epoxy-based nanocomposite system was performed employing bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA) cured with diethylenetriamine (DETA) as the polymer matrix and taurine-modified MgAL layered double hydroxide (T-LDH) as nanofiller. The -NH2 group of taurine can react with DGEBA improving the interaction of the polymer with the filler. The combined X-ray scattering, and electron microscopy data showed that the nanocomposite has a partially exfoliated morphology. Calorimetric studies were performed with conventional DSC, temperature modulated DSC (TMDSC) and fast scanning calorimetry (FSC) in the temperature modulated approach (TMFSC) to investigate the vitrification and molecular mobility in dependence of the filler concentration. First, TMDSC and NMR were used to estimate the amount of the rigid amorphous fraction which consists of immobilized polymer segments at the nanoparticle surface. It was found to be 40 wt% for the highest filler concentration, indicating that the interface dominates the overall macroscopic properties and behavior of the material to a great extent. Second, the relaxation rates of the α-relaxation obtained by TMDSC and TMFSC were compared with the thermal and dielectric relaxation rates measured by static FSC. The investigation revealed that the system shows two distinct α-relaxation processes. Furthermore, also two separate vitrification mechanisms were found for a bulk network-former without geometrical confinement as also confirmed by NMR. This was discussed in terms of the intrinsic spatial heterogeneity on a molecular scale, which becomes more pronounced with increasing nanofiller content.
We study the molecular mobility and electrical conductivity of a homologous series of linear shaped columnar ionic liquid crystals ILCn, (n = 8, 10, 12, 14, 16) using broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS), specific heat spectroscopy (SHS), and X-ray scattering. We aim to understand how the alkyl chain length influences the dynamics and electric conductivity in this system. Two dielectrically active relaxation modes are observed, the γ and the αcore process, that correspond to the localized fluctuations of the alkyl chains and cooperative motions of the aromatic core in the columns, respectively. Both the γ relaxation and the αcore process slow down with increasing alkyl chain length. SHS reveals one relaxation process, the αalkyl process that has a similar temperature dependence as that of the αcore process for ILC12, 14, and 16 but shifts to higher temperature for ILC8 and 10. For ILC12, 14, and 16, the absolute values of DC conductivity increase by 4 orders of magnitude at the transition from the plastic crystalline to hexagonal columnar phase. For ILC8 and 10, the DC conductivity behavior is similar to ionic liquids, where the conductivity is coupled with structural relaxation. Small-angle X-ray investigations reveal that both the intercolumnar distance and the disorder coherence length increase with alkyl chain length; conversely, the DC conductivity decreases monotonically.
Nanoporous media exhibit structures significantly smaller than the wavelengths of visible light and can thus act as photonic metamaterials. Their optical functionality is not determined by the properties of the base materials, but rather by tailored, multiscale structures, in terms of precise pore shape, geometry, and orientation. Embedding liquid crystals in pore space provides additional opportunities to control light–matter interactions at the single-pore, meta-atomic scale. Here, we present temperature-dependent 3D reciprocal space mapping using synchrotron-based X-ray diffraction in combination with high-Resolution birefringence experiments on disk-like mesogens (HAT6) imbibed in self-ordered arrays of parallel cylindrical pores 17 to 160 nm across in monolithic anodic aluminium oxide (AAO). In agreement with Monte Carlo computer simulations we observe a remarkably rich self-assembly behaviour, unknown from the bulk state. It encompasses transitions between the isotropic liquid state and discotic stacking in linear columns as well as circular concentric ring formation perpendicular and parallel to the pore axis. These textural transitions underpin an optical birefringence functionality, tuneable in magnitude and in sign from positive to negative via pore size, pore surface-grafting and temperature. Our study demonstrates that the advent of large-scale, self-organised nanoporosity in monolithic solids along with confinement-controllable phase behaviour of liquid-crystalline matter at the single-pore scale provides a reliable and accessible tool to design materials with adjustable optical anisotropy, and thus offers versatile pathways to finetune polarisation-dependent light propagation speeds in materials. Such a tailorability is at the core of the emerging field of transformative optics, allowing, e.g., adjustable light absorbers and extremely thin metalenses.
Discotic ionic liquid crystals (DILCs) consist of self-assembled superdiscs of cations and anions that spontaneously stack in linear columns with high one-dimensional ionic and electronic charge mobility, making them prominent model systems for functional soft matter. Compared to classical nonionic discotic liquid crystals, many liquid crystalline structures with a combination of electronic and ionic conductivity have been reported, which are of interest for separation membranes, artificial ion/proton conducting membranes, and optoelectronics. Unfortunately, a homogeneous alignment of the DILCs on the macroscale is often not achievable, which significantly limits the applicability of DILCs. Infiltration into nanoporous solid scaffolds can, in principle, overcome this drawback. However, due to the experimental challenges to scrutinize liquid crystalline order in extreme spatial confinement, little is known about the structures of DILCs in nanopores. Here, we present temperaturedependent high-resolution optical birefringence measurement and 3D reciprocal space mapping based on synchrotron X-ray scattering to investigate the thermotropic phase behavior of dopamine-based ionic liquid crystals confined in cylindrical channels of 180 nm diameter in macroscopic anodic aluminum oxide membranes. As a function of the membranes’ hydrophilicity and thus the molecular anchoring to the pore walls (edge-on or face-on) and the variation of the hydrophilic−hydrophobic balance between the aromatic cores and the alkyl side chain motifs of the superdiscs by tailored chemical synthesis, we find a particularly rich phase behavior, which is not present in the bulk state. It is governed by a complex interplay of liquid crystalline elastic energies (bending and splay deformations), polar interactions, and pure geometric confinement and includes textural transitions between radial and axial alignment of the columns with respect to the long nanochannel axis. Furthermore, confinement-induced continuous order formation is observed in contrast to discontinuous first-order phase transitions, which can be quantitatively described by Landau-de Gennes free energy models for liquid crystalline order transitions in confinement. Our observations suggest that the infiltration of DILCs into nanoporous solids allows tailoring their nanoscale texture and ion channel formation and thus their electrical and optical functionalities over an even wider range than in the bulk state in a homogeneous manner on the centimeter scale as controlled by the monolithic nanoporous scaffolds.
Disklike molecules with aromatic cores spontaneously stack up in linear columns with high, onedimensional charge carrier mobilities along the columnar axes, making them prominent model systems for functional, self-organized matter.We show by high-resolution optical birefringence and synchrotron-based x-ray diffraction that confining a thermotropic discotic liquid crystal in cylindrical nanopores induces a quantized formation of annular layers consisting of concentric circular bent columns, unknown in the bulk state. Starting from the walls this ring self-assembly propagates layer by layer towards the pore center in the supercooled domain of the bulk isotropic-columnar transition and thus allows one to switch on and off reversibly single, nanosized rings through small temperature variations. By establishing a Gibbs free energy phase diagram we trace the phase transition quantization to the discreteness of the layers’ excess bend deformation energies in comparison to the thermal energy, even for this near room-temperature system.
Monte Carlo simulations yielding spatially resolved nematic order parameters, density maps, and bondorientational order parameters corroborate the universality and robustness of the confinement-induced columnar ring formation as well as its quantized nature.
Polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIMs) are promising candidates for the active layer in gas separation membranes due to their high permeability and reasonable permselectivity. These appealing properties originate from a microporous structure as a result of inefficient segment packing in the condensed state due to a combination of a ladder-like rigid backbone and sites of contortion. However, this class of polymers suffers from a significant decrease in the permeability with time due to physical aging, whereby typically, the permselectivity increases. The initial microporous structures approach a denser state via local rearrangements, leading to the reduction of the permeability. Hence, a detailed characterization of the molecular mobility in such materials can provide valuable information on physical aging. In this work, the dielectric behavior of PIM-1 films and their behavior upon heating (aging) were revisited by isothermal frequency scans during different heating/cooling cycles over a broad temperature range between 133 and 523 K (−140 to 250 °C). In addition, the obtained results were compared with data of samples that were annealed at ambient temperatures over different time scales. Multiple dielectric processes were observed: several relaxation processes due to local fluctuations and a Maxwell−Wagner−Sillars polarization effect related to the microporosity. The temperature dependence of the rates of all processes follows the Arrhenius law where the estimated activation energy depends on the nature of the process. The influence of the thermal history (aging) on the processes is discussed in detail.