100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Opportunities in the Physics of Sequence-Defined Polymers

Polymer science has been driven by ever-increasing molecular complexity, as polymer synthesis expands an already-vast palette of chemical and architectural parameter space. Copolymers represent a key example, where simple homopolymers have given rise to random, alternating, gradient, and block copolymers. Polymer physics has provided the insight needed to explore this monomer sequence parameter space. The future of polymer science, however, must contend with further increases in monomer precision, as this class of macromolecules moves ever closer to the sequence-monodisperse polymers that are the workhorses of biology. The advent of sequence-defined polymers gives rise to opportunities for material design, with increasing levels of chemical information being incorporated into long-chain molecules; however, this also raises questions that polymer physics must address. What properties uniquely emerge from sequence-definition? Is this circumstance-dependent? How do we define and think about sequence dispersity? How do we think about a hierarchy of sequence effects? Are more sophisticated characterization methods, as well as theoretical and computational tools, needed to understand this class of macromolecules? The answers to these questions touch on many difficult scientific challenges, setting the stage for a rich future for sequence-defined polymers in polymer physics

Microgravity Polymers

A one-day, interactive workshop considering the effects of gravity on polymer materials science was held in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 9, 1985. Selected programmatic and technical issues were reviewed to introduce the field to workshop participants. Parallel discussions were conducted in three disciplinary working groups: polymer chemistry, polymer physics, and polymer engineering. This proceedings presents summaries of the workshop discussions and conclusions

FERROCENYL ALKYLAMMONIUM N-SUBSTITUTED POLYPYRROLE CONTAINING Pt AND Pd AND ITS APPLICATION ON ELECTROANALYSIS OF ARSENITE

Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus; Scielo.Arsenic occurs in a variety of forms and oxidation states and is a very toxic element. The main inorganic arsenic species present in natural waters are arsenate (oxidation state V) and arsenite ions (oxidation state III). Arsenite is more toxic and mobile than arsenate. Therefore, it is important the development of new materials for analysis and control of these toxic species. This research proves that polymer-metal composite electrode materials synthesized by incorporation of Pt-0 and Pd-0 nanoparticles into a poly(pyrrole-ferrocenyl alkylammonium) matrix present electrocatalytic properties towards the oxidation of arsenite to arsenate. The polymer films displayed a stable electrochemical response in aqueous solution. However, when the polymer film modified electrode were transferred to aqueous solution in presence of arsenite anions, the CV curves for polymer films were deeply modified by the decrease in the electroactivity of the film. It can be concluded that the cationic polymer films present a strong affinity toward arsenite anions. The composite films containing Pt-0 or Pd-0 showed catalytic activity towards oxidation of As(III) to As(V) due to the presence of metal catalyst particles into the polymer films.http://ref.scielo.org/dgdvx

Reverse-selective diffusion in nanocomposite membranes

The permeability of certain polymer membranes with impenetrable nanoinclusions increases with the particle volume fraction (Merkel et al., Science, 296, 2002). This intriguing observation contradicts even qualitative expectations based on Maxwell's classical theory of conduction/diffusion in composites with homogeneous phases. This letter presents a simple theoretical interpretation based on classical models of diffusion and polymer physics. An essential feature of the theory is a polymer-segment depletion layer at the inclusion-polymer interface. The accompanying increase in free volume leads to a significant increase in the local penetrant diffusivity, which, in turn, increases the bulk permeability while exhibiting reverse selectivity. This model captures the observed dependence of the bulk permeability on the inclusion size and volume fraction, providing a straightforward connection between membrane microstructure and performance

Colloidal Flying Carpets

DNA plays a special role in polymer science not just because of the highly selective recognition of complementary single DNA strands but also because bacteria can express DNA chains that are very long yet perfectly monodisperse. The latter reason makes long DNA molecules widely used as model systems in polymer science. Here, we report the unusual self-assembly that takes place in systems of colloids coated with very long double-stranded DNA. In particular, we find that colloids coated with such long DNA can assemble into unique floating crystalline monolayers. Floating colloidal structures have potentially interesting applications as such ordered structures can be assembled in one location and then deposited somewhere else. This would open the way to the assembly of multi-component, layered colloidal crystals.Comment: submitted to PR

Bimetallic au/ag metal superstructures from macromolecular metal complexes in solid-state

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.Novel bimetallic Au/Ag superstructures have been prepared from solid-state pyrolysis of the macromolecular complexes Chitosan(MLn/M'Ln)n y PSP-4-PVPx( MLn/M'Ln)n with MLn = AuCl3 and M'Ln = Ag(CF3SO3)The characterization was made from XRD (X-ray diffraction of powder), SEM and EDS analysis. Morphologies are influenced by both the nature of the polymer and the metal/polymer, molar ratio of the polymer precursor. EDS analysis suggests a core/shell Au/Ag structure for the materials. A probable mechanism of the formation of these superstructures is discussed. Although separated reports of metallic superstructures of Au or Ag have been recently described, the here reported are the first bimetallic Au/Ag. Key words: Superstructures, Macromolecular complexes, metallic Au and Ag, Pyrolysishttp://ref.scielo.org/y6jcg

Concluding remarks: The importance of polymer science for biological systems

The 139th Faraday Discussion covered many interesting subjects, divided into four sections: Cell Interactions; Membranes & Walls; Proteins and Polysaccharides; and Natural & Synthetic Polymers. Here, the meeting is summarised and future prospects are explored

SOLID STATE MORPHOLOGY AND SIZE TUNING OF NANOSTRUCTURED PLATINUM USING MACROMOLECULAR COMPLEXES

Indexación: Web of Science; Scielo.The macromolecular complexes Chitosan●(PtCl2)n and PSP-co-4-PVP●(PtCl2)n, were prepared from the respective polymer and PtCl2 in metal:polymer molar ratios 1:1 and 1:5. Pyrolisis of the macromolecular complexes Chitosan●(PtCl2)n and PSP-co-4-PVP●(PtCl2)n at 800 °C under air affords cubic nanostructured Pt in the pure phase. The morphology of the pyrolityc products depends on the molar metal:polymer ratio; i.e. a "cotton" 3D shape for the 1:1 ratio and a 'foamy" 3D shape for the 1:5 ratio. On the other hand, the particle size depends on the polymer nature, obtaining Pt nanoparticles as small as 6 nm for the chitosan precursors in both molar ratio.http://ref.scielo.org/8p5h2