Thermal Transitions in P3HT:PC60BM Films Based on Electrical Resistance Measurements.

In this paper, we present research on thermal transition temperature determination in poly (3-hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT), [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC60BM), and their blends, which are materials that are conventionally used in organic optoelectronics. Here, for the first time the results of electrical resistance measurements are explored to detect thermal transitions temperatures, such as glass transition Tg and cold crystallization Tcc of the film. To confirm these results, the variable-temperature spectroscopic ellipsometry studies of the same samples were performed. The thermal transitions temperatures obtained with electrical measurements are well suited to phase diagram, constructed on the basis of ellipsometry in our previous work. The data presented here prove that electrical resistance measurements alone are sufficient for qualitative thermal analysis, which lead to the identification of characteristic temperatures in P3HT:PC60BM films. Based on the carried studies, it can be expected that the determination of thermal transition temperatures by means of electrical resistance measurements will also apply to other semi-conducting polymer films.

DTSGUI: A Python Program to Process and Visualize Fiber-Optic Distributed Temperature Sensing Data.

Fiber-optic distributed temperature sensing (FO-DTS) has proven to be a transformative technology for the hydrologic sciences, with application to diverse problems including hyporheic exchange, groundwater/surface-water interaction, fractured-rock characterization, and cold regions hydrology. FO-DTS produces large, complex, and information-rich datasets. Despite the potential of FO-DTS, adoption of the technology has been impeded by lack of tools for data processing, analysis, and visualization. New tools are needed to efficiently and fully capitalize on the information content of FO-DTS datasets. To this end, we present DTSGUI, a public-domain Python-based software package for editing, parsing, processing, statistical analysis, georeferencing, and visualization of FO-DTS data.

The impact of shape memory test on degradation profile of a bioresorbable polymer.

The semicrystalline poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) belongs to the materials with shape memory effect (SME) and as a bioresorbable and biocompatible polymer it have found many applications in medical and pharmaceutical field. Assessment of the SME impact on the polymer degradation profile plays crucial role in applications such as drug release systems or in regenerative medicine. Herein, the results of in vitro degradation studies of PLLA samples after SME full test cycle are presented. The samples were loaded and deformed in two manners: progressive and non-progressive. The performed experiments illustrate also influence of the material mechanical damages, caused e.g. during incorrect implantation of PLLA product, on hydrolytic degradation profile. Apparently, degradation profiles are significantly different for the material which was not subjected to the deformation and the deformed ones. The materials after deformation of 50% (in SME cycle) was characterized by non-reversible morphology changes. The effect was observed in deformed samples during the SME test which were carried out ten times.

Crystallinity as a tunable switch of poly(L-lactide) shape memory effects.

Materials with shape memory effect (SME) have already been widely used in the medical field. The interesting part of this group is represented by double function materials. The bioresorption and SME ability are common in polyesters implants. The first information about vascular stent made of bioresorbable polyester with SME was published in 2000. However, there are not many investigations about SME control of elements in the aspect of material processing. In the present work, the ability to control the shape memory (SM) of bioresorbable and semicrystalline poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) is investigated. The studies are based on the unexpected effect of material orientation which was demonstrated even at low percentage deformation in crystallized mould injected material. The presented studies revealed that the different degrees of crystallinity obtained during processing might be a useful switch to create a tailored SME for a specific application. The prepared samples of variable morphology revealed a possibility to control the value of material stress during permanent shape recovery. The degree of shape recovery of the prepared samples was also controlable. The highest stress value observed during permanent shape recovery reached 10MPa for the sample annealed 60min at 115°C even when the sample was only deformed in 8%. The other significant aspect of this work is to present the problem of slow crystallization of the material during and after processing (cooling rate) as well as the possibility of negative SME change during the shelf life of the fabric.

Electronic structure of poly(azomethine) thin films.

Poly(1,4-phenylene-methylidynenitrilo-1,4-phenylenenitrilomethylidyne) (PPI) backbone approximated with poly(p-phenylene vinylene)like polymer composed of alternate phenylene and vinylenelike units is treated within pi electron approximation in terms of the chain composed of united atoms built up of virtual benzene and ethylene atoms. Electronic structure of the united atom is derived from interactions of benzene p and beta bands with V band of ethylene, taking into account that continuity of their pi systems results from overlap of vinylenelike highest occupied molecular orbital and lowest unoccupied molecular orbital orbitals with relevant components of benzene molecular orbitals having phase at parapositions. Electronic band structure has been derived within pi-electron approximation in a way resembling tight binding approximation usually applied to semiconductors. The proposed model is suitable to interpret UV-visible spectra of PPI with additional explaining vibronic progressions. Additionally, an expected location of lone pair related level is proposed.

Influence of long-chain aliphatic dopants on the spectroscopic properties of polyketimine containing 3,8-diamino-6-phenylphenanthridine and ethylene linkage in the main chain. Noncovalent interaction: proton transfer, hydrogen and halogen bonding.

The spectroscopic properties of the aromatic polyketimine containing 3,8-diamino-6-phenylphenanthridine and ethylene linkage in the main chain (PK1) before and after doping are dominated by an interplay of electron-donating and electron-withdrawing effects mediated by its nitrogen atom and active groups in the dopants, respectively. Hydrogen and halogen bond formation or molecular recognition between PK1 and decanoic acid (DCA), n-decyl alcohol (DA), 1,10-dibromodecane (DBr), and n-decyl sulfonic acid (DSA) was investigated in comparison with undoped PK1. UV-vis and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and the atomic force microscopy (AFM) technique are used to probe the spectroscopic properties of the phenanthridine "core" of PK1 as well as its complexes. Spectral changes were observed for the PK1 after doping, which supported the ionic, hydrogen, and halogen bond formation between the PK1 and protonation agents (dopants). This specific interaction of the dopant with the host polymer influences the polyketimine properties, and the following changes were observed: (i) changes in the band gap (E(g)) of the protonated polyketimine, (ii) changes in the FTIR spectra of doped PK1, (iii) changes in optical micrographs of the protonated PK1 (detected by the AFM technique), and (iv) changes in crystalline structure of doped PK1. Our study demonstrates how the properties of conjugated PK1 can be tuned by the supramolecular engineering concepts, which could be important for optoelectronic applications of the materials.