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Functional nanocomposites prepared by self-assembly and polymerization of diacetylene surfactants and silicic acidConjugated polymer/silica nanocomposites with hexagonal, cubic, or lamellar mesoscopic order were synthesized by self-assembly using polymerizable amphiphilic diacetylene molecules as both structure-directing agents and monomers. The self-assembly procedure is rapid and incorporates the organic monomers uniformly within a highly ordered, inorganic environment. By tailoring the size of the oligo(ethylene glycol) headgroup of the diacetylene-containing surfactant, we varied the resulting self-assembled mesophases of the composite material. The nanostructured inorganic host altered the diacetylene polymerization behavior, and the resulting nanocomposites show unique thermo-, mechano-, and solvatochromic properties. Polymerization of the incorporated surfactants resulted in polydiacetylene (PDA)/silica nanocomposites that were optically transparent and mechanically robust. Molecular modeling and quantum calculations and (13)C spin-lattice relaxation times (T(1)) of the PDA/silica nanocomposites indicated that the surfactant monomers can be uniformly organized into precise spatial arrangements prior to polymerization. Nanoindentation and gas transport experiments showed that these nanocomposite films have increased hardness and reduced permeability as compared to pure PDA. Our work demonstrates polymerizable surfactant/silica self-assembly to be an efficient, general approach to the formation of nanostructured conjugated polymers. The nanostructured inorganic framework serves to protect, stabilize, and orient the polymer, mediate its performance, and provide sufficient mechanical and chemical stability to enable integration of conjugated polymers into devices and microsystems.
Document ID
20040087876
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Yang, Yi
(The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico 87131, United States)
Lu, Yunfeng
Lu, Mengcheng
Huang, Jinman
Haddad, Raid
Xomeritakis, George
Liu, Nanguo
Malanoski, Anthony P.
Sturmayr, Dietmar
Fan, Hongyou
Sasaki, Darryl Y.
Assink, Roger A.
Shelnutt, John A.
van Swol, Frank
Lopez, Gabriel P.
Burns, Alan R.
Brinker, C. Jeffrey
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
February 5, 2003
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of the American Chemical Society
Volume: 125
Issue: 5
ISSN: 0002-7863
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAG5-8821
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
NASA Discipline Life Support Systems
Non-NASA Center
NASA Program Advanced Human Support Technology

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