Yu-Min Chen

Synthesis of acrylic copolymers consisting of multiple amine pendants for dispersing pigment.

A class of acrylic copolymers with narrow molecular weight distribution from butyl methacrylate and glycidyl methacrylate comonomers via atom transfer radical polymerization was synthesized. Various types of polarities including hydroxyl-amines, glycols, and carboxylic acids were then grafted onto the oxirane side groups. The resultant comb-like copolymers with different polar pendants were tested for homogenizing a representative Yellow pigment in 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate medium. Specifically, the polyacrylates with 1,3-diamine pendants (7-10 multiplicity on each polymer strain) enabled to homogeneously disperse the pigment than the analogous copolymers with hydroxyl or carboxylic acid groups. Ultimately, the pigment dispersion with an average size of ca. 20 nm in diameter, high transmittance and low viscosity was achieved. Furthermore, the pigment dispersion was allowed to UV-cure into a film, and for the first time, the primary structures of the pigment particles (ca. 50 nm in diameter) were observed by transmission electronic microscope.

Hierarchical synthesis of silver nanoparticles and wires by copolymer templates and visible light

Self-assembled silver wires in micro-meter scale were obtained from aqueous silver nitrate solution in the presence of a comb-like copolymer as the sole organic component. The requisite copolymer was easily prepared by the grafting poly(oxyethylene)-monoamine (POE-amine) onto poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride) (SMA). Upon storage at ambient temperature with exposure to daylight, the aqueous AgNO(3)/SMA-POE solution gradually underwent a color changed from transparent pale-yellow to dark-violet over a period of hours, and after several months a solid precipitate was deposited. The formation process was monitored by ultraviolet-visible spectrometer, particle size analysis, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. Silver wires were hierarchically formed by progressive transformation from the initial appearance of silver nanoparticles (ca. 10nm in diameter), followed by the intermediate rectangles (0.6-1.0μm in width and 0.4μm in length) in solution and ultimately the precipitates in micro-scale of silver wires at 1.6-6.4μm in diameter and 100-370μm in length. The progressive formation of the precipitated silver wires was accelerated by the exposure of visible light as a photo-reducing energy source. The micron-scale wires have a silver content over 97.4wt.% and a sheet resistance of 5.5×10(1)Ω/square.

Influence of salt valence on the rectification behavior of nanochannels

Taking account of the influence of electroosmotic flow, the behavior of the ion current rectification of a charged conical nanochannel is studied theoretically focusing on the effect of ionic valence. A continuum-based model comprising coupled Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) equations for the ionic mass transport and Navier-Stokes equations for the hydrodynamic field is adopted. We show that if the bulk salt concentration is fixed, the behavior of the current-voltage curve depends highly on the ionic valence, which arises from the difference in ionic strength and ion diffusivity. As the bulk salt concentration varies, the rectification factor shows a local maximum, and the bulk salt concentration at which it occurs depends upon the salt valence: the higher the valence the lower that concentration. However, regardless of the salt valence, the ionic strength at which that local maximum occurs is essentially the same, implying that the thickness of electric double layer is the key factor. Due to the difference in ionic diffusivity, the magnitude of the rectification factor depends upon the type of salt. For example, the rectification factor of KCl is larger than that of KNO3. The qualitative behavior of the ion current rectification of a positively charged conical nanochannel is similar to that of a negatively charged nanochannel.