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- Gladisch, Johannes, 1987-
(författare)
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Investigating volume change and ion transport in conjugated polymers
- 2021
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Volume changes are the foundation for a wide range of phenomena and applications, ranging from the movement of plants to valves and drug delivery devices. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that controlled volume changes are an interesting topic of research. In this thesis, volume changes in polymers are the object of investigation. Polymers are a class of macromolecules that comprise repetitive units. Owing to the wide variety of such units, polymers can exhibit manifold properties, including but not limited to strong water attraction and electrical conductivity. The former is the defining property in polymer hydrogels while the latter is a core property of conducting polymers. Both the water attracting properties and conductivity are closely linked to transport events on a molecular level. In the case of hydrogels, it is predominantly water uptake, while in the case of conducting polymers it is a complex interplay between charges, ionic charge balancing entities and water. However, in either case the transport events lead to volume changes. Despite the similarities, the properties of the materials differ greatly. On the one hand volume changes in hydrogels are very large but hard to control. On the other hand, volume changes in conducting polymers are much smaller than in hydrogels, but the control is easier due to the electronic addressing. P(gXTX) polymers combine a conducting polymer backbone with hydrogel sidechains. As described in publication 1, this combination of molecular entities was found to enabled unique properties of an electrically controllable giant volume change and concomitant solid-gel transition. In the second publication, the effect of the side chain lengths on the volume change properties of the polymers were explored. The knowledge acquired from these studies helped us to develop an electroactive filter based on p(gXTX) polymers which enabled electrochemical modulation of flow (publication 3). The aim of the fourth publication was to study the complex electronic-ionic transport processes and volume changes in a model conducting polymer, PEDOT:Tos. The understanding of fundamental processes and properties of controllable volume changes may pave the way for advances in various applications, including electroactive meshes, actuators and drug delivery devices.
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| 2. |
- Moser, Maximilian, et al.
(författare)
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Controlling Electrochemically Induced Volume Changes in Conjugated Polymers by Chemical Design : from Theory to Devices
- 2021
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Ingår i: Advanced Functional Materials. - : Wiley. - 1616-301X .- 1616-3028. ; n/a:n/a
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Electrochemically induced volume changes in organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors (OMIECs) are particularly important for their use in dynamic microfiltration systems, biomedical machinery, and electronic devices. Although significant advances have been made to maximize the dimensional changes that can be accomplished by OMIECs, there is currently limited understanding of how changes in their molecular structures impact their underpinning fundamental processes and their performance in electronic devices. Herein, a series of ethylene glycol functionalized conjugated polymers is synthesized, and their electromechanical properties are evaluated through a combined approach of experimental measurements and molecular dynamics simulations. As demonstrated, alterations in the molecular structure of OMIECs impact numerous processes occurring during their electrochemical swelling, with sidechain length shortening decreasing the number of incorporated water molecules, reducing the generated void volumes and promoting the OMIECs to undergo different phase transitions. Ultimately, the impact of these combined molecular processes is assessed in organic electrochemical transistors, revealing that careful balancing of these phenomena is required to maximize device performance.
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| 3. |
- Zokaei, Sepideh, 1991, et al.
(författare)
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Toughening of a Soft Polar Polythiophene through Copolymerization with Hard Urethane Segments
- 2021
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Ingår i: Advanced Science. - : Wiley. - 2198-3844. ; 8:2
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Polar polythiophenes with oligoethylene glycol side chains are exceedingly soft materials. A low glass transition temperature and low degree of crystallinity prevents their use as a bulk material. The synthesis of a copolymer comprising 1) soft polythiophene blocks with tetraethylene glycol side chains, and 2) hard urethane segments is reported. The molecular design is contrary to that of other semiconductor-insulator copolymers, which typically combine a soft nonconjugated spacer with hard conjugated segments. Copolymerization of polar polythiophenes and urethane segments results in a ductile material that can be used as a free-standing solid. The copolymer displays a storage modulus of 25 MPa at room temperature, elongation at break of 95%, and a reduced degree of swelling due to hydrogen bonding. Both chemical doping and electrochemical oxidation reveal that the introduction of urethane segments does not unduly reduce the hole charge-carrier mobility and ability to take up charge. Further, stable operation is observed when the copolymer is used as the active layer of organic electrochemical transistors.
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