• Macromolecular Research
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.155-165
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• 2006

The present article describes the experimental and theoretical observations on the formation of holographic, polymer-dispersed, liquid crystals and electrically switchable, photonic crystals. A phase diagram of the starting mixture of nematic liquid crystal and photo-reactive triacrylate monomer was established by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and cloud point measurement. Photolithographic patterns were imprinted on the starting mixture of LC/triacrylate via multi-beam interference. A similar study was extended to a dendrimer/photocurative mixture as well as to a single component system (tetra-acrylate). Theoretical modeling and numerical simulation were carried out based on the combination of Flory-Huggins free energy of mixing and Maier-Saupe free energy of nematic ordering. The combined free energy densities were incorporated into the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (Model C) equations coupled with the photopolymerization rate equation to elucidate the spatio-temporal structure growth. The 2-D photonic structures thus simulated were consistent with the experimental observations. Furthermore, 3-D simulation was performed to guide the fabrication of assorted photonic crystals under various beam-geometries. Electro-optical performance such as diffraction efficiency was evaluated during the pattern photopolymerization process and also as a function of driving voltage.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.446-456
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• 2008

A recent theoretical approach based on the coupling of both the Flory-Huggins (FH) and the Association Equilibria thermodynamic (AET) theories was modified and adapted to study the miscibility properties of a multi-component system formed by two polymers (a proton-donor and a proton-acceptor) and a proton-acceptor solvent, named copolymer(A)/solvent(B)/polymer(C). Compatibility between polymers was mainly attained by hydrogen-bonding between the hydroxyl group on the phenol unit of the poly(styrene-co-vinyl phenol) (PSVPh) and the carbonyl group of the biodegradable and environmentally friendly poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB). However, the self-association of PSVPh and specific interactions between the PSVPh and the H-acceptor group (an ether oxygen atom) of the epichlorohydrin (ECH) solvent were also established in a lower extension, which competed with the polymer-polymer association. All the binary specific interactions and their dependence with the system composition as well as with the copolymer content were evaluated and quantified by means of two excess functions of the Gibbs tree energy, ${\Delta}g_{AB}$ and ${\Delta}g_{AC}$. Experimental results from fluorescence spectroscopy were consistent with the theoretical simulations derived with the model, which could also be applied and extended to predict the miscibility in solution of any polymer blend with specific interactions.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.398-403
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• 1987

A general theory of polymer adsorption at a semi-permeable oil-water interface of the biphasic solution is presented. The configurational factor of the solution in the presence of the semi-open boundary at the interface is evaluated by the quasicrystalline lattice model. The present theory gives the feature of the bulk concentration equilibria between oil-water subsystems and the surface excesses of ${\Gamma}^{\alpha}$ and ${\Gamma}^\{beta}$ of the polymer segments as a function of the degree of polymerization $\gamma$, the Flory-Huggins parameter in $\beta$-phase $x_{\rho}^{{\beta}_{\rho}}$, the differential adsorption energy parameter in $\beta$-phase $x_{\sigma}^{{\beta}_{\rho}}$, the differential interaction energy parameter ${\Delta}x_{\rho}$ and the bulk concentration of the polymer in ${\beta}-phase ${\varphi}_2^{{\beta(*)}_2}$. From our numerical results, the characteristics of ${\Gamma}^{\alpha}$ are shown to be significantly different from those of ${\Gamma}^{\beta}$ in the case of high polymers, and this would be the most apparent feature of the adsorption behavior of the polymer at a semi-permeable oil-water interface, which is sensitively dependent on ${\Delta}x_{\rho}$ and r.