Ordered nanoporous plastics with hydrophilic pore surfaces were prepared by the degradative removal of polylactide from a self-organised, multi-component composite containing two block copolymers: polystyrene-polylactide and polystyrene-polyethylene oxide. The solid-state characterization of blends containing up to 12 wt.% polyethylene oxide was consistent with nanoscopic cylinders of mixed polyethylene oxide and polylactide hexagonally packed in a polystyrene matrix. Orientation of these materials through simple channel die processing resulted in good cylinder alignment. Subsequent methanolysis/hydrolysis of the polylactide component gave nanoporous polystyrene with polyethylene oxide coated pores. The resulting nanoporous materials were able to imbibe water, in contrast to nanoporous polystyrene with no polyethylene oxide component.
The development of reinforced ultra-thin GORE-SELECT® Membranes with a thickness of 5 µm and below is a demanding process. The present paper discusses an approach in understanding "structure-property-performance" relationships using a variety of analytical techniques that yields fundamental knowledge to aid in the development of high performance fuel cell membranes. The synergy of the methods used is providing information in various length scales from microscopic to macroscopic while analyzing proton conductivity and mechanical responses.
The morphological behavior of PS‐containing diblock copolymer blends is reported. Three sets of PS/PLA and PS/PEO blends are prepared and evaluated by SAXS, WAXS, DSC, and DMA. No macrophase separation is observed, and the formation of PLA/PEO composite cylinders is identified by SAXS for all compositions. The PLA and PEO segments in these blends have been found to be miscible and the crystallization of the confined PEO is suppressed in the ordered nanostructures. The domain spacing, diameter of composite cylinders, and order/disorder transition temperature could be tuned by varying the blend composition in the binary blends.magnified image
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