Sulfur and a polystyrene derivative were combined to form thermally-healable and recyclable composite materials with dramatically increased structural integrity versus sulfur alone.

We have developed a method for laser beam manipulation by using a colloid of nickel nanorods produced by electroplating chemistry. It is shown that the shape of the laser beam passing through a colloid of nickel nanorods can be altered by varying the applied magnetic field. This effect is caused by multiple scattering and diffraction of the laser beam by the nanorods. Compared with spherical nanoparticles, magnetic nanorods are better suited for illumination applications because they are stable in a rotating magnetic field. By rotating the diffraction pattern, one can illuminate a large area.

A series of seven cationic polymers have been prepared wherein the length of spacer between charge-bearing sites has been varied.

Three phosphonium polyelectrolytes have been prepared wherein the flexibility of the spacer between charge‐bearing phosphonium units was varied from 1,2‐ethyl to 1,4‐phenyl to 1,1′‐ferrocenyl. The influence of inter‐phosphonium spacer flexibility on the ability of the polyelectrolyte to form ordered films via layer‐by‐layer supramolecular assembly with anionic polythiophene and anionic poly(p‐phenylenevinylene) derivatives was also assessed through a combination of UV−visible spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The more flexible ionic polymers were found to be capable of forming thicker films and to maintain growth linearity up to at least 800 bilayers in some cases. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry

Chromophore-modified polymers with tetraarylphosphonium units in the main chain have been prepared by a Ni-catalysed P–C bond-forming reaction.

The properties of phosphonium polyelectrolytes (PELs) were evaluated in an effort to assess the influence of both side chain and main chain composition. The influence of side chain was examined by comparing properties of a series of PELs having hydrophobic octyloxy side chains to those of structural analogues lacking the side chains. The influence exerted by backbone flexibility/length of spacer between charges was revealed by comparing properties of two series of polymers with a variable number of methylene units between phosphonium charge‐bearing sites. Side chain composition and spacing between phosphonium units lead to noteworthy influence on thermal stability, glass transition, and crystallinity. The molecular structure of PELs also correlates with trends in film morphology and critical surface energy of PEL dip‐cast films. Sensitivity of morphology to humidity or water in the casting solvent was observed. Supramolecular assembly of films via layer‐by‐layer deposition of PELs alternating with anionic polythiophene derivative layers was also undertaken. The linearity of film growth, amount of material deposited in each bilayer, polycation:polyanion ratio, and film roughness all show noteworthy trends that depend on both the presence/absence of side chains and on spacing between ionic centers. The relationship between side chain and spacer on bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli was assessed. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 24–34

A series of 10 polythiophene derivatives is reported, in which each polymer has a different percentage of carboxylic acidbearing repeat units. The properties of these polymers are explored under acidic conditions, where the carboxylic acid moieties remain neutral, and under basic conditions, where the carboxylic acid units become anionic carboxylates. The properties that are examined for both solutions and films include UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, photoluminescence spectroscopy, and red-edge optical band gaps. All the properties studied are strongly dependent both on protonation state and percentage of carboxylic acid/carboxylate side chains along the polymer backbone. The anionic form of each polythiophene derivative was also used in layer-by-layer film deposition with a cationic phosphonium polyelectrolyte. The film growth process was studied by spectroscopic techniques to assess the influence of side-chain composition on the film growth and optical properties.Based on the aforementioned studies, we hypothesized that varying the percentage of ionic side chains present in PTs could be a Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article.

Two tetraarylphosphonium polyelectrolytes having perfluorocyclobutyl units in their backbones have been prepared in which the counteranion is either bromide (PFP·Br) or bis(trifluoromethyl)sulfonimide (PFP·NTf2). These polymers exhibit high thermal stability as assessed by thermogravimetric analysis, with a decomposition temperature of 460 °C for PFP·NTf2. Even after heating at 300 °C for 72 h, PFP·NTf2 shows no signs of degradation detectable by nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry. As is typical for many tetraarylphosphonium species, films of these polymers can be quite resistant to degradation by alkaline solution. Upon alkaline challenge by exposure to 6 M NaOH at 65 °C for 24 h, for example, only 16% of the phosphonium centers in PFP·NTf2 are degraded, making PFP·NTf2 one of the most alkaline‐stable phosphonium polymers to date. Despite having ionic backbones, PFP·Br and PFP·NTf2 exhibit very low critical surface energies of 26.1 and 22.9 mJ m−1, respectively. These values are on par with the values for poly(vinylene fluoride) and dimethylsiloxane. Such low surface energy polycations capable of high alkaline stability may find application as components of alkaline fuel cell membranes. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 2267–2272