On page 1373, scientists from The Dow Chemical Company discuss their finding that surfactant-free acrylic emulsion polymerization in the presence of a self-assembled polyurea macromer (PUM) nanodispersion resulted in hybrid acrylic-polyurea particles. This hybrid emulsion formed films resembling a composite closed cell foam structure. The cover art shows the TEM of a representative film at two different magnifications. The interfacial volume between particles is illustrated to show the hypothesized polymer interaction between the acrylic phase and polyurea phase. Some intermixing at this phase boundary is expected to enable film formation, given that the PUM is not capable of forming a film on its own.
A pillar [5]arene pendant polymer was synthesized by ring-opening metathesis polymerization using the Grubbs firstgeneration catalyst and cross-linked using a bis(imidazolium) cross-linker via host−guest complexation. Inclusion of the bis(imidazolium) guest within the cavity of the pillar[5]arene resulted in the formation of a supramolecular polymer network (SPN) at high concentration. Upon high dilution, the SPN formed single-chain polymer nanoparticles (SCPNs). The formation of the SPN and SCPNs were evidenced by NMR spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy.
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