Aggregation‐induced emission (AIE) technology has been demonstrated to be a facile approach for in‐situ monitoring atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). A series of tertraphenyl ethylene (TPE)‐containing α‐bromo compounds were synthesized and applied as ATRP initiators. The photoluminescent (PL) emission of the polymerization system is proved to be sensitive to the local viscosity owing to the AIE characteristics of TPE. Linear relationships between the resulting molecular weight Mn and PL intensity were observed in several polymerization systems with different monomers, indicating the variability of this technique. Compared to physical blending, the chemical bonding of the TPE group in the chain end has higher sensitivity and accuracy to the polymer segments and the surrounding environment. This work promoted the combination of the AIE technique and controlled living radical polymerization, and introduced such an optical research platform to the ATRP polymerization process.
Ring-opening
metathesis polymerization (ROMP) in an aqueous medium
provides an important environmentally friendly platform for the preparation
of water-soluble polymeric materials. However, it is challenging to
keep high synthetic efficacy and good control over molecular weight
and distribution due to the inevitable catalyst decomposition in an
aqueous medium. To meet this challenge, we propose a facile monomer
emulsified aqueous ROMP (ME-ROMP) by injecting a tiny amount of a
CH2Cl2 solution of the Grubbs’ third-generation
catalyst (G3) into the aqueous solution of norbornene (NB) monomers
without deoxygenation. Driven by the minimization of interfacial tension,
the water-soluble monomers could serve as surfactants with hydrophobic
NB moieties inserted into the CH2Cl2 droplets
of G3, leading to the significantly suppressed catalyst decomposition
and accelerated polymerization. The ME-ROMP is confirmed to be living
with an ultrafast polymerization rate, near quantitative initiation
and monomer conversion, for the highly efficient and ultrafast synthesis
of well-defined water-soluble polynorbornenes with various compositions
and architectures.
A facile fabrication
strategy of transparent and upconversion photoluminescent
nylon 6 (PA6) nanofiber mats was developed based on PA6 nanofiber
mats, carboxylic acid-functionalized upconversion nanoparticles (UCNP-COOH),
and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) solution. UCNP-COOH were prepared
by a solvothermal method, followed by the ligand exchange process.
The electrospinning method and the spin-coating process were employed
to combine PA6 nanofiber mats with UCNP-COOH and PMMA to introduce
upconversion photoluminescent properties and transparency into the
nanocomposite mats, respectively. The prepared UCNP-COOH/PA6/PMMA
nanofiber mats are transparent and exhibit green emission, which are
similar to UCNP-COOH when they were excited under 980 nm laser. The
upconversion luminescent intensity of the functional nanofiber mats
can be tailored by adjusting the weight fraction of UCNP-COOH as fillers.
This facile strategy can be readily used to other types of intriguing
nanocomposites for diverse applications.
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