Alejandro J. Müller

Bio: Alejandro J. Müller is an academic researcher from University of the Basque Country. The author has contributed to research in topics: Crystallization & Differential scanning calorimetry. The author has an hindex of 58, co-authored 420 publications receiving 12410 citations. Previous affiliations of Alejandro J. Müller include University of Bristol & University of Arizona.

Successive self-nucleation/annealing (SSA): A novel technique to study molecular segregation during crystallization

Abstract: A new procedure to fractionate ethylene/α-olefin copolymers using DSC is presented. This procedure allows melt/melt and melt/solid segregation to occur during thermal cycles that promote self-nucleation, crystallization and annealing processes (Successive Self-Nucleation/ Annealing, SSA). The SSA has been compared with the Step-Crystallization (SC) method proposed earlier in the literature to qualitatively characterize chain branching distribution in a faster and easier way than Temperature Rising Elution Fractionation (TREF). In general, SSA produces better fractionation than SC and the DSC derived chain branching distribution by SSA can be qualitatively comparable to that obtained by TREF. The SSA technique could have important applications for the characterization of polymers that crystallize over a broad temperature range.

Nucleation and crystallization in diblock and triblock copolymers

Abstract: Crystallization of block copolymer microdomains can have a tremendous influence on the morphology, properties and applications of these materials. In this review, particular emphasis is placed on the nucleation, crystallization, thermal properties and morphology of diblock and triblock copolymers with one or two crystallizable components. The issues of the different types of nucleation processes (i.e., homogeneous nucleation and heterogeneous nucleation by different types of heterogeneities and surface nucleation) and their relation to the crystallization kinetics of the components is addressed in detail in a wide range of polymeric materials for droplet dispersions, blends and block copolymers. The case of AB double crystalline diblock copolymers is discussed in the light of recent works on biodegradable systems, while the nucleation, crystallization and morphology of more complex materials like ABC triblock copolymers with one or two crystallizable components are thoroughly reviewed.

Unifying Weak- and Strong-Segregation Block Copolymer Theories

Abstract: A mean-field phase diagram for conformationally symmetric diblock melts using the standard Gaussian polymer model is presented. Our calculation, which traverses the weak- to strong-segregation regimes, is free of traditional approximations. Regions of stability are determined for disordered (DIS) melts and for ordered structures including lamellae (L), hexagonally packed cylinders (H), body-centered cubic spheres (QIm3m), close-packed spheres (CPS), and the bicontinuous cubic network with Ia3d symmetry (QIa3d). The CPS phase exists in narrow regions along the order−disorder transition for χN ≥ 17.67. Results suggest that the QIa3d phase is not stable above χN ∼ 60. Along the L/QIa3d phase boundaries, a hexagonally perforated lamellar (HPL) phase is found to be nearly stable. Our results for the bicontinuous Pn3m cubic (QPn3m) phase, known as the OBDD, indicate that it is an unstable structure in diblock melts. Earlier approximation schemes used to examine mean-field behavior are reviewed, and compa...

Transition metal-catalyzed living radical polymerization : toward perfection in catalysis and precision polymer synthesis

Abstract: 2.1.6. Tacticity and Sequence: Advanced Control 4967 2.2. Transition Metal Catalysts 4967 2.2.1. Overviews of Catalysts 4967 2.2.2. Ruthenium 4967 2.2.3. Copper 4971 2.2.4. Iron 4971 2.2.5. Nickel 4975 2.2.6. Molybdenum 4975 2.2.7. Manganese 4976 2.2.8. Osmium 4976 2.2.9. Cobalt 4976 2.2.10. Other Metals 4976 2.3. Cocatalysts (Additives) 4977 2.3.1. Overview of Cocatalysts 4977 2.3.2. Reducing Agents 4977 2.3.3. Free Radical Initiators 4977 2.3.4. Metal Alkoxides 4977 2.3.5. Amines 4978 2.3.6. Halogen Source 4978 2.4. Initiators 4978 2.4.1. Overview of Initiators: Scope and Design 4978 2.4.2. Alkyl Halides 4978 2.4.3. Arenesulfonyl Halides 4979 2.4.4. N-Chloro Compounds 4979 2.4.5. Halogen-Free Initiators 4979 2.5. Solvents 4980 2.5.1. Overview of Solvents 4980 2.5.2. Catalyst Solubility and Coordination of Solvent 4981 2.5.3. Environmentally Friendly Solvents 4981 2.5.4. Water 4981 2.5.5. Catalytic Solvents: Catalyst Disproportionation 4981

Mechanically-induced chemical changes in polymeric materials

Abstract: Engineering applications of synthetic polymers are widespread due to their availability, processability, low density, and diversity of mechanical properties (Figure 1a). Despite their ubiquitous nature, modern polymers are evolving into multifunctional systems with highly sophisticated behavior. These emergent functions are commonly described as “smart” characteristics whereby “intelligence” is rooted in a specific response elicited from a particular stimulus. Materials that exhibit stimuli-responsive functions thus achieve a desired output (O, the response) upon being subjected to a specific input (I, the stimulus). Given that mechanical loading is inevitable, coupled with the wide range of mechanical properties for synthetic polymers, it is not surprising that mechanoresponsive polymers are an especially attractive class of smart materials. To design materials with stimuli-responsive functions, it is helpful to consider the I-O relationship as an energy transduction process. Achieving the desired I-O linkage thus becomes a problem in finding how to transform energy from the stimulus into energy that executes the desired response. The underlying mechanism that forms this I-O coupling need not be a direct, one-step transduction event; rather, the overall process may proceed through a sequence of energy transduction steps. In this regard, the network of energy transduction pathways is a useful roadmap for designing stimuli-responsive materials (Figure 1b). It is the purpose of this review to broadly survey the mechanical to chemical * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Phone: 217-244-4024. Fax: 217-244-8024. E-mail: jsmoore@illinois.edu. † Department of Chemistry and Beckman Institute. ‡ Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Beckman Institute. § Department of Aerospace Engineering and Beckman Institute. Chem. Rev. XXXX, xxx, 000–000 A

Mechanochemistry: the mechanical activation of covalent bonds.

Abstract: Regarding the activation of chemical reactions, today’s chemist is used to thinking in terms of thermochemistry, electrochemistry, and photochemistry, which is reflected in the organization and content of the standard physical chemistry textbooks. The fourth way of chemical activation, mechanochemistry, is usually less well-known. The purpose of the present review is to give a survey of the classical works in mechanochemistry and put the key mechanochemical phenomena into perspective with recent results from atomic force microscopy and quantum molecular dynamics simulations. A detailed historical account on the development of mechanochemistry, with an emphasis on the mechanochemistry of solids, was recently given by Boldyrev and Tkáčová.1 The first written document of a mechanochemical reaction is found in a book by Theophrastus of Ephesus (371-286 B.C.), a student of Aristotle, “De Lapidibus” or “On stones”. If native cinnabar is rubbed in a brass mortar with a brass pestle in the presence of vinegar, metallic mercury is obtained. The mechanochemical reduction probably follows the reaction:1-3 * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Telephone: ++49-89-289-13417. Fax: ++49-89-289-13416. E-mail: martin.beyer@ch.tum.de (M.K.B.); Telephone: ++49-89-12651417. Fax: ++49-89-1265-1480. E-mail: clausen-schaumann@ fhm.edu (H.C.-S.). † Technische Universität München. ‡ Institut für Strahlenschutz. § Current address: Munich University of Applied Sciences. HgS + Cu f Hg + CuS (1) Volume 105, Number 8