Bernard François

Bio: Bernard François is an academic researcher from Institut Charles Sadron. The author has contributed to research in topics: Polyacetylene & Polystyrene. The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 45 publications receiving 1847 citations.

Self-organized honeycomb morphology of star-polymer polystyrene films

Abstract: AN important challenge in the preparation of porous polymer membranes for technological applications is to control both the size distribution and the relative positions of the pores. We have found a way to generate polymer films with an essentially monodisperse pore size, in which the pores are organized spontaneously into periodic hexagonal arrays. The films, which are 10–30 um thick, are produced by evaporating solutions of star-shaped polystyrene or polystyrene-polyparaphenylene block copolymers in carbon di-sulphide under a flow of moist gas. Empty spherical cells, about 0.2–10 µm in diameter, appear spontaneously in a hexagonal array, and the cells are open at the film surface. The use of star polymers, or of polymeric micelles, seems to be essential for obtaining this morphology. These membranes might find application in controlled release of drugs or other bioactive species, or as materials with useful optical properties, moulds or scaffolding for forming ordered microstructures, and model substrates for surface science.

Effects of doping in polymer light‐emitting diodes

Abstract: We observed a dramatic improvement in the performance of polymer light‐emitting diodes (LEDs) upon light doping of the organic layer. The LEDs betrayed symmetrical electrical and light‐emission characteristics. Their turn‐on voltage is lower and their external quantum and power conversion efficiencies are higher by nearly an order of magnitude when compared with devices that utilized a nominally undoped organic layer. We attributed these results to the modification of the tunneling barrier in metal–polymer–metal junctions due to the presence of an induced polarization electric field associated with the ionized dopant counterions and charged polymer chains.

Soluble polystyrene‐block‐poly(p‐phenylene) block copolymers prepared from polystyrene‐block‐poly(1,3‐cyclohexadiene) precursors. Study of the aromatization process

Abstract: Polystyrene-block-poly(p-phenylene) block copolymers were prepared from polystyrene-block-poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) (PS-PCHD) precursors. The PS-PCHD copolymers were initiated by sec-butyllithium in benzene. The aromatization of poly(1,3-cyclohexadiene) sequences was carried out by dehydrogenation with substituted quinones. Secondary reactions occur during this reaction leading to defects in the poly(p-phenylene) (PPP) sequences which limit the mean length of conjugated blocks at about 11–12 phenylene units. The defects result from the addition of hydroquinone ether groups to the chain. The influence of experimental conditions (nature of quinone, additives, temperature) on the aromatization yield and defect content is studied. The reaction with p-chloranil1 at 130°C gives the best results. The formation of aggregates during this reaction is observed and explains the final slow kinetics. The purified copolymers are partly aggregated into micelles with a PPP core. For a given polystyrene sequence the fraction of aggregated chains and the size of PPP core increases with the length of PPP sequences. Improvements of PPP blocks are expected by a better control of the aggregation process.

Synthesis of soluble polystyrene (PS)-poly (p-phenylene) (PPP) block copolymers: a new way towards pure PPP films

Abstract: Aromatisation d'un copolymere styrene/cyclohexadiene-1,3 puis traitement thermique qui decompose les sequences polystyrene conduisant a des films de poudres de PPP pur

Ordered Metal Nanohole Arrays Made by a Two-Step Replication of Honeycomb Structures of Anodic Alumina

Abstract: A highly ordered metal nanohole array (platinum and gold) was fabricated by a two-step replication of the honeycomb structure of anodic porous alumina. Preparation of the negative porous structure of porous alumina followed by the formation of the positive structure with metal resulted in a honeycomb metallic structure. The metal hole array of the film has a uniform, closely packed honeycomb structure approximately 70 nanometers in diameter and from 1 to 3 micrometers thick. Because of its textured surface, the metal hole array of gold showed a notable color change compared with bulk gold.

Synthesis of Light-Emitting Conjugated Polymers for Applications in Electroluminescent Devices

Abstract: A review was presented to demonstrate a historical description of the synthesis of light-emitting conjugated polymers for applications in electroluminescent devices. Electroluminescence (EL) was first reported in poly(para-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) in 1990 and researchers continued to make significant efforts to develop conjugated materials as the active units in light-emitting devices (LED) to be used in display applications. Conjugated oligomers were used as luminescent materials and as models for conjugated polymers in the review. Oligomers were used to demonstrate a structure and property relationship to determine a key polymer property or to demonstrate a technique that was to be applied to polymers. The review focused on demonstrating the way polymer structures were made and the way their properties were controlled by intelligent and rational and synthetic design.

A review of water treatment membrane nanotechnologies

Abstract: Nanotechnology is being used to enhance conventional ceramic and polymeric water treatment membrane materials through various avenues. Among the numerous concepts proposed, the most promising to date include zeolitic and catalytic nanoparticle coated ceramic membranes, hybrid inorganic–organic nanocomposite membranes, and bio-inspired membranes such as hybrid protein–polymer biomimetic membranes, aligned nanotube membranes, and isoporous block copolymer membranes. A semi-quantitative ranking system was proposed considering projected performance enhancement (over state-of-the-art analogs) and state of commercial readiness. Performance enhancement was based on water permeability, solute selectivity, and operational robustness, while commercial readiness was based on known or anticipated material costs, scalability (for large scale water treatment applications), and compatibility with existing manufacturing infrastructure. Overall, bio-inspired membranes are farthest from commercial reality, but offer the most promise for performance enhancements; however, nanocomposite membranes offering significant performance enhancements are already commercially available. Zeolitic and catalytic membranes appear reasonably far from commercial reality and offer small to moderate performance enhancements. The ranking of each membrane nanotechnology is discussed along with the key commercialization hurdles for each membrane nanotechnology.

A general relationship between disorder, aggregation and charge transport in conjugated polymers

Abstract: Conjugated polymer chains have many degrees of conformational freedom and interact weakly with each other, resulting in complex microstructures in the solid state. Understanding charge transport in such systems, which have amorphous and ordered phases exhibiting varying degrees of order, has proved difficult owing to the contribution of electronic processes at various length scales. The growing technological appeal of these semiconductors makes such fundamental knowledge extremely important for materials and process design. We propose a unified model of how charge carriers travel in conjugated polymer films. We show that in high-molecular-weight semiconducting polymers the limiting charge transport step is trapping caused by lattice disorder, and that short-range intermolecular aggregation is sufficient for efficient long-range charge transport. This generalization explains the seemingly contradicting high performance of recently reported, poorly ordered polymers and suggests molecular design strategies to further improve the performance of future generations of organic electronic materials. The recent demonstration that highly disordered polymer films can transport charges as effectively as polycrystalline semiconductors has called into question the relationship between structural order and mobility in organic materials. It is now shown that, in high-molecular-weight polymers, efficient charge transport is allowed due to a network of interconnected aggregates that are characterized by short-range order.