Much has been written about theory and practice in the law, and the tension between practitioners and theorists. Judges do not cite theoretical articles often; they rarely "apply" theories to particular cases. These arguments are not revisited. Instead the Essay explores the working and interaction of theory and practice, practitioners and theorists. The Essay starts with a story about solving a legal issue using our intellectual tools - theory, practice, and their progenies: experience and "gut." Next the Essay elaborates on the nature of theory, practice, experience and "gut." The third part of the Essay discusses theories that are helpful to practitioners and those that are less helpful. The Essay concludes that practitioners theorize, and theorists practice. They use these intellectual tools differently because the goals and orientations of theorists and practitioners, and the constraints under which they act, differ. Theory, practice, experience and "gut" help us think, remember, decide and create. They complement each other like the two sides of the same coin: distinct but inseparable.

Of Theory and Practice

Keywords: Fragmentation Chain-Transfer ; Self-Assembled Monolayers ; Walled Carbon Nanotubes ; Well-Defined Polymer ; Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization ; Block-Copolymer Brushes ; Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Brushes ; Transfer Raft Polymerization ; Quartz-Crystal Microbalance ; Poly(Acrylic Acid) Brushes Reference EPFL-REVIEW-148464doi:10.1021/cr900045aView record in Web of Science Record created on 2010-04-23, modified on 2017-05-10

Polymer Brushes via Surface-Initiated Controlled Radical Polymerization: Synthesis, Characterization, Properties, and Applications

Current issues in research on structure–property relationships in polymer nanocomposites

Polyaniline nanostructures and the role of aniline oligomers in their formation

The generation of polymer brushes by surface-initiated controlled radical polymerization (SI-CRP) techniques has become a powerful approach to tailor the chemical and physical properties of interfaces and has given rise to great advances in surface and interface engineering. Polymer brushes are defined as thin polymer films in which the individual polymer chains are tethered by one chain end to a solid interface. Significant advances have been made over the past years in the field of polymer brushes. This includes novel developments in SI-CRP, as well as the emergence of novel applications such as catalysis, electronics, nanomaterial synthesis and biosensing. Additionally, polymer brushes prepared via SI-CRP have been utilized to modify the surface of novel substrates such as natural fibers, polymer nanofibers, mesoporous materials, graphene, viruses and protein nanoparticles. The last years have also seen exciting advances in the chemical and physical characterization of polymer brushes, as well as an ev...

Surface-Initiated Controlled Radical Polymerization: State-of-the-Art, Opportunities, and Challenges in Surface and Interface Engineering with Polymer Brushes

Morphology-controlled fabrication of polypyrrole hydrogel for solid-state supercapacitor

Polypyrrole nanowire/silver nanoparticle composites (PPy/Ag) are obtained in aqueous media through a one-pot method without any external stimulus. PPy nanowires were assembled on the reactive self-degraded template of the complex of AgNO3 and methyl orange (MO). During the synthesis process in the dark surrounding, Ag nanoparticles could be uniformly decorated onto the surface of PPy nanowires in situ by the redox reaction of pyrrole and AgNO3. Neither additional reducing agents for the growth of silver nanoparticles nor oxidizing agents for the polymerization of pyrrole are utilized. The formation mechanism, morphologies, structural characteristics, and conductivity of the obtained PPy/Ag nanocomposites are reported. The as-prepared PPy/Ag nanocomposites exhibit well-defined response to the electrochemical reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Moreover, the preliminary antibacterial assays indicate that the PPy/Ag nanocomposites also possess antibacterial abilities against Escherichia coli.

Synthesis of polypyrrole nanocomposites decorated with silver nanoparticles with electrocatalysis and antibacterial property

Tailoring the morphology and swelling–shrinking behaviors of the conducting polymer hydrogels is vital to realizing enhanced performance. Here, we demonstrate an effective approach for the controlled growth of polypyrrole hydrogels with both electrical properties and hydrogel characteristics. Under the static synthetic conditions, the polypyrrole nanotubes are self-assembled to form mesoscale networks of the hydrogels. The effect of the kind and amount of the oxidants on the morphology and swelling–shrinking behaviors of the polypyrrole hydrogels is investigated in detail. The strength of polypyrrole hydrogel is enhanced with the increase of the amount of the oxidant. In the case of Fe(NO3)3 as the oxidant, the swelling–shrinking properties of the polypyrrole hydrogels are improved due to the more polypyrrole granules as a mesoscale cross-linker on the surface of polypyrrole nanotubes.

Controlled growth of polypyrrole hydrogels

In the present work, by using the in situ polymerization of aniline in acidic aqueous solution of PVA and freezing–thawing method, the reinforced conducting polymer hydrogel of polyaniline/polyvinyl alcohol (PANI/PVA) was prepared and directly used as the self-supported electrode for supercapacitor. The chemical structure of PANI/PVA hydrogel was characterized by UV–Vis, and the three-dimensional (3D) interconnected hierarchical nanoporous structure was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The measurement of compressive strength demonstrated the high mechanical strength of the hydrogel. The electrochemical properties of PANI/PVA hydrogel electrodes were evaluated by using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge/discharge, which indicated their good responsiveness and rate capability, low resistance, high specific capacitance (240 F/g at current density of 1 A/g) and excellent cycling stability. The easily fabricated PANI/PVA hydrogel combined hierarchical nanoporous microstructure, self-supported feature and favorable capacitive behavior and provided a new strategy for constructing high-performance electrode for supercapacitors.

Reinforced polyaniline/polyvinyl alcohol conducting hydrogel from a freezing–thawing method as self-supported electrode for supercapacitors

Polpyrrole (PPy)/Ag nanocomposites were successfully synthesized at the interface of water and ionic liquid by one-step UV-induced polymerization. Highly dispersed PPy/Ag nanoparticles were obtained by controlling the experimental conditions. The results of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the UV-induced interface polymerization leaded to the formation of PPy incorporating silver nanoparticles. It was also found that the electrical conductivity of PPy/Ag nanocomposite was about 100 times higher than that of pure PPy.

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Xianghua Yu

Papers

Morphology-controlled fabrication of polypyrrole hydrogel for solid-state supercapacitor

Synthesis of polypyrrole nanocomposites decorated with silver nanoparticles with electrocatalysis and antibacterial property

Controlled growth of polypyrrole hydrogels

Reinforced polyaniline/polyvinyl alcohol conducting hydrogel from a freezing–thawing method as self-supported electrode for supercapacitors

One-Step UV-Induced Synthesis of Polypyrrole/Ag Nanocomposites at the Water/Ionic Liquid Interface