We developed two-step solution-phase reactions to form hybrid materials of Mn3O4 nanoparticles on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets for lithium ion battery applications. Mn3O4 nanoparticles grown selectively on RGO sheets over free particle growth in solution allowed for the electrically insulating Mn3O4 nanoparticles wired up to a current collector through the underlying conducting graphene network. The Mn3O4 nanoparticles formed on RGO show a high specific capacity up to ~900mAh/g near its theoretical capacity with good rate capability and cycling stability, owing to the intimate interactions between the graphene substrates and the Mn3O4 nanoparticles grown atop. The Mn3O4/RGO hybrid could be a promising candidate material for high-capacity, low-cost, and environmentally friendly anode for lithium ion batteries. Our growth-on-graphene approach should offer a new technique for design and synthesis of battery electrodes based on highly insulating materials.

Mn3O4-Graphene Hybrid as a High Capacity Anode Material for Lithium Ion Batteries

3.10 - Nitroxide-Mediated Polymerization

Grafting of epoxy chains onto graphene oxide for epoxy composites with improved mechanical and thermal properties

Bottlebrush polymers are a type of branched or graft polymer with polymeric side-chains attached to a linear backbone, and the unusual architectures of bottlebrushes provide a number of unique and potentially useful properties. These include a high entanglement molecular weight, enabling rapid self-assembly of bottlebrush block copolymers into large domain structures, the self-assembly of bottlebrush block copolymer micelles in a selective solvent even at very low dilutions, and the functionalization of bottlebrush side-chains for recognition, imaging, or drug delivery in aqueous environments. This review article focuses on recent developments in the field of bottlebrush polymers with an emphasis on applications of bottlebrush copolymers. Bottlebrush copolymers contain two (or more) different types of polymeric side-chains. Recent work has explored the diverse properties and functions of bottlebrush polymers and copolymers in solutions, films, and melts, and applications explored include photonic materials, bottlebrush films for lithographic patterning, drug delivery, and tumor detection and imaging. We provide a brief introduction to bottlebrush synthesis and physical properties and then discuss work related to: (i) bottlebrush self-assembly in melts and bulk thin films, (ii) bottlebrushes for photonics and lithography, (iii) bottlebrushes for small molecule encapsulation and delivery in solution, and (iv) bottlebrush micelles and assemblies in solution. We briefly discuss three potential areas for future research, including developing a more quantitative model of bottlebrush self-assembly in the bulk, studying the properties of bottlebrushes at interfaces, and investigating the solution assembly of bottlebrush copolymers.

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Structure, function, self-assembly, and applications of bottlebrush copolymers

https://cyberleninka.org/article/n/409052.pdf

A review on synthesis and properties of polymer functionalized graphene

Graft copolymers with a large number of side chains chemically attached onto a linear backbone are endowed with unusual properties thanks to their confined and compact structures, including wormlike conformation, compact molecular dimensions and notable chain end effects. Growing attention has been paid to these interesting macromolecules due to their importance in understanding the correlation between architectures and properties, as well as their potential applications. To date, the synthesis and properties of graft copolymers in both solution and bulk have been extensively investigated, along with their applications. In this tutorial review, recent advances in synthetic approaches towards the construction of well-defined graft copolymers are discussed in detail and applications of these interesting macromolecules are highlighted by selected examples.

Well-defined graft copolymers: from controlled synthesis to multipurpose applications

Graphene nanosheets offer intriguing electronic, thermal and mechanical properties and are expected to find a variety of applications in high-performance nanocomposite materials. The great challenge of exfoliating and dispersing pristine graphite or graphene sheets in various solvents or matrices can be achieved by facilely and properly chemical functionalization of the carbon nanosheets. Here we reported an efficient way to functionalize graphene sheets with presynthesized polymer via a combination of atom transfer nitroxide radical coupling chemistry with the grafting-onto strategy, which enable us to functionalize graphene sheets with well-defined polymer synthesized via living radical polymerization. A radical scavenger species, 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO), was firstly anchored onto -COOH groups on graphene oxide (GO) to afford TEMPO-functionalized graphene sheets (GS-TEMPO), meanwhile, the GO sheets were thermally reduced. Next, GS-TEMPO reacted with Br-terminated well-defined poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) homopolymer, which was presynthesized by SET-LRP, in the presence of CuBr/N,N,N',N',N ''-pentamethyldiethylenetriamineto form PNIPAM-graphene sheets (GS-PNIPAM) nanocomposite in which the polymers were covalently linked onto the graphene via the alkoxy-amine conjunction points. The PNIPAM-modified graphene sheets are easily dispersible in organic solvents and water, and a temperature-induced phase transition was founded in the water suspension of GS-PNIPAM. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 49: 1582-1590, 2011

An efficient way to functionalize graphene sheets with presynthesized polymer via ATNRC chemistry

Perfluorocyclobutyl-based methacrylate monomers: Synthesis and radical polymerization

Synthesis and characterization of new polymethacrylates bearing perfluorocyclobutyl and sulfonyl units

A series of fluorine-containing amphiphilic diblock copolymers comprising hydrophobic poly(p-(2-(p-tolyloxy)perfluorocyclobutoxy)phenyl methacrylate) (PTPFCBPMA) and hydrophilic poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDEAEMA) segments were synthesized via successive reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerizations. RAFT homopolymerization of p-(2-(p-tolyloxy)perfluorocyclobutoxy)phenyl methacrylate was first initiated by 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile using cumyl dithiobenzoate as chain transfer agent, and the results show that the procedure was conducted in a controlled way as confirmed by the fact that the number-average molecular weights increased linearly with the conversions of the monomer while the polydispersity indices kept below 1.30. Dithiobenzoate-capped PTPFCHPMA homopolymer was then used as macro-RAFT agent to mediate RAFT polymerization of 2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate, which afforded PTPFCBPMA-b-PDEAEMA amphiphilic diblock copolymers with different block lengths and narrow molecular weight distributions (Mw/Mn ≤ 1.28). The critical micelle concentrations of the obtained amphiphilic diblock copolymers were determined by fluorescence spectroscopy technique using N-phenyl-1-naphthylamine as probe. The morphology and size of the formed micelles were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering, respectively. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011

Xiaoyu Huang

Papers

Well-defined graft copolymers: from controlled synthesis to multipurpose applications

An efficient way to functionalize graphene sheets with presynthesized polymer via ATNRC chemistry

Perfluorocyclobutyl-based methacrylate monomers: Synthesis and radical polymerization

Synthesis and characterization of new polymethacrylates bearing perfluorocyclobutyl and sulfonyl units

Novel perfluorocyclobutyl aryl ether‐based well‐defined amphiphilic block copolymer