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By employing coarse-grained (CG) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, this study aims to investigate the thermomechanical behaviors of graphene-reinforced conjugated polymer nanocomposites at a fundamental molecular level.

 

Wearable devices benefit from the use of stretchable conjugated polymers (CPs). Traditionally, the design of stretchable CPs is based on the assumption that a low elastic modulus (E) is crucial for achieving high stretchability. However, this research, which analyzes the mechanical properties of 65 CP thin films, challenges this notion. It is discovered that softness alone does not determine stretchability; rather, it is the degree of entanglement that is critical. This means that rigid CPs can also exhibit high stretchability, contradicting conventional wisdom. To inverstigate further, the mechanical behavior, electrical properties, and deformation mechanism of two model CPs: a glassy poly(3‐butylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) (P3BT) with anEof 2.2 GPa and a viscoelastic poly(3‐octylthiophene‐2,5‐diyl) (P3OT) with anEof 86 MPa, are studied. Ex situ transmission X‐ray scattering and polarized UV–vis spectroscopy revealed that only the initial strain (i.e., <20%) exhibits different chain alignment mechanisms between two polymers, while both rigid and soft P3ATs showed similarly behavior at larger strains. By challenging the conventional design metric of lowEfor high stretchability and highlighting the importance of entanglement, it is hoped to broaden the range of CPs available for use in wearable devices.

 

This study employs all-atomistic (AA) molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to investigate the crystallization and melting behavior of polar and nonpolar polymer chains on monolayers of graphene and graphene oxide (GO). Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylene (PE) are used as representative polar and nonpolar polymers, respectively. A modified order parameter is introduced to quantify the degree of two-dimensional (2D) crystallization of polymer chains. Our results show that PVA and PE chains exhibit significantly different crystallization behavior. PVA chains tend to form a more rounded, denser, and folded-stemmed lamellar structure, while PE chains tend to form an elongated straight pattern. The presence of oxidation groups on the GO substrate reduces the crystallinity of both PVA and PE chains, which is derived from the analysis of modified order parameter. Meanwhile, the crystallization patterns of polymer chains are influenced by the percentage, chemical components, and distribution of the oxidation groups. In addition, our study reveals that 2D crystalized polymer chains exhibit different melting behavior depending on their polarity. PVA chains exhibit a more molecular weight-dependent melting temperature than PE chains, which have a lower melting temperature and are relatively insensitive to molecular weight. These findings highlight the critical role of substrate and chain polarity in the crystallization and melting of polymer chains. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the design of graphene-based polymer heterostructures and composites with tailored properties. 

The fracture mechanics of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) thin films are strongly dependent on their alignment direction relative to the loading direction.

 

Conjugated polymers (CPs), characterized by rigid conjugation backbones and flexible peripheral side chains, hold significant promise in various organic optoelectronic applications. In this study, we employ coarse‐grained molecular dynamics (CG‐MD) simulations to investigate the intricate interplay of solvent quality, temperature, and chain architecture (e.g., side‐chain length and molecular mass) on the conformational behaviors of CPs in dilute solutions. Our research uncovers distinctive conformational behaviors under varying solvent conditions, highlighting the versatile nature of polymer chains, which can adopt extended configurations in good solvents and transition to aggregated states in poor solvents. Additionally, the mass scaling exponent , a robust structural descriptor, consistently described CPs behavior across diverse architectures and solvent conditions. Furthermore, our study shows that a CP with longer side‐chain exhibits improved solubility, which is further confirmed by experimental observations. Moreover, our analysis of the shape descriptor provided valuable insights into the symmetry and dimensionality of CPs under varying solvent conditions. These findings offer a comprehensive understanding of conformational behaviors of CPs in dilute solution, which are helpful in guiding the conformational design of polymer for specific applications.

 

Tuning the optoelectronic properties of donor‐acceptor conjugated polymers (D‐A CPs) is of great importance in designing various organic optoelectronic devices. However, there remains a critical challenge in precise control of bandgap through synthetic approach, since the chain conformation also affects molecular orbital energy levels. Here, D‐A CPs with different acceptor units are explored that show an opposite trend in energy band gaps with the increasing length of oligothiophene donor units. By investigating their chain conformation and molecular orbital energy, it is found that the molecular orbital energy alignment between donor and acceptor units plays a crucial role in dictating the final optical bandgap of D‐A CPs. For polymers with staggered orbital energy alignment, the higher HOMO with increasing oligothiophene length leads to a narrowing of the optical bandgap despite decreased chain rigidity. On the other hand, for polymers with sandwiched orbital energy alignment, the increased band gap with increasing oligothiophene length originates from the reduction of bandwidth due to more localized charge density distribution. Thus, this work provides a molecular understanding of the role of backbone building blocks on the chain conformation and bandgaps of D‐A CPs for organic optoelectronic devices through the conformation design and segment orbital energy alignment.

 

The morphological stability of an organic photovoltaic (OPV) device is greatly affected by the dynamics of donors and acceptors occurring near the device's operational temperature. These dynamics can be quantified by the glass transition temperature (T_g) of conjugated polymers (CPs). Because flexible side chains possess much faster dynamics, the cleavage of the alkyl side chains will reduce chain dynamics, leading to a higherT_g. In this work, theT_gs for CPs are systematically studied with controlled side chain cleavage. Isothermal annealing of polythiophenes featuring thermally cleavable side chains at 140 °C, is found to remove more than 95% of alkyl side chains in 24 h, and raise the backboneT_gfrom 23 to 75 °C. Coarse grain molecular dynamics simulations are used to understand theT_gdependence on side chain cleavage. X‐ray scattering indicates that the relative degree of crystallization remains constantduring isothermal annealing process. The effective conjugation length is not influenced by thermal cleavage; however, the density of chromophore is doubled after the complete removal of alkyl side chains. The combined effect of enhancingT_gand conserving crystalline structures during the thermal cleavage process can provide a pathway to improving the stability of optoelectronic properties in future OPV devices.