Search for: All records

Abstract Advancements in electronics and energy storage and conversion technologies brings with it myriads of exciting material design challenges. Charge‐containing block polymers (BPs) offer unique features which can overcome some of these challenges and have thus aroused substantial interest within the field of designer soft materials. The properties of BPs are intricately coupled to the dynamic and rich nature of the nanostructured assemblies, which result from the phase separation between blocks. The introduction of strong secondary forces, such as electrostatics and hydrogen bonding (H‐bonding), into BPs greatly influences their self‐assembly behavior, and therefore affects their physical and electrochemical properties often in nontrivial ways. In this review, some of the prevailing research, which has expanded the understanding of structure–property relationships to include several design strategies for improving ionic conductivity and modulus in charged block polymers, is presented. The profound extent to which electrostatics and hydrogen bonding impact block polymer thermodynamics, an extent which is demonstrated by recent theoretical and experimental work, is also highlight. Insights gained from the research presented here help to lay the groundwork for a long and bright future in the field of advanced soft materials. 

Nanocomposites integrate functional nanofillers into viscoelastic matrices for electronics, lightweight structural materials, and tissue engineering. Herein, the effect of methacrylate-functionalized (MA-SiO 2 ) and vinyl-functionalized (V-SiO 2 ) silica nanoparticles on the thermal, mechanical, physical, and morphological characteristics of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) nanocomposites was investigated. The gel fraction of V-SiO 2 composites decreases upon addition of 3.8 wt% but increases with further addition (>7.4 wt%) until it reaches a plateau at 10.7 wt%. The MA-SiO 2 induced no significant changes in gel fraction and both V-SiO 2 and MA-SiO 2 nanoparticles had a negligible impact on the nanocomposite glass transition temperature and water absorption. The Young's modulus and ultimate compressive stress increased with increasing nanoparticle concentration for both nanoparticles. Due to the higher crosslink density, MA-SiO 2 composites reached a maximum mechanical stress at a concentration of 7.4 wt%, while V-SiO 2 composites reached a maximum at a concentration of 10.7 wt%. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and small-angle X-ray scattering revealed a bimodal size distribution for V-SiO 2 and a monomodal size distribution for MA-SiO 2 . Although aggregates were observed for both nanoparticle surface treatments, V-SiO 2 dispersion was poor while MA-SiO 2 were generally well-dispersed. These findings lay the framework for silica nanofillers in PEG-based nanocomposites for advanced manufacturing applications.