Formation of fibril structures in polymerizable, rod-coil-oligomer-modified epoxy networks.
This paper describes the in situ preparation of fibrils in epoxy networks in which the fibril-like structures are cured polymerizable rod-coil oligomers. The epoxy-terminated alpha,omega-modified PEO oligomers, which are ABA rod-coil-rod oligomers with a poly(ethylene oxide) coil unit and two aromatic azomethine liquid-crystalline rod units, were synthesized and then further blended with an epoxy precursor. Uniform nanoscale columnar structures were observed in the neat rod-coil oligomers as well as in the crosslinked liquid-crystalline state. During the curing of the blends, the supramolecular nanoscale columnar structures of the rod-coil oligomers are transformed into polymeric fibrils where the epoxy functional end groups have co-reacted with epoxy precursors to form a crosslinked network.
Yu
Yingfeng
Y
The Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Ministry of Education and Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China. yfyu@fudan.edu.cn
Gao
Zongyong
Z
Zhan
Guozhu
G
Li
Liang
L
Li
Shanjun
S
Gan
Wenjun
W
Crivello
James V
JV