Unveiling thermal transitions of polymers in subnanometre pores.
The thermal transitions of confined polymers are important for the application of polymers in molecular scale devices and advanced nanotechnology. However, thermal transitions of ultrathin polymer assemblies confined in subnanometre spaces are poorly understood. In this study, we show that incorporation of polyethylene glycol (PEG) into nanochannels of porous coordination polymers (PCPs) enabled observation of thermal transitions of the chain assemblies by differential scanning calorimetry. The pore size and surface functionality of PCPs can be tailored to study the transition behaviour of confined polymers. The transition temperature of PEG in PCPs was determined by manipulating the pore size and the pore-polymer interactions. It is also striking that the transition temperature of the confined PEG decreased as the molecular weight of PEG increased.
Uemura
Takashi
T
Department of Synthetic Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Katsura, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8510, Japan. uemura@sbchem.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Yanai
Nobuhiro
N
Watanabe
Satoshi
S
Tanaka
Hideki
H
Numaguchi
Ryohei
R
Miyahara
Minoru T
MT
Ohta
Yusuke
Y
Nagaoka
Masataka
M
Kitagawa
Susumu
S
D008958:Models, Molecular; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry*; D016062:Porosity; D044366:Transition Temperature
D011108:Polymers; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols