| POLYMERS Vol.59 No.7 |
| >> Japanese | >> English | >> Chinese | >> Korean |
|
COVER STORY
New Trend in Soft Matter |
| Growing Polymers: A Personal Account |
| Growing Oligomer | Takehiro KAWAUCHI |
| <Abstract> This personal account is reporting about the author's research life. He would like to express his sincere thanks to former teachers and advisors, who have been demanding and sometimes stubborn, but always cared deeply about science. |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| The Core of Technology and Customer Aspects | Shinsuke MIYAUCHI |
| <Abstract> The most important points of achieving good results as an engineer are acquiring a wide range of technological expertise and grasping customer needs appropriately. |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| COVER STORY: Highlight Reviews |
| Liquid Crystals and Polymers | Hirotsugu KIKUCHI, Kosuke KANEKO, and Hiroki HIGUCHI |
| <Abstract> The combination of liquid crystals and polymers yields various novel functions
which cannot be obtained by each individual material. Here, we introduce
recent work on various kinds of interesting properties resulting from composition
of liquid crystals and polymers in a range from the molecular level to
macroscopic scale. Keywords: Polymer / Liquid-Crystal Composite Film / Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal / Liquid Crystal Elastomer / Liquid Crystal Gel / Blue Phase |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Geometrical Models of Amphiphilic Membrane - Polymer Complex Systems | Masayuki IMAI |
| <Abstract> In this review I show geometrical models for amphiphilic membranes - polymer
complex systems, polymer confining membranes and polymer grafting membranes.
By confining polymer chains between lamellar membrane slits or inside of
membrane capsules, the membranes show morphology transitions to optimize
the free volume of the polymer chains. On the other hand, amphiphilic copolymer
is incorporated into the membrane by anchoring the hydrophobic block of
the chain. The hydrophilic tails modify the elastic properties of the membrane
and the interactions between membranes. For both cases, the geometrical
models describe the observed phenomena well. Keywords: Polymer / Amphiphilic Membrane / Geometrical Model / Polymer Confining Membranes / Polymer Grafting Membranes / Entropic Interaction / Morphology Transition |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Protein Crystallization Induced by Polyethylene Glycol | Shinpei TANAKA |
| <Abstract> Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is commonly used to crystallize proteins. In
this short paper, we review recent understanding about PEG-protein mixtures
in terms of protein crystallization. PEG induces an attraction between
protein molecules via so-called depletion interaction. The Asakura-Oosawa
depletion model gives qualitative descriptions about the interaction between
proteins, though quantitatively, it overestimates the attraction. These
features are shown using a model system, apoferritin-PEG mixtures. The
interactions and the phase diagrams, measured and calculated, are compared.
A recent alternative model is briefly reviewed as well. The advantage of
PEG as a crystallization reagent is discussed in terms of the protein-protein
interaction induced by PEG. Keywords: Protein Crystallization / Polyethylene Glycol / Depletion Interaction |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Unique Characteristics and Self-Assembling Behavior of Ionic Amphiphilic Block Copolymers | Hideki MATSUOKA |
| <Abstract> Ionic amphiphilic block copolymers show very unique properties and self-assembling
behavior, which are largely different from non-ionic polymers and low molecular
weight surfactants. Especially, “Non-Surface Activity” is a special characteristic
for ionic block copolymers. In addition to this unique molecular property,
recent advances in stimuli-responsive nanostructure transition such as
micelle/reverse micelle and micelle/vesicle transitions, nanostructure
and its transition of polyelectrolyte brushes, novel self-assemblies by
polyion complex formation are briefly reviewed. Keywords: Ionic Amphiphilic Block Copolymer / Non-Surface Activity / Polyelectrolyte Brush / Polymer Micelle / Polyion Complex |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| COVER STORY:Topics and Products |
| Die-Bonding Film | Teiichi INADA |
| <Abstract> Low-modulus die-bonding film is useful for stacked multi-chip packages
which are suitable for compact electronic devices. In particular, to cope
with the widespread application of very thin semiconductor wafers and Pb-free
solders, the films are expected to have both low viscosity in the attaching
process and high reliability of bonding in the high temperature reflow
process. We studied the phase structure and the property of a new reaction-induced
polymer alloy consisting of a low-modulus acrylic polymer and a highly
heat-resistant epoxy resin. As a result, this alloy film was clarified
to have both high resin flow and good reflow-crack resistance. Keywords: Polymer Alloy / Epoxy / Acryl / Adhesive |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Polarizer-Free Reflective LCD Using Ultra Low-Power Driving Technology | Akio MIYATA |
| <Abstract> Through refinement of PNLC materials and fabrication conditions, the authors
produced a reflective display with reduced flicker and image sticking at
low frame rates. The display consumes very little power and works in a
wide range of temperatures, making it a potential platform for future mobile
devices. Keywords: Polymer Network Liquid Crystal (PNLC) / Ultra Low-Power Driving Technology / Polarizer-Free Reflective Display |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Phase Separations in Mixtures of a Polymer and a Liquid Crystal | Akihiko MATSUYAMA |
| <Abstract> We introduce our recent theoretical results on phase separations in mixtures
of a polymer and a liquid crystal. We here focus on flexible polymer and
liquid crystal mixtures and rigid-rod like polymer and liquid crystal mixtures.
Phase diagrams of the temperature-concentration plane for these systems
are discussed. Keywords: Phase Separation / Liquid Crystal / Polymer / Liquid Crystal Composite / Polymer Dispersed Liquid Crystal |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Shear-Induced Onion Formation of Surfactant / Triblock Copolymer Mixed Bilayer Lamellar Phase | Shuji FUJII |
| <Abstract> Shear-induced instability of bilayer membrane systems has attracted much
attention. One of the most interesting shear effects is a shear-induced
lamellar to onion transition. Shear-induced onion formation behavior is
quite sensitive to the interaction between grafted polymer chains and surfactant
bilayer membranes. Entropy based contribution to the modulus of bilayer
controls the onion formation behavior. Keywords: Surfactant / Lamellae / Onion / Bilayer / Vesicle / Shear-Induced Structure |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Nonequilibrium Depletion Effect by Polymers | Masaki SANO |
| <Abstract> A non-equilibrium depletion effect of colloids was discovered. A local
increase of temperature drives the colloids in a polymer solution towards
the hot region resulting in trapping of the colloids irrespective of their
own thermophoretic properties. We report measurement of this trapping effect
with increasing polymer concentration and explain the observation by hydrodynamics. Keywords: Depletion Force / Nonequilibrium / Soret effect / Micromanipulation / Hydrodynamics |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Front-Line Polymer Science |
| Elongational Crystallization of Polymers Realizes Ultra-High Performances | Kiyoka OKADA and Masamichi HIKOSAKA |
| <Abstract> We succeeded in bulky elongational crystallization of isotactic polypropylene
(iPP) by compressing the supercooled melt. When the elongational strain
rate ( Keywords: Crystallization / Elongation / Nucleation / Isotactic Polypropylene / Nano / Crystallinity |
| Top of the Page▲ |
| Copyright(C) 2010 The Society of Polymer Science, Japan All Rights Reserved. |