Kobunshi - Vol. 59, No. 4 (April, 2010)

Hot Topics

Vol. 59, No. 4, April (2010)

Rheo-Optical Studies on Soft Matters
Tadashi INOUE
Department of Macromolecular Science,
Graduate School of Science, Osaka University

The combination of rheometry and birefringence measurements is a powerful tool to investigate the molecular dynamics in soft matters such as polymacromonomers, polymer blends, thread-like micelles, and supramolecules because the modified stress optical rule provides the separation of the dynamics based on the molecular origins of stress. Recently, we constructed an apparatus for simultaneous measurements of stress and birefringence under oscillatory shear deformations based on the oblique LASER beam method, and applied the method to bottle-brush type polymacromonomers. The dynamics of main and side chains were successfully separated. The side chains showed highly cooperative motions due to the repulsive interaction between the side chains. The dynamics of main chain could be described by linear chain model like the Rouse model after proper coarse graining. Polymer Preprints, Japan 2009, 58, 3673.

Present Status of Nanoimprint Technology Development
Shinji MATSUI
University of Hyogo
Nanoimprint is an emerging lithographic technology that promises high-throughput of nanostructures. Since the first proposal of nanoimprint lithography as a low-cost and high-throughput sub-10-nm manufacturing method in 19951), the field has been growing rapidly in research, applications and commercialization. The high- resolution and high-throughput capability of nanoimprint makes it a very useful technique in many device applications that require precision patterning of large areas of nanoscale structures such as numerous electrical, optical, magnetic, and biological devices. These include hybrid plastic electronics, organic electronics, diffractive optical elements, waveguide polarizers, high-resolution light-emitted-diode pixels, high density quantized magnetic disks and patterned magnetic media. 1) S. Y. Chou et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 1995, 67, 3114. Polymer Preprints, Japan 2009, 58, 4366.

High Retardation Polymer Films for Liquid Crystal Displays
Yasuhiro KOIKE and Akihiro TAGAYA
Faculty of Science and Technology, Keio University
ERATO-SORST, Japan Science and Technology Agency
Recently, liquid crystal displays (LCDs) become widely used to exterior applications such as instrument panel boards of cars and digital signages. However, when we watch the LCD through a polarizer such as sunglasses, the display looks black when the polarizers of the LCD and sunglasses are perpendicular to each other. We proposed the high retardation polymer film (HRPF) device to solve this problem, and we demonstrated that the HRPF located on the display surface at diagonal position enabled us to watch LCD even if we wear sunglasses. The HRPF was prepared by uniaxially heat drawing to obtain more than 8,000 nm of retardation. Relation between the interference color and retardation is shown in a Figure. Polymer Preprints, Japan 2009, 58, 1362.

Scaffold for Bone Based on Lamella Structure of Silk Model Peptide
Tetsuo ASAKURA
Department of Biotechnology, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
In an attempt to produce mineralized composite materials with potential use as biomaterials or scaffolds for tissue engineering, we designed silk-like peptides based on the repeated amino acid sequences, (GA)3S(AG)3D. Three labeled versions of (GA)3S(AG)3D- (GA)3S(AG)3D(GA)3S(AG)3, with 13C labeling in different positions were synthesized to characterize the lamellar structure using 13C solid-state NMR. The b-sheet fraction in A(Ala) residues increased with increased distance from the D(Asp) residue in the turn part. The introduced S(Ser) residue helped to adopt almost 100% b-sheet structure which stabilizes the stem part of (AG)n. Thus position-selective and sensitive information was useful to characterize the detailed lamella structure with heterogeneous local conformations. We then produced an analogous recombinant protein, [TS[(AG)3D(GA)3S]16 in E. coli as a possible biomaterial. Films of this protein treated with simulated body fluid were rapidly mineralized with hydroxyapatite. PMF Preprints, Japan 2009, 18, 7.

Creative Chemical Recycling Process of Phenolic Resins by Supercritical Fluid Technology
Junya GOTO
Sumitomo Bakelite Co.,Ltd.
A creative chemical recycling process of phenolic resins has been developed. In this process, cured phenolic resins are completely decomposed in a short reaction time, 10ﾐ20 minutes, and recycled resins are recovered in a high yield, nearly 100%, by using a supercritical or subcritical mixture of water and phenol as a reaction medium. The recycled resins can be used as alternative feedstock of virgin phenolic novolak and composite materials made from them have enough properties for practical use. The concept of this new recycling method is compared to manufacturing 'strings' by cutting bonds of a 'net' and remanufacturing a 'net' by linking several 'strings'. A demonstration plant with a capacity of 400 MT/year has been constructed in Japan and mass production development has been carried out. PMF Preprints, Japan 2009, 18, 11.

Polymer Hybrid Nano-Assemblies toward Film Electronics
Tokuji MIYASHITA
Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials,
Tohoku University
Recently, bottom-up nano-technology for constructing "Flexible, Printable, and Film Electronics" has been of considerable interest. To realize the goal, we have tried to create novel hybrid nano-materials assemblies with two approaches; one is to prepare a passive matrix composed of a novel hybrid polymer film with high thermal stability over 300淸, transparency and flexibility. The hybrid polymer films were successfully fabricated with double-decker silsesquioxanes by hydrosilylation reaction. The other approach is to prepare active soft nano-devices such as organic transistor, photodiode, photoelectric conversion devices, optical logic gate, memory devices, and waveguide sensor devices, using polymer nano-sheet assemblies based on N-alkylacrylamide polymers with Langmuir-Blodgett technique. PMF Preprints, Japan 2009, 18, 170.

Research on Durability of Polymeric Materials
Fujio OHISHI
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kanagawa University
Survey of our research on the durability of polymeric materials over 45 years was presented. The durability of material systems in railways and various industrial fields is the most important performance to identify the reliability of each system. The durability of such materials has not been elucidated and was therefore studied by the author. Our research had three aims: (1) Degradation analysis, (2) Durability evaluation, (3) Life prediction. This paper shows the outline of our research in RTRI over 26 years and Kanagawa University for 20 years, performed with Dr. Yasutaka Nagai, other co-workers and 243 students. Keywords: Durability, Polymeric Material, Degradation, Life, Plastics, Rubber, Fiber, Composites PMF Preprints, Japan 2009, 18, 23.

Programmed Approach for Construction of Precisely Controlled Nanotexture Films of Silica and Titaniag
Ren-Hua Jin
Synthetic Chemistry Lab., Kawamura Institute of Chemical Research
We have established a pathway of silica/titana-deposition assisted by crystalline linear poly (ethyleneimine) [LPEI]. This method is logically programmable for architecture of nanoscale precision structures of silica/ titania. By expanding this approach, we succeeded in the fabrication of nanotextured silica/ titania thin-films on arbitrary substrates by a two-step strategy: firstly, covering the substrate by a LPEI crystalline layer and then dipping the substrates into solutions of silica or titania sources. LPEI layer covered on the substrates exists as morphologically changeable crystalline state and plays as scaffold and catalyst to concentrate and promote the silica or titania film formation on the surface of substrates. The resulting nano-surface is superhydrophilic. However, it can be easily tuned to superhydrophobic when the nano-surface is treated by water-insoluble organic residues. PMF Preprints, Japan 2009, 18, 172. Adv. Mater. 2009, 21, 3750.

The 0.5th Order Small-Angle X-Ray Scattering of Polymers
Masatoshi SHIOYA
Department of Organic and Polymeric Materials,
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Recently, small-angle X-ray scattering of synchrotron radiation has been extensively used to detect structure changes of polymers during melt processing, deformation and fracture processes, and so on. Various scattering patterns such as droplet-shaped scattering and layer-line scattering with a four-spot nature have been observed. We have shown that various scattering patterns of polymers can be reproduced by a structure model consisting of a bundle of long-period structures. One important conclusion is that the 0.5th order scattering arises if the structure has a large disorder, and that the spacing value is overestimated by two fold if calculated using the Bragg equation as the 1st order scattering. The droplet-shaped scattering and the layer-line scattering with a four-spot nature can be described as 0.5th order scattering. PMF Preprints, Japan 2009, 18, 21. Macromolecules 2008, 41, 4758.