Name: designed for molecular recycling: a lignin-derived semi-aromatic biobased polymer
Uploaded: 2020-11-30T14:00:00
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The authors are grateful for the financial support from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) (grant 023.007.020 awarded to Jack van Schijndel).

1. Green Knoevenagel condensation of syringaldehyde towards sinapinic acid with 5 mol% ammonium bicarbonate
<ol>
	<li>Add malonic acid (20.81 g, 200.0 mmol) together with syringaldehyde (36.4 g, 200.0 mmol) to a 250 mL round-bottom flask. Dissolve both constituents in 20.0 mL of ethyl acetate and add ammonium bicarbonate (790 mg, 10.0 mmol) to the flask. 
	NOTE: To ensure full completion of the condensation reaction, the rotary evaporator can be used to distill the ethyl acetate and concentrate the reaction mixtur...

<ol>
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When dihydrosinapinic acid was heated in a reaction vessel, sublimation of the starting material occurred, and this effect was enhanced when a vacuum was applied. Acetylation has been performed on dihydrosinapinic acid to avoid sublimation. Kricheldorf et al.12,27 recognized that not only acetylation but similarly di- and oligomerization occurred. However, these esterified monomers and oligomers no longer sublimate and are suitable as monomers for the melt polyco...

In contrast to the incineration of polymeric waste, chemical recycling offers the possibility to recover the monomers. Chemical recycling is a logical choice at the end of the technical life of polymeric materials since these polymeric materials are produced chemically1. There are two ways to recycle the polymeric material chemically, pyrolysis and molecular recycling2. With pyrolysis, the polymeric material is transformed into products of higher value by using extreme conditions3,4. Molecular recycling is an efficient method for recovering the starting materials using depolymerization. After depolymerization, the monomeric units can be repolymerized into virgin polymeric materials5. The availability of suitable monomers to apply molecular recycling on a larger scale is wanting. The current plastic problem dictates that society demands sturdy and robust polymeric materials. At the same time, it is also preferred that the same polymeric materials are easily recyclable and do not endure in the environment. Current polymeric materials with good thermal and mechanical properties do not depolymerize easily6.
Lignin, commonly found in vascular plants, is responsible for 30% of the world&#39;s natural carbon content and is the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose. Lignin has a complex amorphous structure and appears to be a suitable alternative to replace aromatics extracted from fossil materials. The three-dimensional structure of lignin provides strength and stiffness to wood, as well as resistance to degradation. Chemically speaking, lignin is a very complex polyphenolic thermoset. It consists of varying composition of three different methoxylated phenylpropane structures. Syringyl, guaiacyl, and p-hydroxyphenyl (often abbreviated as S, G, and H, respectively) are derived from the monolignols sinapyl alcohol, coniferyl alcohol, and p-coumaryl alcohol7. The distribution of these units differs per biomass type, with softwood, for instance, consisting of mostly guaiacyl units and hardwood of guaiacyl and syringyl units8,9. Renewable natural sources, such as trees and plants, are desirable for the production of redesigned monomers for innovative polymeric materials10. These monomers, isolated and synthesized from natural sources, are polymerized to so-called biobased polymers11.
Aromatic carboxylic acids are several orders of magnitude less electrophilic than the equivalent aliphatic carboxylic acids for electronic reasons12. Various commercial polyesters use aromatic carboxylic acids instead of aliphatic carboxylic acids. As a result, the fibers in polyester textiles made from poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers are almost insensitive to hydrolysis during washing or, for example, rain13. When the molecular recycling of polyesters is wanted, it is advisable to use aliphatic esters in the build-up of the polymer.
For the reasons mentioned, we have investigated the possibilities of making polyesters from 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy-dihydrocinnamic acids14. Previous studies by Kricheldorf15, Meier16, and Miller17,18 show that it is challenging to build polymers using 4-hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxy-dihydrocinnamic acid. Decarboxylation and crosslinking hindered the polymerizations, and so limiting the success of these syntheses. Also, the mechanism of the polycondensation remained unclear. The presented paper describes the conditions in which the polyester poly(dihydrosinapinic acid) can be synthesized regularly and in high yield, thus paving the way for using semi-aromatic polyesters that are molecularly recyclable.
We have developed a green and efficient way to synthesize sinapinic acid using a condensation reaction between syringaldehyde and malonic acid19,20. After this Green Knoevenagel, hydrogenation produces dihydrosinapinic acid, which is suitable for reversible polycondensation. This publication visualizes the synthetic steps to the molecularly recyclable polymer poly(dihydrosinapinic acid), referring to the base units of lignin, called poly-S. After analyzing the polymeric material, poly-S is depolymerized to the monomer dihydrosinapinic acid under relatively favorable conditions and repolymerized over and over again.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Reaction 1: Green Knoevenagel condensation</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ammonium bicarbonate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>&#62;99%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethanol</td>
			<td>Boom</td>
			<td>Technical grade</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ethyl acetate</td>
			<td>Macron</td>
			<td>99.8%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hydrochloric acid</td>
			<td>Boom</td>
			<td>37%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Malonic acid</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>99%</td>
			<td>used as received</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium bicarbonate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>&#62;99.7%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Syringaldehyde</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>98%</td>
			<td>used as received</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Reaction 2: Hydrogenation</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Magnesium sulfate</td>
			<td>Macron</td>
			<td>99%</td>
			<td>dried</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Raney&#8482; nickel</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>&#62;89%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium hydroxide</td>
			<td>Boom</td>
			<td>Technical grade</td>
			<td>dissolved</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Reaction 3: Acetylation</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Acetic anhydride</td>
			<td>Macron</td>
			<td>&#62;98%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Acetone</td>
			<td>Macron</td>
			<td>&#62;99.5%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium acetate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>&#62;99%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Reaction 4A: Polymerisation</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1,2-xylene</td>
			<td>Macron</td>
			<td>&#62;98%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium hydroxide</td>
			<td>Boom</td>
			<td>Technical grade</td>
			<td>finely powdered</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Zinc(II)acetate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>99.99%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Reaction 4B: Depolymerisation</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium hydroxide</td>
			<td>Boom</td>
			<td>Technical grade</td>
			<td>dissolved</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sulfuric acid</td>
			<td>Macron</td>
			<td>100%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Analysis</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CDCl3</td>
			<td>Cambride Isotope Laboratories, Inc.</td>
			<td>99.5%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CF3COOD</td>
			<td>Cambride Isotope Laboratories, Inc.</td>
			<td>98%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dimethylformamide</td>
			<td>Macron</td>
			<td>&#62;99.9%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hexafluoro-2-propanol</td>
			<td>TCI Chemicals</td>
			<td>&#62;99%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Methanol</td>
			<td>Macron</td>
			<td>&#62;99.8%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tetrahydrofuran</td>
			<td>Macron</td>
			<td>&#62;99.9%</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

designed for molecular recycling: a lignin-derived semi-aromatic biobased polymer

The development of chemically recyclable biopolymers offers opportunities within the pursuit of a circular economy. Chemically recyclable biopolymers make a positive effort to solve the issue of polymer materials in the disposal phase after the use phase. In this paper, the production of biobased semi-aromatic polyesters, which can be extracted entirely from biomass such as lignin, is described and visualized. The polymer poly-S described in this paper has thermal properties similar to certain commonly used plastics, such as PET. We developed a Green Knoevenagel reaction, which can efficiently produce monomers from aromatic aldehydes and malonic acid. This reaction has been proven to be scalable and has a remarkably low calculated E-factor. These polyesters with ligno-phytochemicals as a starting point show an efficient molecular recycling with minimal losses. The polyester poly(dihydrosinapinic acid) (poly-S) is presented as an example of these semi-aromatic polyesters, and the polymerization, depolymerization, and re-polymerization are described.

Sinapinic acid was synthesized in high purity and high yield (&#62; 95%) from syringaldehyde using the Green Knoevenagel condensation. (Supporting Information: Figure S1) The E-factor is an indication of waste production where a higher number indicates more waste. The E-factor is calculated by taking the total material input, subtracting the amount of the desired end product, and dividing the whole by the amount of the end product. This Green Knoevenagel condensation has an E-factor of 1.0, which can be ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer at JoVE.com

Designed for Molecular Recycling: A Lignin-Derived Semi-aromatic Biobased Polymer

An example of a closed-loop approach towards a circular materials economy is described here. A whole sustainable cycle is presented where biobased semi-aromatic polyesters are designed by polymerization, depolymerization, and then re-polymerized with only slight changes in their yields or final properties.

The development of chemically recyclable biopolymers offers opportunities within the pursuit of a circular economy. Chemically recyclable biopolymers make ...

Throughout the synthesis described in this paper provides a way to produce a new polymeric material specifically designed for molecular recycling, which is a way of chemical recycling. The depolarization and repolarization of the foreign material poly-S creates a fully sustainable cycle, which is a proof of concept for the future of polymers. The polymer waste of the world accumulates.For instance in the ocean, as the plastic soup, which could be prevented by introducing molecularly recyclable polymers. The polymer presented is an example of a polymeric material designed for molecular recycling. This in our opinion, should be implemented in other materials to prevent accumulation in nature.Green Knoevenagel reaction and subsequent steps have been designed for and by our undergraduated students. So certain robustness is already implemented in these reaction steps. The COVID-19 pandemic creates a situation where online learning becomes more important than ever.Visualization of these experiments helps us and others to deepen practical chemical education. Begin by adding 20.81 grams of malonic acid and 36.4 grams of syringaldehyde to a 215 milliliter round bottom flask. Dissolve both constituents in 20 milliliters of ethyl acetate and add 719 milligrams of ammonia bicarbonate to the flask.Mix and distill the solvent with a water bath. Keep the reaction mixture at 90 degrees Celsius for two hours in the open flask without stirring for complete conversion to sinapinic acid. In the work-up of the sinapinic acid product, dissolve the residue in 100 milliliters of a saturated aqueous sodium bicarbonate solution, then transfer the solution to a beaker, and acidify it to a pH two.Using six molar hydrogen chloride, separate the resulting residue by vacuum filtration and wash it with demineralized water. Charge a 450 milliliters flask with 33.6 grams sinapinic acid. Dissolve the sinapinic acid in 300 milliliters of two molar sodium hydroxide solution, and add 1.5 grams of nickel slurry before fitting the flask to the operators.Pressurize the reactor with three bar of hydrogen gas and mechanically shake the reaction at 80 degrees Celsius for three hours. Cool the reactor to room temperature and depressurize slowly. Recover most of the nickel catalyst with a magnet, then filter the solution.Acidify the solution with four molar hydrogen chloride solution to a pH of two, then perform an extraction with ethyl acetate. Remove the solvent under reduced pressure after drying over magnesium sulfate and dry the dihydrosinapinic acid at 60 degrees Celsius in a vacuum oven. Add 22.6 grams dihydrosinapinic acid to a 250 milliliter round bottom flask.Followed by 14.2 milliliters of acetic anhydride and 0.82 grams of sodium acetate. Heat the solution to 90 degrees Celsius while stirring for one hour for complete conversion of dihydrosinapinic acid to 4-Acetoxy-dihydrosinapinic acid, and it's acetylated oligomers. Dissolve the solid in 25 milliliters of acetone precipitated into 250 milliliters of 0.1 molar hydrogen chloride, then filtered on the vacuum.Add the monomers 20.8 grams of 4-Acetoxy-dihydrosinapinic acid and prepolymer to a 100 milliliter round bottom flask. Then add 400 milligrams of finely powdered sodium hydroxide, heat the reaction mixture for three hours at a set temperature of 140 degrees Celsius in the open flask while staring at 100 RPM. Set up a solvent assisted polymerization by adding 180 milligrams of zinc two acetate and 25.0 milliliters of 1, 2-xylene to the flask, then raise the set temperature to 160 degrees Celsius.Reflux the mixture at 144 degrees Celsius for three hours with constant water and acetic acid removal using Dean-Stark head. Cool the reaction mixture down and remove the 1, 2-xylene by applying a vacuum. Raise the temperature to 240 degrees Celsius during the final stage of the polymerization and apply a high vacuum for 30 minutes.Cool the polymer poly-S to room temperature and wash it with methanol to eliminate dihydrogen sinapinic acid and prepolymers. The obtained product should be a light brown solid. Finally grind and serve the poly-S into particles smaller than 180 micrometres to measure hydrolytic degradation.Load several test tubes with 20 milligrams of poly-S and add one milliliter of one molar sodium hydroxide solution. Incubate the tubes at three different temperatures with an agitation of 500 RPM. Neutralize the test tubes at regular time intervals with one milliliter of 0.5 molar sulfuric acid, and add two milliliters of methanol after cooling.Filter all samples using 0.45 micro meter PTFE syringe filters and inject 20 microliters into HPLC using an auto sampler. Monitor the absorbance at 254 nanometers and calculate the concentrations from a calibration curve of known dihydrosinapinic acid standard solutions. Sinapinic acid was synthesized in high purity and a greater than 95%yield from syringaldehyde using the Green Knoevenagel Condensation, the proposed mechanism of the step growth polymerization of 4-Acetoxy-dihydrosinapinic acid is shown here.Hydrogen one and MR measurements were taken during the polymerization process. When poly-S was hydrolyzed in sodium hydroxide, the molecularly recyclable polyester yielded the starting material dihydrosinapinic acid in less than 10 minutes. As confirmed by HBLC melting point analysis and hydrogen one and MR.Extended reaction times did not increase the yield.The thermal grams and GPC analysis of poly-S 1.0 and their successive generations poly-S 2.0 and polyester 3.0 after forced amorphicity with a tactic polystyrene are shown here. DSC analysis of poly-S shows a glass transition signal at 113 degrees Celsius and endothermic melting signal at 281 degrees Celsius. The polymers from re-polymerized sinapinic acid three eight poly-S 2.0 up and poly-H 3.0 exhibit similar thermal properties.Poly-S is a semi crystalline polymeric material because glass transition temperatures and melting signals are present in the thermograms of poly-S and their successive generations. GPC analysis after forced amorphicity with a tactic polystyrene displays a constant length of polymeric material throughout the different generations. While attempting the Green Knoevenagel reaction, please keep in mind that a correct temperature is used.A slightly higher temperature can lead to different site reactions. We have explored an example of a molecularly recyclable polymer. Closely related building blocks can follow the same procedure, or while maintaining thermal and mechanical properties.This method can be used in organic catalysis by demonstrating of the catalytic intermediates, as well in the still unexplored area of molecular recycling.

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Organic Chemistry

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Unit 1

&alpha;-Carbon Chemistry: Enols, Enolates, and Enamines

SCIENTISTS IN ACTION

Gyroid Nickel Nanostructures from Diblock Copolymer Supramolecules

Nanoporous metal foams possess a unique combination of properties - they are catalytically active, thermally and electrically conductive, and furthermore, have high porosity, high surface-to-volume and strength-to-weight ratio. Unfortunately, common approaches for preparation of metallic nanostructures render materials with highly disordered architecture, which might have an adverse effect on their mechanical properties. Block copolymers have the ability to self-assemble into ordered nanostructures and can be applied as templates for the preparation of well-ordered metal nanofoams. Here we describe the application of a block copolymer-based supramolecular complex - polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine)(pentadecylphenol) PS-b-P4VP(PDP) - as a precursor for well-ordered nickel nanofoam. The supramolecular complexes exhibit a phase behavior similar to conventional block copolymers and can self-assemble into the bicontinuous gyroid morphology with two PS networks placed in a P4VP(PDP) matrix. PDP can be dissolved in ethanol leading to the formation of a porous structure that can be backfilled with metal. Using electroless plating technique, nickel can be inserted into the template&#39;s channels. Finally, the remaining polymer can be removed via pyrolysis from the polymer/inorganic nanohybrid resulting in nanoporous nickel foam with inverse gyroid morphology.

This article describes the preparation of well-ordered nickel nanofoams via electroless metal deposition onto nanoporous templates obtained from self-assembled diblock copolymer based supramolecules.

Nanoporous metal foams possess a unique combination of properties - they are catalytically active, thermally and electrically conductive, and furthermore, ...

Preparation of Highly Porous Coordination Polymer Coatings on Macroporous Polymer Monoliths for Enhanced Enrichment of Phosphopeptides

We describe a protocol for the preparation of hybrid materials based on highly porous coordination polymer coatings on the internal surface of macroporous polymer monoliths. The developed approach is based on the preparation of a macroporous polymer containing carboxylic acid functional groups and the subsequent step-by-step solution-based controlled growth of a layer of a porous coordination polymer on the surface of the pores of the polymer monolith. The prepared metal-organic polymer hybrid has a high specific micropore surface area. The amount of iron(III) sites is enhanced through metal-organic coordination on the surface of the pores of the functional polymer support. The increase of metal sites is related to the number of iterations of the coating process.
The developed preparation scheme is easily adapted to a capillary column format. The functional porous polymer is prepared as a self-contained single-block porous monolith within the capillary, yielding a flow-through separation device with excellent flow permeability and modest back-pressure. The metal-organic polymer hybrid column showed excellent performance for the enrichment of phosphopeptides from digested proteins and their subsequent detection using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The presented experimental protocol is highly versatile, and can be easily implemented to different organic polymer supports and coatings with a plethora of porous coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks for multiple purification and/or separation applications.

A procedure for the preparation of porous hybrid separation media composed of a macroporous polymer monolith internally coated by a high surface area microporous coordination polymer is presented.

We describe a protocol for the preparation of hybrid materials based on highly porous coordination polymer coatings on the internal surface of macroporous ...

Photodynamic Therapy with Blended Conducting Polymer/Fullerene Nanoparticle Photosensitizers

In this article a method for the fabrication and reproducible in-vitro evaluation of conducting polymer nanoparticles blended with fullerene as the next generation photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) is reported. The nanoparticles are formed by hydrophobic interaction of the semiconducting polymer MEH-PPV (poly[2-methoxy-5-(2-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene]) with the fullerene PCBM (phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester) in the presence of a non-compatible solvent. MEH-PPV has a high extinction coefficient that leads to high rates of triplet formation, and efficient charge and energy transfer to the fullerene PCBM. The latter processes enhance the efficiency of the PDT system through fullerene assisted triplet and radical formation, and ultrafast deactivation of MEH-PPV excited stated. The results reported here show that this nanoparticle PDT sensitizing system is highly effective and shows unexpected specificity to cancer cell lines.

This protocol describes a method for the fabrication of conducting polymer nanoparticles blended with fullerene. These nanoparticles were investigated for their potential use as a next generation photosensitizers for Photodynamic Therapy (PDT).

In this article a method for the fabrication and reproducible in-vitro evaluation of conducting polymer nanoparticles blended with fullerene as the next ...

Functionalization of Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes with Thermo-reversible Block Copolymers and Characterization by Small-angle Neutron Scattering

We demonstrate a protocol for single-walled carbon nanotube functionalization using thermo-sensitive PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers in an aqueous solution. In a carbon nanotube/PEO105-PPO70-PEO105 (poloxamer 407) aqueous solution, the amphiphilic poloxamer 407 adsorbs onto the carbon nanotube surfaces and self-assembles into continuous layers, driven by intermolecular interactions between constituent molecules. The addition of 5-methylsalicylic acid changes the self-assembled structure from spherical-micellar to a cylindrical morphology. The fabricated poloxamer 407/carbon nanotube hybrid particles exhibit thermo-responsive structural features so that the density and thickness of poloxamer 407 layers are also reversibly controllable by varying temperature. The detailed structural properties of the poloxamer 407/carbon nanotube particles in suspension can be characterized by small-angle neutron scattering experiments and model fit analyses. The distinct curve shapes of the scattering intensities depending on temperature control or addition of aromatic additives are well described by a modified core-shell cylinder model consisting of a carbon nanotube core cylinder, a hydrophobic shell, and a hydrated polymer layer. This method can provide a simple but efficient way for the fabrication and in-situ characterization of carbon nanotube-based nano particles with a structure-tunable encapsulation.

A method for the functionalization of carbon nanotubes with structure-tunable polymeric encapsulation layers and structural characterization using small-angle neutron scattering is presented.

We demonstrate a protocol for single-walled carbon nanotube functionalization using thermo-sensitive PEO-PPO-PEO triblock copolymers in an aqueous ...

The Preparation and Properties of Thermo-reversibly Cross-linked Rubber Via Diels-Alder Chemistry

A method for using Diels Alder thermo-reversible chemistry as cross-linking tool for rubber products is demonstrated. In this work, a commercial ethylene-propylene rubber, grafted with maleic anhydride, is thermo-reversibly cross-linked in two steps. The pending anhydride moieties are first modified with furfurylamine to graft furan groups to the rubber backbone. These pendant furan groups are then cross-linked with a bis-maleimide via a Diels-Alder coupling reaction. Both reactions can be performed under a broad range of experimental conditions and can easily be applied on a large scale. The material properties of the resulting Diels-Alder cross-linked rubbers are similar to a peroxide-cured ethylene/propylene/diene rubber (EPDM) reference. The cross-links break at elevated temperatures (&#62; 150 &#176;C) via the retro-Diels-Alder reaction and can be reformed by thermal annealing at lower temperatures (50-70 &#176;C). Reversibility of the system was proven with infrared spectroscopy, solubility tests and mechanical properties. Recyclability of the material was also shown in a practical way, i.e., by cutting a cross-linked sample into small parts and compression molding them into new samples displaying comparable mechanical properties, which is not possible for conventionally cross-linked rubbers.

A simple two-step approach involving rubber modification and cross-linking yields fully reworkable, elastic rubber products.

A method for using Diels Alder thermo-reversible chemistry as cross-linking tool for rubber products is demonstrated. In this work, a commercial ...

Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation

We present a method for visualizing laser-induced, ultrafast molecular rotational wave packet dynamics. We have developed a new 2-dimensional Coulomb explosion imaging setup in which a hitherto-impractical camera angle is realized. In our imaging technique, diatomic molecules are irradiated with a circularly polarized strong laser pulse. The ejected atomic ions are accelerated perpendicularly to the laser propagation. The ions lying in the laser polarization plane are selected through the use of a mechanical slit and imaged with a high-throughput, 2-dimensional detector installed parallel to the polarization plane. Because a circularly polarized (isotropic) Coulomb exploding pulse is used, the observed angular distribution of the ejected ions directly corresponds to the squared rotational wave function at the time of the pulse irradiation. To create a real-time movie of molecular rotation, the present imaging technique is combined with a femtosecond pump-probe optical setup in which the pump pulses create unidirectionally rotating molecular ensembles. Due to the high image throughput of our detection system, the pump-probe experimental condition can be easily optimized by monitoring a real-time snapshot. As a result, the quality of the observed movie is sufficiently high for visualizing the detailed wave nature of motion. We also note that the present technique can be implemented in existing standard ion imaging setups, offering a new camera angle or viewpoint for the molecular systems without the need for extensive modification.

We present a protocol for creating a real-time movie of a molecular rotational wave packet using a high-resolution Coulomb explosion imaging setup.

We present a method for visualizing laser-induced, ultrafast molecular rotational wave packet dynamics. We have developed a new 2-dimensional Coulomb ...

Microfluidic Dry-spinning and Characterization of Regenerated Silk Fibroin Fibers

The protocol demonstrates a method for mimicking the spinning process of silkworm. In the native spinning process, the contracting spinning duct enables the silk proteins to be compact and ordered by shearing and elongation forces. Here, a biomimetic microfluidic channel was designed to mimic the specific geometry of the spinning duct of the silkworm. Regenerated silk fibroin (RSF) spinning doped with high concentration, was extruded through the microchannel to dry-spin fibers at ambient temperature and pressure. In the post-treated process, the as-spun fibers were drawn and stored in ethanol aqueous solution. Synchrotron radiation wide-angle X-ray diffraction (SR-WAXD) technology was used to investigate the microstructure of single RSF fibers, which were fixed to a sample holder with the RSF fiber axis normal to the microbeam of the X-ray. The crystallinity, crystallite size, and crystalline orientation of the fiber were calculated from the WAXD data. The diffraction arcs near the equator of the two-dimensional WAXD pattern indicate that the post-treated RSF fiber has a high orientation degree.

A protocol for the microfluidic spinning and microstructure characterization of regenerated silk fibroin monofilament is presented.

The protocol demonstrates a method for mimicking the spinning process of silkworm. In the native spinning process, the contracting spinning duct enables ...

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy as a Tool for Electrochemical Rate Constant Estimation

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used for advanced characterization of organic electroactive compounds along with cyclic voltammetry (CV). In the case of fast reversible electrochemical processes, current is predominantly affected by the rate of diffusion, which is the slowest and limiting stage. EIS is a powerful technique that allows separate analysis of stages of charge transfer that have different AC frequency response. The capability of the method was used to extract the value of charge transfer resistance, which characterizes the rate of charge exchange on the electrode-solution interface. The application of this technique is broad, from biochemistry up to organic electronics. In this work, we are presenting the method of analysis of organic compounds for optoelectronic applications.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) of species that undergo reversible oxidation or reduction in solution was used for determination of rate constants of oxidation or reduction.

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used for advanced characterization of organic electroactive compounds along with cyclic voltammetry (CV). ...

Time-resolved Photophysical Characterization of Triplet-harvesting Organic Compounds at an Oxygen-free Environment Using an iCCD Camera

Here, we present a sensible method of the acquisition and analysis of time-resolved photoluminescence using an ultrafast iCCD camera. This system enables the acquisition of photoluminescence spectra covering the time regime from nanoseconds up to 0.1 s. This enables us to follow the changes in the intensity (decay) and emission of the spectra over time. Using this method, it is possible to study diverse photophysical phenomena, such as the emission of phosphorescence, and the contributions of prompt and delayed fluorescence in molecules showing thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). Remarkably, all spectra and decays are obtained in a single experiment. This can be done for solids (thin film, powder, crystal) and liquid samples, where the only limitations are the spectral sensitivity of the camera and the excitation wavelength (532 nm, 355 nm, 337 nm, and 266 nm). This technique is, thus, very important when investigating the excited state dynamics in organic emitters for their application in organic light-emitting diodes and other areas where triplet harvesting is of paramount importance. Since triplet states are strongly quenched by oxygen, emitters with efficient TADF luminescence, or those showing room temperature phosphorescence (RTP), must be correctly prepared in order to remove any dissolved oxygen from solutions and films. Otherwise, no long-lived emission will be observed. The method of degassing solid samples as presented in this work is basic and simple, but the degassing of liquid samples creates additional difficulties and is particularly interesting. A method of minimizing solvent loss and changing the sample concentration, while still enabling to remove oxygen in a very efficient and a repeatable manner, is presented in this work.

Here, we present a method of the spectroscopic characterization of organic molecules by means of time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy on the nanosecond-to-millisecond timescale in oxygen-free conditions. Methods to efficiently remove oxygen from the samples and, thus, limit luminescence quenching are also described.

Here, we present a sensible method of the acquisition and analysis of time-resolved photoluminescence using an ultrafast iCCD camera. This system enables ...

Reactive Vapor Deposition of Conjugated Polymer Films on Arbitrary Substrates

We demonstrate a method of conformally coating conjugated polymers on arbitrary substrates using a custom-designed, low-pressure reaction chamber. Conductive polymers, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and poly(3,4-propylenedioxythiophene) (PProDOT), and a semiconducting polymer, poly(thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PTT), were deposited on unconventional highly-disordered and textured substrates with high surface areas, such as paper, towels and fabrics. This reported deposition chamber is an improvement of previous vapor reactors because our system can accommodate both volatile and nonvolatile monomers, such as 3,4-propylenedioxythiophene and thieno[3,2-b]thiophene. Utilization of both solid and liquid oxidants are also demonstrated. One limitation of this method is that it lacks sophisticated in situ thickness monitors. Polymer coatings made by the commonly used solution-based coating methods, such as spin-coating and surface grafting, are often not uniform or susceptible to mechanical degradation. This reported vapor phase deposition method overcomes those drawbacks and is a strong alternative to common solution-based coating methods. Notably, polymer films coated by the reported method are uniform and conformal on rough surfaces, even at a micrometer scale. This feature allows for future application of vapor deposited polymers in electronics devices on flexible and highly textured substrates.

This paper presents a protocol for reactive vapor deposition of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), poly(3,4-propylenedioxythiophene), and poly(thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) films on glass slides and rough substrates, such as textiles and paper.