The discovery of nanodipolar π-conjugated oligomer-containing polymers as high performance nanodielectric materials with high permittivity and low dielectric loss over a wide range of frequency (100 Hz–4 MHz) is reported. Terthiophene-containing methacrylate polymers are synthesized by reversible addition fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization. Both X-ray and thermal studies indicate the formation of small crystalline domains of terthiophene side chains dispersed in amorphous matrix. The highly polarizable and fast-responsive nanodipoles from the nanoscale crystalline domains (<2 nm) are believed to dictate the performance. These polymers uniquely satisfy nanodipole architectures conjectured two decades ago to guide the design of high performance nanodielectric materials. This unprecedented approach can be generalized to a variety of π-conjugated oligomer-containing polymers for the development of high energy density capacitor materials.

The development of sustainable renewable polymers from natural resources has increasingly gained attention from scientists, engineers as well as the general public and government agencies. This review covers recent progress in the field of renewable bio-based monomers and polymers from natural resources: terpenes, terpenoids, and rosin, which are a class of hydrocarbon-rich biomass with abundance and low cost, holding much potential for utilization as organic feedstocks for green plastics and composites. This review details polymerization and copolymerization of terpenes such as pinene, limonene, and myrcene and their derivatives, terpenoids including carvone and menthol, and rosin-derived monomers. The future direction on the utilization of these natural resources is discussed.

This review covers recent advances in developing square arrays in thin films using block copolymers. Theoretical and experimental results from self-assembly of block copolymers in bulk and thin films, directed self-assembly of block copolymers confined in small wells, on substrates with arrays of posts, and on chemically nanopatterned substrates, as well as applications as nanolithography are reviewed. Some future work and hypothesis are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2013

Side-chain cobaltocenium-containing block copolymers are prepared by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). These block copolymers include one cobaltocenium-containing block, with the second block being either a nonmetal-containing segment or a cobaltocenium-containing segment with different counterions. These block copolymers are self-assembled into spherical core/shell micelles in solutions. A template strategy is used to prepare cobalt (II or III)-containing nanoparticles by treating the self-assembled micelles via UV/ozonolysis and pyrolysis. Characterization by X-ray photon spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction indicates that these nanoparticles consist of different oxidants of cobalt, depending on the chemical compositions of block copolymers.

We report a new generation of nanodielectric energy storage materials based on supramolecular block copolymers. In our approach, highly polarizable, conducting nanodomains are embedded within an insulating matrix through block copolymer microphase separation. An applied electric field leads to electronic polarization of the conducting domains. The high interfacial area of microphase-separated domains amplifies the polarization, leading to high dielectric permittivity. Specifically, reversible addition fragmentation transfer (RAFT) polymerization was used to prepare block copolymers with poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) as the insulating segment and a strongly acidic dopant moiety, poly-(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPSA), as the basis for the conducting segment. The PAMPSA block was complexed with an oligoaniline trimer to form a dopant-conjugated moiety complex that is electronically conductive after oxidation. For the undoped neat block copolymers, the increase of the PMA block length leads to a transition in dielectric properties from ionic conductor to dielectric capacitor with polarization resulting from migration of protons within the isolated PAMPSA domains. The oligoaniline-doped copolymers show remarkably different dielectric properties. At frequencies above 200 kHz, they exhibit characteristics of dielectric capacitors with much higher permittivity and lower dielectric loss than the corresponding undoped copolymers.

This review summarizes recent work on side-chain metallocene-containing polymers prepared by controlled and living polymerizations, which include living anionic polymerization (LAP), ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) and controlled radical polymerization (CRP) such as atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT), and nitroxide-mediated polymerization (NMP). The majority of efforts in the field are focused on side-chain ferrocene-containing polymers, while cobaltocenium-containing polymers have recently started to draw attention. Future direction on the development of other metallocene-containing polymers is discussed.