Publications

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We obtained a kerosene-soluble form of the lithium salt [UO2(O2)(OH)2]24 phase (Li-U24), by adding cetyltrimethylammonium bromide surfactant to aqueous Li-U24. Interestingly, its variable-temperature solution 7Li NMR spectroscopy resolves two narrowly spaced resonances down to -10 °C, which shift upfield with increasing temperature, and finally coalesce at temperatures > 85 °C. Comparison with solid-state NMR demonstrates that the Li dynamics in the Li-U24-CTA phase involves only exchange between different local encapsulated environments. This behavior is distinct from the rapid Li exchange dynamics observed between encapsulated and external Li environments for Li-U24 in both the aqueous and the solid-state phases. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the two experimental 7Li NMR chemical shifts are due to Li cations coordinated within the square and hexagonal faces of the U24 cage, and they can undergo exchange within the confined environment, as the solution is heated. Very different than U24 in aqueous media, there is no evidence that the Li cations exit the cage, and therefore, this represents a truly confined space.

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The nature of microhydration in sulfonated Diels-Alder poly(phenylene) (SDAPP) polymer membranes is explored using ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) electronic structure calculations. The impact of the aromatic poly(phenylene) structure, including cooperative effects between multiple spatially adjacent sulfonic groups, on the hydration environment is addressed using a series of DFT B3LYP/6-311∗∗-optimized structures for different SDAPP·nH2O clusters. In addition, larger SDAPP polymer fragments, along with selected hydrophilic domain structures extracted from molecular dynamic (MD) simulations, are also evaluated using ONIOM HF/PM6 semiempirical calculations. The SDAPP clusters reveal that spontaneous proton dissociation occurs at low levels of hydration to form sulfonic-acid-associated H3O+ contact ion pairs (CIPs), which then evolve into solvated CIPs at higher hydration levels. For multiple sulfonic acid groups located on the poly(phenylene) side chains, the hydration energies are a function of the relative acid location and backbone configuration. Variations in the phenylene backbone torsional angles allow remote sulfonic acids to adopt an optimal separation to produce an extended hydrogen bonded network of waters between the SDAPP acids groups. These calculations provide a baseline to help describe the proton transport and hydration behavior of SDAPP membranes.

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We detail the development of a flexible simulation program (NMR_DIFFSIM) that solves the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spin diffusion equation for arbitrary polymer architectures. The program was used to explore the proton (1H) NMR spin diffusion behavior predicted for a range of geometrical models describing polymer exchange membranes. These results were also directly compared with the NMR spin diffusion behavior predicted for more complex domain structures obtained from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The numerical implementation and capabilities of NMR_DIFFSIM were demonstrated by evaluating the experimental NMR spin diffusion behavior for the hydrophilic domain structure in sulfonated Diels-Alder Poly(Phenylene) (SDAPP) polymer membranes. The impact of morphology variations as a function of sulfonation and hydration level on the resulting NMR spin diffusion behavior were determined. These simulations allowed us to critically address the ability of NMR spin diffusion to discriminate between different structural models, and to highlight the extremely high fidelity experimental data required to accomplish this. A direct comparison of experimental double-quantum-filtered 1H NMR spin diffusion in SDAPP membranes to the spin diffusion behavior predicted for MD-proposed morphologies revealed excellent agreement, providing experimental support for the MD structures at low to moderate hydration levels. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2018, 56, 62–78.

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This report catalogues the results of a project exploring the incorporation of organometallic compounds into thermosetting polymers as a means to reduce their residual stress. Various syntheses of polymerizable ferro cene derivatives were attempted with mixed success. Ultimately, a diamine derivative of ferrocene was used as a curing agen t for a commercial epoxy resin, where it was found to give similar cure kinetics and mechanical properties in comparison to conventional curing agents. T he ferrocen e - based material is uniquely able to relax stress above the glass transition, leading to reduced cure stress. We propose that this behavior arises from the fluxional capacity of ferrocene. In support of this notion, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy indicates a substantial increase in chain flexibility in the ferrocene - containing network. Although t he utilization of fluxionality is a novel approach to stress management in epoxy thermosets, it is anticipated to have greater impact in radical - cured ther mosets and linear polymers.

Physical stress relaxation in rubbery, thermoset polymers is limited by cross-links, which impede segmental motion and restrict relaxation to network defects, such as chain ends. In parallel, the cure shrinkage associated with thermoset polymerizations leads to the development of internal residual stress that cannot be effectively relaxed. Recent strategies have reduced or eliminated such cure stress in thermoset polymers largely by exploiting chemical relaxation processes, wherein temporary cross-links or otherwise transient bonds are incorporated into the polymer network. Here, we explore an alternative approach, wherein physical relaxation is enhanced by the incorporation of organometallic sandwich moieties into the backbone of the polymer network. A standard epoxy resin is cured with a diamine derivative of ferrocene and compared to conventional diamine curing agents. The ferrocene-based thermoset is clearly distinguished from the conventional materials by reduced cure stress with increasing cure temperature as well as unique stress relaxation behavior above its glass transition in the fully cured state. The relaxation experiments exhibit features characteristic of a physical relaxation process. Furthermore, the cure stress is observed to vanish precipitously upon deliberate introduction of network defects through an increasing imbalance of epoxy and amine functional groups. We postulate that these beneficial properties arise from fluxional motion of the cyclopentadienyl ligands on the polymer backbone.

Solid state NMR spectroscopy is inherently sensitive to chemical structure and composition, and thus makes an ideal method to probe the heterogeneity of multicomponent polymers. Specifically, NMR spin diffusion experiments can be used to extract reliable information about spatial domain sizes on multiple length scales, provided that magnetization selection of one domain can be achieved. In this paper, we demonstrate the preferential filtering of protons in fluorinated domains during NMR spin diffusion exper-iments using ¹H-¹⁹F heteronuclear dipolar dephasing based on rotational echo double resonance (REDOR) MAS NMR techniques. Three pulse sequence variations are demonstrated based on the different nuclei detected: direct ¹H detection, plus both ¹H→¹³C cross polarization (CP) and ¹H→¹⁹F CP detection schemes. This ¹H-¹⁹F REDOR-filtered spin diffusion method was used to measure fluorinated domain sizes for a complex polymer blend. The efficacy of the REDOR-based spin filter does not rely on spin relaxation behavior or chemical shift differences, and thus is applicable for performing NMR spin diffu-sion experiments in samples where traditional magnetization filters may prove unsuccessful. This REDOR-filtered NMR spin diffusion method can also be extended to other samples where a heteronuclear spin pair exists that is unique to the domain of interest.

The preparation and characterization of novel tin fluorophosphate glass (Pglass) matrix nanocomposite materials containing nanoscale trisilanolphenyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) prepared via classical glass synthesis was investigated to accelerate efforts to develop novel hybrid Pglass/POSS nanocomposites with enhanced benefits in suitable diverse applications. The glass transition temperatures (Tg) of the obtained nanocomposites ranged from 121.6° to 147.6 °C to an extent that depends on the nano-POSS concentrations (≤ 10 wt% POSS) in the nanocomposites. The obtained scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy results confirmed the homogeneous molecular level dispersion of the POSS cages in the continuous Pglass matrix of the nanocomposite. Chemical reaction (or bonding) between the constituents of the nanocomposites was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The rheological (storage and loss modulus) and nanomechanical (elastic modulus) properties of the nanocomposites significantly improved with increasing nano-POSS concentrations up to 10 wt% POSS. The molecular dispersion of the POSS and its strong physicochemical interaction with the continuous Pglass matrix can be tailored to satisfy requirements of a number of optomechanical applications where the pure glass is not useable.

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Methylammonium lead iodide (MAPbIx) perovskites are organic-inorganic semiconductors that serve as the light-harvesting component of the photovoltaics, and are desirable with their long diffusion length yielding power conversion efficiencies of ≥22%. Conventional techniques grow perovskites by spin coating precursors on an oxide or a polymer substrate followed by annealing, however, use of high boiling point solvents and high temperatures hinder device stability and performance. Through a one-step, acid-catalyzed nucleophilic-substitutional crystal growth in polar protic solvents, we show evidence for the substrate- and annealing- free production of MAPbIx polycrystals that are metallic-lead-free with negligibly small amount of PbI2 precipitation (<10%). On the basis of this chemical composition, we have devised an in situ growth of highly air (upto ~1.5 months) and thermally-stable (≤300°C), tetragonal-phased, variable-sized polycrystals (~100 nm-10 μm) amendable for large-area deposition, and ultimately, large-scale manufacturing. This method is encouraging for stable optoelectronic devices, and leads to energy-efficient and low-cost processing.

Here, Pt-based heterobimetallic lantern complexes of the form [PtM(SOCR)₄(L)] have been shown previously to form intermolecular metallophilic interactions and engage in antiferromagnetic coupling between lanterns having M atoms with open shell configurations. In order to understand better the influence of the carboxylate bridge and terminal ligand on the electronic structure, as well as the metal–metal interactions within each lantern unit, a series of diamagnetic lantern complexes, [PtMg(SAc)₄(OH₂)] (1), [PtMg(tba)₄(OH₂)] (2), [PtCa(tba)₄(OH₂)] (3), [PtZn(tba)₄(OH₂)] (4), and a mononuclear control (Ph₄P)₂[Pt(SAc)₄] (5) have been synthesized. Crystallographic data show close Pt–M contacts enforced by the lantern structure in each dinuclear case. ¹⁹⁵Pt-NMR spectroscopy of 1–4, (Ph₄P)₂[Pt(SAc)₄] (5), and several previously reported lanterns revealed a strong chemical shift dependence on the identity of the second metal (M), mild influence by the thiocarboxylate ligand (SOCR; R = CH₃ (thioacetate, SAc), C₆H₅ (thiobenzoate, tba)), and modest influence from the terminal ligand (L). Fluorescence spectroscopy has provided evidence for a Pt···Zn metallophilic interaction in [PtZn(SAc)₄(OH₂)], and computational studies demonstrate significant dative character. In all of 1–4, the short Pt–M distances suggest that metal-only Lewis donor (Pt)–Lewis acceptor (M) interactions could be present. DFT and NBO calculations, however, show that only the Zn examples have appreciable covalent character, whereas the Mg and Ca complexes are much more ionic.