Thiophene-based conjugated polymers are important conjugated polymers due to their exceptional optical and conductive properties, over the past few decades many researchers have designed novel strategies to reach more efficient materials for electronic applications.

A series of new linear conjugated polymers incorporating different substituted thieno[3,2- b ]thiophenes as donor, acetylene as π-bridge and benzothiadiazole as acceptor units were synthesized via Pd-catalyzed Sonogashira cross-coupling polymerization.

Bisphenol A diglycidylether (DGEBA) based low viscosity, liquid epoxy resins are widely used as basis for advanced polymers and nanocomposites, adhesives, protective coatings and encapsulation. We present “green” synthesis of nano-SiO₂/epoxy polymer hybrids by a two-step chronological polymerization of inorganic and organic monomers without the use of diluents (solvents). Two types of liquid epoxy resins, D.E.R. 330 and D.E.R. 332, are used to demonstrate the influence of resin viscosity on microstructure, tensile strength and thermal stability of resulting hybrids. Obviously, differences in viscosity of two epoxy resins originate from variations in respective chain lengths, i.e. molar mass, which affect the overall crosslink density and properties of hybrids. In addition, grafting of nano-SiO₂ phases with organosilane is performed to achieve inorganic–organic (IO) phase interlinking and to investigate its consequences. Nano-SiO₂/epoxy hybrids are characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and XPS. AFM is used to study microstructure and surface properties of hybrids. AFM images show good distribution of nano-SiO₂ phases within epoxy polymer. It is observed that the size of nano-SiO₂ grows significantly, if resin viscosity is increased or if covalent IO phase interlinks are not present. Tensile measurements show considerable improvement in strength and modulus of nano-SiO₂/epoxy polymer hybrids as compared to neat epoxy polymers. DSC and TGA also demonstrate an increase in glass transition temperature (T_g) and thermal stability. We observe that viscosity effects are evenly pronounced in solventless processing of nano-SiO₂/epoxy polymer hybrids, and small changes in resin viscosity influence the miscibility of IO phases, the dispersion of SiO₂ and the performance of resulting hybrids.

A new methodology involving the use of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) as a probe and liquid crystal (LC) as a signal reporter for the detection of heavy metal ions in water at neutral pH was developed. BSA acted as a multi-dentate ligand for the detection of multiple metal ions. The LC sensor was fabricated by immobilizing 3 µg mL⁻¹ BSA solution on dimethyloctadecyl-[3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]ammonium chloride (DMOAP)-coated glass slides. In the absence of heavy metal ions, a dark optical image was observed, while in their presence, a dark optical image turned to bright. The optical response was characterized by using a polarized optical microscope (POM). The BSA based LC sensor selectively detected toxic metal ions as compared to s block metal ions and ammonium ions in water. Moreover, the limit of detection was found to be very low (i.e., 1 nM) for the developed new biosensor in comparison to reported biosensors.

This paper presents the synthesis and thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy-titania composites. First, submicron titania particles are prepared via surfactant-free sol-gel method using TiCl₄as precursor. These particles are subsequently used as inorganic fillers (or reinforcement) for thermally cured epoxy polymers. Epoxy-titania composites are prepared via mechanical mixing of titania particles with liquid epoxy resin and subsequently curing the mixture with an aliphatic diamine. The amount of titania particles integrated into epoxy matrix is varied between 2.5 and 10.0 wt.% to investigate the effect of sub-micron titania particles on thermal and mechanical properties of epoxy-titania composites. These composites are characterized by X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric (TG), and mechanical analyses. It is found that sub-micron titania particles significantly enhance the glass transition temperature (>6.7%), thermal oxidative stability (>12.0%), tensile strength (>21.8%), and Young’s modulus (>16.8%) of epoxy polymers. Epoxy-titania composites with 5.0 wt.% sub-micron titania particles perform best at elevated temperatures as well as under high stress.