Dynamic Gelation of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Consisting of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and ZnO Nanowires
The sol–gel transition of conductive nanocomposites consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and ZnO nanowires in <i>o</i>-dichlorobenzene (<i>o</i>-DCB) has been investigated rheologically. The physical gelation of P3HT in <i>o</i>-DCB spontaneously occurs upo...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Composites Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-477X/5/8/199 |
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| author | Franceska A. Santos Dana J. Christensen Ryan Y. Cox Spencer A. Schultz Raymond H. Fernando Shanju Zhang |
| author_facet | Franceska A. Santos Dana J. Christensen Ryan Y. Cox Spencer A. Schultz Raymond H. Fernando Shanju Zhang |
| author_sort | Franceska A. Santos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The sol–gel transition of conductive nanocomposites consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and ZnO nanowires in <i>o</i>-dichlorobenzene (<i>o</i>-DCB) has been investigated rheologically. The physical gelation of P3HT in <i>o</i>-DCB spontaneously occurs upon adding the small amount of ZnO nanowires. The rheological properties of the P3HT/ZnO nanocomposite gels have been systematically studied by varying factors such as polymer concentration, nanowire loading, and temperature. The nanocomposite gel exhibits shear-thinning in the low shear rate range and shear-thickening in the high shear rate range. The elastic storage modulus of the nanocomposite gel gradually increases with gelation time and is consistently independent of frequency at all investigated ranges. The isothermal gelation kinetics has been analyzed by monitoring the storage modulus with gelation time, and the data are well fitted with a first-order rate law. The structural analysis data reveal that the polymer forms the crystalline layer coated on ZnO nanowires. A fringed micelle model is proposed to explain the possible gelation mechanism. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:42:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8c5416f27aec4ed7b8352e8f088403a0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-477X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T08:42:06Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Composites Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-8c5416f27aec4ed7b8352e8f088403a02023-11-22T08:13:17ZengMDPI AGJournal of Composites Science2504-477X2021-07-015819910.3390/jcs5080199Dynamic Gelation of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Consisting of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and ZnO NanowiresFranceska A. Santos0Dana J. Christensen1Ryan Y. Cox2Spencer A. Schultz3Raymond H. Fernando4Shanju Zhang5Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USADepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, CA 93407, USAThe sol–gel transition of conductive nanocomposites consisting of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and ZnO nanowires in <i>o</i>-dichlorobenzene (<i>o</i>-DCB) has been investigated rheologically. The physical gelation of P3HT in <i>o</i>-DCB spontaneously occurs upon adding the small amount of ZnO nanowires. The rheological properties of the P3HT/ZnO nanocomposite gels have been systematically studied by varying factors such as polymer concentration, nanowire loading, and temperature. The nanocomposite gel exhibits shear-thinning in the low shear rate range and shear-thickening in the high shear rate range. The elastic storage modulus of the nanocomposite gel gradually increases with gelation time and is consistently independent of frequency at all investigated ranges. The isothermal gelation kinetics has been analyzed by monitoring the storage modulus with gelation time, and the data are well fitted with a first-order rate law. The structural analysis data reveal that the polymer forms the crystalline layer coated on ZnO nanowires. A fringed micelle model is proposed to explain the possible gelation mechanism.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-477X/5/8/199gelationconductive polymer compositesZnO nanowiresrheology |
| spellingShingle | Franceska A. Santos Dana J. Christensen Ryan Y. Cox Spencer A. Schultz Raymond H. Fernando Shanju Zhang Dynamic Gelation of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Consisting of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and ZnO Nanowires Journal of Composites Science gelation conductive polymer composites ZnO nanowires rheology |
| title | Dynamic Gelation of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Consisting of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and ZnO Nanowires |
| title_full | Dynamic Gelation of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Consisting of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and ZnO Nanowires |
| title_fullStr | Dynamic Gelation of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Consisting of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and ZnO Nanowires |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dynamic Gelation of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Consisting of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and ZnO Nanowires |
| title_short | Dynamic Gelation of Conductive Polymer Nanocomposites Consisting of Poly(3-hexylthiophene) and ZnO Nanowires |
| title_sort | dynamic gelation of conductive polymer nanocomposites consisting of poly 3 hexylthiophene and zno nanowires |
| topic | gelation conductive polymer composites ZnO nanowires rheology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-477X/5/8/199 |
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