University of Florida Research Foundation Inc

Dow Corning Corporation

Dow Silicones Corporation

Chad Martin Amb

John Robert Reynolds

Pierre Marc Beaujuge

Aubrey Lynn Dyer

Emily Thompson

Brandon W Swatowski

Justin Adam Kerszulis

Franky So

Stefan Ellinger

Khristopher Edward Alvarez

William Kenneth Weidner

Jianguo Mei

Sarah Breed

Pengjie Shi

Dale L Jarzabkowski

A method of preparing an optical connector located within a gap between a first optical assembly and a second optical assembly is provided. The optical connector includes a contrast layer having at least one cured bridge portion and at least one uncured portion formed from a first composition having a first refractive index (RI). The method comprises applying a second composition having a second refractive index (RI) on the contrast layer to form a second layer and mixing at least a portion of the second layer with the at least one uncured portion of the contrast layer to form at least one intermixed portion having a third refractive index (RI), wherein R|&#x3e;R|&#x3e;RI, and then curing the intermixed portion and optional second layer such that each one of the at least one cured bridge portions is surrounded by an intermixed portion and optional second layer.

Method of preparing an optical connector and optical devices comprising the optical connector prepared thereby

A curable composition comprises a cationic polymerizable material. The curable composition further comprises a diluent component comprising a silane compound having a single silicon-bonded cationic polymerizable group. A method of forming a cured article with the curable composition is also disclosed. The method comprises applying the curable composition on a substrate to form a film. The method further comprises curing the film on the substrate to form the cured article. The present invention also provides the cured article formed in accordance with the method.

Curable composition, method of preparing cured article, and cured article formed thereby

Embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of forming a film of an insoluble conjugated polymer (CP) by deposition of an ionic CP from aqueous solution and converting the ionic CP to the insoluble CP. The ionic CP can be the salt of a carboxylic acid, sulfonic acid, phosphonic acid, boronic acid, amine, imine, phosphine, thioether, or complexed bidentate or polydentate ligand. The insoluble CP film can be used with an aqueous electrolyte solution for use as: an electrochromic film; charge injection layer for a solar cell, LED, and FET; conventional paints; supercapacitor; battery; electronic paper; anti-static coating; transparent conductor; sensors; anti-microbial coating; adhesive; RFID; or memory system.

Processing method for water soluble polymeric materials

Embodiments of the invention are directed to Ge comprising heterocyclic compounds which can be used for the preparation of homopolymers and copolymers. The copolymers can be donor-acceptor (DA) alternating copolymers where the donor unit is a Ge comprising heterocyclic unit. The polymers can be used as materials in solar cells and other photovoltaic devices, transistors, diodes, light emitting devices (LEDs), conductors, supercapacitors, batteries, and electrochromic devices.

Germole containing conjugated molecules and polymers

Embodiments of the invention are directed to yellow-to-transmissive conjugated polymers, a method to prepare the yellow conjugated polymers, the use of the yellow conjugated polymers in an electrochromic and/or electroluminescent device comprising neutral state primary subtractive colored conjugated polymers, and a method to prepare the device comprising the yellow conjugated polymer. The yellow conjugated polymers comprise a sequence of dioxythiophene units alternating with aromatic units, thiophene units, furan units, and/or pyrrole units. The yellow conjugated polymers are prepared by cross-condensation reactions. The yellow conjugated polymers can be soluble and preparation of the device involves deposition of the yellow conjugated polymer from solution onto a surface.

Cathodically coloring yellow soluble electrochromic and light emitting polymers

Embodiments of the invention are directed to alternating donor-acceptor (DA) polymers that are soluble and display a blue or green neutral state that oxidizes to a transmissive state for use as an electrochromic polymer. The D units have 3,4-dioxythiophene, 3,6-dialkoxythieno[3,2-b]thiophene or 3,5-dialkoxy-dithieno[3,2-b:2',3&#x2032;-d]thiophene groups. Embodiments of the invention are directed to a method for preparation of the alternating DA polymeric sequences of the DA polymers by a cross-condensation of a nucleophilic acceptor monomer and an electrophilic donor monomer.

Soluble alternating donor-acceptor conjugated polymer electrochromes

Embodiments of the invention are directed to random conjugated copolymers comprising a plurality of one or more different donor (D) repeating units and a plurality of at least one acceptor (A) repeating unit. At least one of the D units has a solubilizing substituent, statistically a portion of the A repeating units are separated from each other by only one D units and a plurality of the A unit are adjacent to one the D units having the solubilizing substituents. The random conjugated copolymers are black or colored in the neutral state and highly transmissive in the oxidized state. The random conjugated copolymers have the structure -[(D)A]-, where x&#x3e;1 and n(x+1)&#x2267;10 or the structure -[(DA))-(D'A)]-, where D represents one substituted D unit and D&#x2032; represents another D units and where x&#x2267;1, y&#x2267;1 and 2n(x+y)&#x2267;10. Other embodiments of the invention are directed to forming the -[(D)A]- or -[(DA)-(D&#x2032;A)]- random conjugated copolymers by condensation polymerizations between monomers containing complementary reactive groups.

Multi-colored conjugated polymers with highly transmissive oxidized state

A soluble fused donor-acceptor conjugated polymer (fDA-CP) is prepared that absorbs light throughout nearly all the visible spectrum and is essentially black to the human eye when in the neutral state. The conjugated polymer has acceptor units that are isolated by a plurality of fused donor units. The fDA-CP assumes a conformation that results in a close &#x3c0;-stacking between adjacent lamella with a separation of less than 4.5 &#x212b; in the solid state and extended conjugation to promote high charge carrier mobilities. The fDA-CP is prepared by the polycondensation of a plurality of at least one fused donor-acceptor oligomer (fDA-oligomer) that has a flat internal acceptor unit and at least one fused donor unit incorporated in the oligomers, and optionally, an additional conjugated aromatic monomer or oligomer copolymerized with the fDA-oligomers.

Growing community of inventors

Midland, MI, United States of America

Chad Martin Amb