University of Massachusetts

Ryan Hayward

Sankaran Thayumanavan

Alfred J Crosby

Mark Tuominen

Edwin P Chan

Dayong Chen

Bin Xu

Di Zeng

Maria Chiappelli

In an embodiment, a porous material comprises a base polymer having a continuous pore structure. In another embodiment, a method of making the porous material comprises reacting a base polymer with a degradable polymer with a crosslinker in the presence of a solvent and/or reacting a base polymer and a degradable polymer with a crosslinker in the presence of the solvent; removing the solvent to form a phase separated material; and removing the degradable polymer to form the porous material.

Porous material and methods of making and of using the same

Strain-gated logic devices are important for the development of advanced flexible electronics. Using a dual-monolayer-promoted film-transfer technique, a flexible multilayer structure capable of undergoing large compressive deformation was prepared. Formation of a crease in the gap between electrodes at a geometrically tunable strain leads to formation of an electrical connection in a reversible and reproducible fashion. A strain-gated electrical switch includes at least two conductive electrodes disposed on a surface of an elastomer substrate, the at least two conductive electrodes forming a gap between the at least two electrodes in an off-state of the strain-gated electrical switch, the gap diminishing under compressive strain to form a crease, the compressive strain pressing the at least two electrodes into contact with each other in an on-state of the strain-gated electrical switch.

Mechanically gated electrical switches by creasing of patterned metal/elastomer bilayer films

A radiation sensor includes a substrate and a polymer multilayer film including alternating layers of a high refractive index polymer and a low refractive index polymer. The high refractive index polymer and the low refractive index polymer each comprise repeat units derived from a photo-crosslinkable monomer. The radiation sensors are useful in preparing various articles, including wearable patches, packaging materials, labels, and window panes. Also described is a method of detecting radiation using the radiation sensors.

Photonic polymer multilayers for colorimetric radiation sensing

A wrinkled adhesive surface is prepared by swelling a laterally confined elastomer layer with a polymerizable monomer composition. Swelling the elastomer layer spontaneously produces a wrinkled surface, and the wrinkles are then stabilized by polymerizing the polymerizable monomer composition. The stabilized wrinkled surfaces prepare by the method can exhibit substantially enhanced adhesion relative to smooth surfaces of the same material. The stabilized wrinkled surfaces can also exhibit adhesion that is repeatable through many cycles of contact with and separation from another surface. The adhesive characteristics of the stabilized wrinkled surfaces can be tailored by manipulating the size of the wrinkles.

Wrinkled adhesive surfaces and methods for the preparation thereof

Polymers including pendent hydrophobic groups and pendent proton transfer groups are shown to form nanostructured films exhibiting greatly increased proton conductivity compared with films prepared from corresponding polymers lacking hydrophobic groups. The polymers can include repeating units each of which has both a hydrophobic group and a proton transfer group. Alternatively, the polymers can be the product of copolymerizing a first monomer with at least one hydrophobic group and a second monomer with at least one proton transfer group. The polymers are useful for the preparation of fuel cell proton exchange membranes.

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Northampton, MA, United States of America

Ryan Hayward