Publications

Molecular imprinted polymers(MPIs) attract considerable interest as synthetic materials mimicking molecular recognition of natural receptors. However, integration of MIPs in clinical diagnostics is difficult because of limitations involving the integration of MIPs with transducers and the transformation of binding events into measurable signals. As a universal solution to these limitations a novel biosensor platform has been developed, in which ...

Shape memory polymers (SMP) can be deformed from a permanent to a temporary shape above their transformation temperature. Upon reheating, the SMP spontaneously returns to the permanent shape. SMP show high deformability, but the recovery stresses are very low, thus limiting the size of the components. This paper presents the first results of an ongoing research to develop large sized components based on SMP. To achieve higher recovery stresses, ...

In the past decade, a tremendous amount of research has been performed in the field of organic photovoltaics, resulting in power conversion efficiencies (PCE’s) of over 10% for single junction polymer-based solar cells. Unfortunately, the photovoltaic performance can differ from batch to batch and it remains rather difficult to synthesize conjugated polymer materials on a large scale and with a high reproducibility in material properties, a ...

Rotational blobsWe have studied the properties of a linear polymer performing a stationary rotational motion around a long, impenetrable rod - using both blob theory andcomputer simulations. The polymer was forced into rotation by attaching one of its ends to the rod, and imposing a fixed torque on this end. We then studied the response of the polymer as a whole, using torsional blobs. Within such a blob, the polymer obeys the statistics of a ...

A fully branched hyperbranched polymer with a focal point has been prepared by superelectrophilic polycondensation of AB2 monomers with a core with six functional arms (B6′) in a slow addition manner. To reduce the chance of the homopolymerization of the monomers, the acenaphthenequinone group with higher reactivity was chosen as B′ for the core and the isatin group with lower reactivity as B in the monomer. The obtained polymers were ...

Fullerene-free organic photovoltaics have recently reached impressive power conversion efficiencies above 14% for single junctions, increasing their competitiveness with respect to alternative thin-film technologies. In most record devices, electron-donating conjugated polymers are combined with novel generation small molecule acceptors. All-polymer organic solar cells, on the other hand, still lag behind in efficiency, although they have ...

The modification of cement mortars with small amounts of water-soluble polymers (polyvinyl alcohol-acetate, methylcellulose and hydroxyethylcellulose) is studied. During hardening, two processes can take place, i.e. cement hydration and polymer film or bridge formation. Due to the very low polymer contents, the formation of polymer films is generally not considered. In this paper, evidence is given of the presence of polymer films or bridges in ...

n Chapter 1, a general introduction to the field of conjugated polymers is given. Conjugated polymers are unique materials, which combine the electronic and optical properties of semiconductors with the mechanical properties and processability of conventional polymers. Generally, organic and polymeric materials have the advantage of being lightweight, flexible, low-cost and straightforward to process. Nowadays, as a result of the wide variety in ...