Tetrahydrofuran thf

Solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) BUNA 2525-2 VSL HM containing 25% vinyl content and 25% styrene content was supplied by Lanxess, Cologne, Germany. Tetrahydrofuran (THF), N-butyl amine, sulfur, zinc oxide, and stearic acid were acquired from Acros Organics, Germany. The vulcanizing accelerators N-cyclohexyl 2-benzothioazolesulfonamide (CBS-Vulkacit CZ) and diphenyl guanidine (DPG) were delivered by Lanxess, Germany. The precursor for the in-situ silica generation tetraethoxyorthosilicate (TEOS) was obtained from Sigma Aldrich (Munich, Germany) with a purity of 90%. The precipitated silica (Ultrasil VN-3) exhibiting a BET surface of 175 m²/g and a purity of 99% and the silane coupling agent bis[3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl]tetrasulfide (TESPT) were kindly provided by Evonik Industries, Essen, Germany.

Poly (glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA, M_n = 10–20,000 g/mol) was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Darmstadt, Germany). Absolute ethanol (EtOH, 99.8%) was acquired from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). Tetrahydrofuran (THF, 99.98%) and chloroform (CHCl₃, ≥99%) were purchased from Acros Organics (Darmstadt, Germany). Purified water (H₂O) was used from a Milli-Q Direct-8 system from Merck Millipore (Darmstadt, Germany). All chemicals were used as received, if not otherwise specifically noted. Highly polished single-crystal silicon wafers of {100} orientation (Si-Mat Silicon Materials, Kaufering, Germany) were used as a substrate. End-functionalized PNiPAAm polymers (M_n = 50,200 g/mol, M_w/M_n = 1.28, monomer number of every chain is about 443) with a terminal (tert-butyl protected) carboxy group were synthesized and characterized as described previously [31 (link)].

Acryloyl chloride (96%, Alfa Aesar), 3-chloro-1-propanol (98%, Sigma Aldrich), 6-chloro-1-hexanol (96%, TCI), 8-chloro-1-octanol (98%, Sigma Aldrich), 1-butylimidazole (99%, abcr), 1-hexylimidazole (>98%, IoLiTec), tetrahydrofuran (THF, 99.5%, Acros Organics, stored over molecular sieve 0.3 nm), triethylamine (≥99.5%, TEA, Sigma Aldrich), diethyl ether (99.5%, ChemSolute), ethyl acetate (≥99.8%, fisher scientific), magnesium sulfate (anhydrous, Alfa Aesar) were used for the synthesis and purification of the monomers. The non-ionic crosslinker N,N’-diethyl-1,3-bis(acrylamido)propane (BAAP) was provided by Ivoclar Vivadent AG (Schaan, FL). The photoinitiator diphenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phosphine oxide (97%, TPO, Sigma Aldrich), the conducting salts tetrabutylammonium chloride (TBACl, 98%, TCI), zinc perchlorate hexahydrate (99.997%, Thermo Fisher Scientific), and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (>98%, IoLiTec) were used as received. Milli-Q water was used as a swelling agent. Zinc electrodes (99.995%, thickness 0.1 mm, Alfa Aesar), separator Celgard 2500 (thickness 25 µm, CELGARD, North Carolina, U.S.A.), ethylene carbonate (anhydrous, ≥99%, EC, Sigma Aldrich), dimethyl carbonate (anhydrous, 99%, DMC, Sigma Aldrich) and p(TEMPO-methacrylate) (p(TEMPO-MA)) electrodes were prepared in the Jena group according to former work [25 (link)].

Indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrates were purchased from South China Science & Technology Company Limited (Shenzhen, China). Anhydrous bismuth triiodide (BiI₃, >98.0%, anhydrous) was purchased from Tci (Shanghai, China). Copper(I) thiocyanate (CuSCN, 99%) was purchased from Aladdin (Shanghai, China). [6 (link),6 (link)]-phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₇₁BM) was purchased from Organtec Ltd (Beijing, China). Diethyl sulfide (DES, 97%+) was purchased from Adamas (Shanghai, China). Tetrahydrofuran (THF, 99.5%, extra dry), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, 99.7+%, extra dry), trichloromethane (CF), and chlorobenzene (CB, 99.8%, extra dry) were purchased from Acros (Geel, Belgium). All of the materials were used as received without further purification.

Polycaprolactone (PCL, CAPA 6503, M_w = 50,000) from Solvay Caprolactones, Warrington, UK, was used for the blends and the preparation of the interfacial agents without further purification or drying. Glycidyl methacrylate (GMA, purity of 97%, Aldrich, Zwijndrecht, The Netherlands) as grafting monomer was also used without further purification. Azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN, purity of 98%, Acros Organics, Landsmeer, The Netherlands) and benzoyl peroxide (BPO, 75% purity, from Merck, Darmstadt, Germany) were used as radical initiators. Carbon dioxide (Linde Schiedam, CO₂) and nitrogen (Linde Schiedam, N₂) were used during the grafting reaction. Tetrahydrofuran (THF, >99% purity from Acros, Geel, Belgium) and methanol (99.8% purity from Labscan, Dublin, Ireland) were used during the purification process. Potato starch (with 75% amylopectin and 25% amylose) from Avebe, Veendam, The Netherlands, was used in PCL/starch blends after being dried under vacuum for 24 h (110 °C).