Articles by Theodore Davidson

THEODORE DAVIDSON: Institute of Materials Science University of Connecticut Storrs Liquid crystal phase behavior is exhibited by certain organic molecules called mesogens. Some moieties that are not themselves mesogens can induce this property when suspended by molecular spacers from the backbone of a flexible polymer chain. These "side-chain" liquid crystal polymers can be aligned by electric, magnetic, or shear fields, and some exhibit nonlinear optical effects. R.B. Findlay, T.J. Lemmon, A.

Self-assembled films represent a method of preparing two-dimensionally ordered structures. Synthetic methods have advanced to provide reactions suitable for film formation on metals such as gold and platinum, as well as oxidized silicon and glass. A. Ulman, "Self-assembled monolayers of alkyltrichlorosilanes: building blocks for future organic materials," Advanced Materials, 2, 573-82, December 1990. (Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y.) The discovery of large, discrete molecules containing on

Institute of Materials Science University of Connecticut Storrs Progress in materials science depends increasingly on collaboration between those skilled in the synthesis of new molecules and others possessing special measurement or evaluation techniques. A good example, among organic materials, is the family of ladder polymers. They are difficult to synthesize and characterize but possess extended electronic conjugation. Initially, they were prepared as polymers with high-temperature stabi

Theodore Davidson Institute of Materials Science University of Connecticut Storrs "Photonics," as written in a recent article, "is the technology in which a photon instead of an electron is used to acquire, store, process, and transmit information." Important photonic effects, such as non-linear optical (NLO) response, need materials that simultaneously have the required molecular structure, afford a non-centrosymmetric environment, and are processible as films or coatings. The synthetic flex

THEODORE DAVIDSON Institute of Materials Science University of Connecticut Storrs How is adhesion between two plastics enhanced when polymer chains interpenetrate? Recent observations show that bonding of BPA polycarbonate (PC) to poly(butylene terephthalate) [PET] occurs in 10 minutes at temperatures above the glass transition of the PC. In 20 minutes at 216oC, fibrils are observed to grow from the PET into the PC; the kinetics of fibril length versus t1/2 are characteristic of a diffusion-co

Institute of Materials Science University of Connecticut Storrs In chemical vapor deposition (CVD), one of the goals is to deposit inorganic materials or metals at low substrate temperatures. To deposit metals, an organometallic precursor is often used. It has recently been shown that thermolysis of (trialkylphosphine) cyclopentadienylcopper(I) into a heated substrate will result in deposition of high-purity copper metal. The surface products of the decomposition reaction are free alkyl phosph