Polymers, Volume 9, Issue 3

Three dithienylpyrroles (1-(4-(methylthio)phenyl)-2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)-pyrrole (MPS), 1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)-pyrrole (MPO), and 4-(2,5-di(thiophen-2-yl)-pyrrol-1-yl)benzonitrile (ANIL)) were synthesized and their corresponding pol...

A mathematical model for the reaction-diffusion equation is developed to describe the nutrient release profiles and degradation of poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-coated controlled-release fertilizer. A multi-diffusion model that consists of coupled partial...

In this work, epoxy-based shape-memory actuators have been developed by taking advantage of the sequential dual-curing of off-stoichiometric “thiol–epoxy” systems. Bent-shaped designs for flexural actuation were obtained thanks to the easy processing...

Organic photovoltaic cells based on bulk-heterojunction architecture have been a topic of intense research for the past two decades. Recent reports on power conversion efficiency surpassing 10% suggest these devices are a viable low-cost choice for a...

In this work, a blending strategy based on compounding the hydrophilic titanium dioxide (TiO₂) particles with the host polypropylene (PP) pellets, followed by the common membrane manufacture process of melt extruding/annealing/stretching, was used to...

1,3-dimethylurea (DMU) was used to mimic urea and to model melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) co-condensation reactions. The products of 1,3-dimethylurea-formaldehyde (DMUF), melamine-formaldehyde (MF), and melamine-1,3-dimethylurea-formaldehyde (MDMUF...

Chiral Mn^III (salen) complex supported on modified ZPS-PVPA (zirconium poly(styrene-phenylvinylphosphonate)) and ZPS-IPPA (zirconium poly(styrene-isopropenyl phosphonate)) were prepared using –CH₂Cl as a reactive surface modifier by a covalent grafti...

The nickel(II) catalyst has manifested higher catalytic activity compared to that of other late transition metal catalysts for norbornene polymerization. Therefore, several structurally similar trans-nickel(II) compounds of N,O-chelate bidentate liga...

In this study, we synthesized an unusual 2-aminobutyl maleimide isobutyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (MIPOSS-NHBu) monomer lacking conventional fluorescent groups. We then prepared poly(styrene-alt-2-aminobutyl maleimide isobutyl POSS) [poly...

The presence of N-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (PPDA: a dimer of aniline) during microwave (MW) irradiation can significantly improve Pt-loading on the XC72 carbon matrix as a catalyst support of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). PPDA is con...

The use of cost effective solvents may be necessary to store wood pyrolysis bio-oil in order to stabilize and control its viscosity, but this part of the production system has not been explored. Conversely, any rise in viscosity during storage, that...

Stereocomplex poly(lactide) (PLA) was obtained by solution blending of linear PLLA and PDLA-PEG-PDLA. Effects of the L/D ratios, PEG block, and PDLA block on stereocomplexation of the blends are systemically discussed. The full stereocomplex PLA can...

Ternary blend films were prepared with different ratios of starch/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/citric acid. The films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), thermogravimetric analysis, as well as Fourier transform infr...

The geometric copolymerization model is a recently introduced statistical Markov chain model. Here, we investigate its practicality. First, several approaches to identify the optimal model parameters from observed copolymer fingerprints are evaluated...

Instability and structural transitions arise in many important problems involving dynamics at molecular length scales. Buckling of an elastic rod under a compressive load offers a useful general picture of such a transition. However, the existing the...

This work demonstrates that phase-segregated poly(ester urethane) (PEU) with switching segments of crystallizable poly(1,4-butylene adipate) (PBA) can be programmed to generate two separate stress recovery events upon heating under constant strain co...

A novel method was used to synthesize a nanosilver-doped multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT-Ag), and subsequently, the novel poly(lactic acid) (PLA)- and MWCNT-Ag-based biocompatible and antimicrobial nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending. Base...

To generate polyethersulfone membranes with a biocatalytically active surface, pancreatin was covalently immobilized. Pancreatin is a mixture of digestive enzymes such as protease, lipase, and amylase. The resulting membranes exhibit self-cleaning pr...

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) blend fibers with the highest tensile strength of 1.13 GPa were prepared by a melt spinning process. The mechanical behavior and crystal structure of the as-spun f...

Glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composites are widely used in infrastructure applications including water structures due to their relatively high durability, high strength to weight ratio, and non-corrosiveness. Here we demonstrate the potentia...

Plastic injection molding technology is one of the important technologies for the manufacturing industry. In this paper, a numerical dynamic injection molding technology (DIMT) is presented, which is based on the finite element (FE) method. This nume...

The development of materials based on renewable resources with enhanced mechanical and physicochemical properties is hampered by the abundance of hydrophilic groups because of their structural instability. Bio-inspired from the strong adhesion abilit...

We have successfully developed novel surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates with three-dimensional (3D) porous structures for effectively improving the sensitivity and reproducibility of SERS, which can rapidly detect small molecules (rh...

The emission properties of a graded-index thermoplastic polymer optical fiber and a step-index thermosetting one, both doped with rhodamine 6G, have been studied. The work includes a detailed analysis of the amplified spontaneous emission together wi...

It is known that aqueous keratin hydrolysate solutions can be produced from feathers using superheated water as solvent. This method is optimized in this study by varying the time and temperature of the heat treatment in order to obtain a high solute...

Fluoroalkyl end-capped vinyltrimethoxysilane oligomeric silica/alkyl-modified cellulose (AM-Cellu) nanocomposites [R_F-(CH₂-CHSiO₂)_n-R_F/AM-Cellu; n = 2, 3; R_F = CF(CF₃)OC₃F₇] were prepared by the sol-gel reactions of the corresponding oligomer [R_F-(CH...

Electrochromic (EC) polymers such as polyviologens have been attracting considerable attention as wet-processable electrodes for EC displays, thanks to their brilliant color change accompanied with reversible redox reactions. To establish wider usage...

Liquid crystalline polymers exhibit a particular richness of behaviors that stems from their rigidity and their macromolecular nature. On the one hand, the orientational interaction between liquid-crystalline motifs promotes their alignment, thereby...

The impacts of hydrogen bonding on polymerization behavior has been of interest for a long time; however, universality and in-depth understanding are still lacking. For the first time, the effect of hydrogen bonding on the classical alternating-type...

Like the water responsive shape memory (SM) effect of β-keratin bird feathers, α-keratin hairs either existing broadly in nature are found responsive to many types of coupled stimuli in SM behaviors. In this article, α-keratin hairs were investigated...

Superior plasticization efficiency was achieved by a grafting from functionalization of the PVC backbone. This was deduced to a synergistic effect of internal plasticization and improved intermolecular interactions between PVC and an oligomeric poly(...

The stoichiometric reactions of 8-(2,6-R¹-4-R²-anilide)-5,6,7-trihydroquinoline (LH) with AlR₃ (R = Me or Et) afforded the aluminum complexes LAlR₂ (Al1–Al5,Al1: R¹ = ⁱPr, R² = H, R = Me; Al2: R¹ = Me, R² = H, R = Me; Al3: R¹ = H, R² = H, R = Me; Al4...

A proof of principle for the use of Diels–Alder (DA) chemistry as a thermoreversible cross-linking tool for ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA) rubber is demonstrated using two differently prepared amorphous furan-functionalized EVA rubbers. The first is an...

Samples of polymer polyethylene terephthalate were exposed to a weakly ionized gaseous plasma to modify the polymer surface properties for better cell cultivation. The gases used for treatment were sulfur dioxide and oxygen of various partial pressur...

A novel binary homogeneous catalyst system based on (I): rac-Me₂Si(2-Me-4-PhIn)₂ZrCl₂ and (II): (2-PhIn)₂ZrCl₂ catalysts at various molar ratios was utilized for the synthesis of polypropylene (PP) reactor blends with bimodal molecular weight distrib...

The realization of gene therapy relies on the development of delivery vectors with high efficiency and biocompatibility. With a multitude of structures accessible, the core challenge is precisely tuning vector structure to probe and optimize structur...

Polyaniline (PANI) nanostructures have been widely studied for their sensitivity to atmospheric pollutants at ambient conditions. We recently showed an effective way to electropolymerize a PANI nanothin film on prefabricated microelectrodes, and demo...

A new polyaniline/BiYTi₂O₇ polymer composite was synthesized by chemical oxidation in-situ polymerization method for the first time. The effect of polyaniline doping on structural and catalytic properties of BiYTi₂O₇ was reported. The structural prop...