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Polymers
Special Issues
Interpenetrating Polymer Networks
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Interpenetrating Polymer Networks

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Physics and Theory".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2020) | Viewed by 23315

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Lenka Hanykova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Macromolecular Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, 110 00 Staré Město, Czech Republic
Interests: polymer hydrogels; phase transition in hydrogels; thermoresponsive polymers; interpenetrating polymer networks; formation, structure, properties of polymers; NMR spectroscopy of polymers; supramolecular complexes of porphyrins

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) represent promising materials which allow combining polymers with different properties either to enhance the characteristics of their components or to obtain materials with unique tunable properties and overcome the disadvantages of single individual polymer networks. IPNs have several applications, and their success is mainly due to their crosslinked structure that provides better thermal stability, mechanical properties, and chemical resistance. Extending the concept of IPN towards hydrogels has brought novel systems in which hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity and stimuli responsiveness can be controlled by the proper selection of the two polymers and by varying their composition. In this context, double networks, as a special case of IPN hydrogels, have drawn researchers' attention since they exhibit excellent mechanical properties.

Papers are sought that discuss trends in the field of IPNs or summarize selected areas of the field. The scope of this Special Issue covers the synthesis and chemical design, morphology, characterization, and structure–properties relationship of IPNs.  Of particular interest are IPN hydrogels and research on their swelling features, mechanical and other properties, responsivity to stimuli with respect to the desired functionalities, and applications.

Dr. Lenka Hanykova
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Interpenetrating polymer networks
  • Formation, structure, properties
  • Phase morphology
  • Double networks
  • Polymer hydrogels

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3590 KiB  
Article
Poly(N,N′-Diethylacrylamide)-Based Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with Double Network Structure
by Lenka Hanyková, Ivan Krakovský, Eliška Šestáková, Julie Šťastná and Jan Labuta
Polymers 2020, 12(11), 2502; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12112502 - 27 Oct 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 2758
Abstract
Temperature response of double network (DN) hydrogels composed of thermoresponsive poly(N,N′-diethylacrylamide) (PDEAAm) and hydrophilic polyacrylamide (PAAm) or poly(N,N′-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAAm) was studied by a combination of swelling measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and 1H NMR [...] Read more.
Temperature response of double network (DN) hydrogels composed of thermoresponsive poly(N,N′-diethylacrylamide) (PDEAAm) and hydrophilic polyacrylamide (PAAm) or poly(N,N′-dimethylacrylamide) (PDMAAm) was studied by a combination of swelling measurements, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and 1H NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopies. Presence of the second hydrophilic network in DN hydrogels influenced their thermal sensitivity significantly. DN hydrogels show less intensive changes in deswelling, smaller enthalpy, and entropy changes connected with phase transition and broader temperature interval of the transition than the single network (SN) hydrogels. Above the transition, the DN hydrogels contain significantly more permanently bound water in comparison with SN hydrogels due to interaction of water with the hydrophilic component. Unlike swelling and DSC experiments, a rather abrupt transition was revealed from temperature-dependent NMR spectra. Release study showed that model methylene blue molecules are released from SN and DN hydrogels within different time scale. New thermodynamical model of deswelling behaviour based on the approach of the van’t Hoff analysis was developed. The model allows to determine thermodynamic parameters connected with temperature-induced volume transition, such as the standard change of enthalpy and entropy and critical temperatures and characterize the structurally different states of water. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interpenetrating Polymer Networks)
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20 pages, 4381 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Properties of pH-Thermo Dual Responsive Semi-IPN Hydrogels Based on N,N’-Diethylacrylamide and Itaconamic Acid
by Huynh Nguyen Anh Tuan and Vo Thi Thu Nhu
Polymers 2020, 12(5), 1139; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051139 - 16 May 2020
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 4935
Abstract
A series of semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) hydrogels based on N,N’-diethylacrylamide (DEA) and itaconamic acid (IAM) were synthesized by changing the molar ratio of linear copolymer P(DEA-co-IAM) and DEA monomer. Linear copolymer P(DEA-co-IAM) was introduced into [...] Read more.
A series of semi-interpenetrating polymer network (semi-IPN) hydrogels based on N,N’-diethylacrylamide (DEA) and itaconamic acid (IAM) were synthesized by changing the molar ratio of linear copolymer P(DEA-co-IAM) and DEA monomer. Linear copolymer P(DEA-co-IAM) was introduced into a solution of DEA monomer to prepare pH-thermo dual responsive P(DEA-co-IAM)/PDEA semi-IPN hydrogels. The thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed that the semi-IPN hydrogel has a higher thermal stability than the conventional hydrogel, while the interior morphology by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed a porous structure with the pore sizes could be controlled by changing the ratio of linear copolymer in the obtained hydrogels. The oscillatory parallel-plate rheological measurements and compression tests demonstrated a viscoelastic behavior and superior mechanical properties of the semi-IPN hydrogels. Besides, the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the linear copolymers increased with the increase of IAM content in the feed, while the semi-IPN hydrogels increased LCSTs with the increase of linear copolymer content introduced. The pH-thermo dual responsive of the hydrogels was investigated using the swelling behavior in various pH and temperature conditions. Finally, the swelling and deswelling rate of the hydrogels were also studied. The results indicated that the pH-thermo dual responsive semi-IPN hydrogels were synthesized successfully and may be a potential material for biomedical, drug delivery or absorption applications. The further applications of semi-IPN hydrogels are being conducted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interpenetrating Polymer Networks)
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Review

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31 pages, 4398 KiB  
Review
Toughening of Epoxy Systems with Interpenetrating Polymer Network (IPN): A Review
by Ujala Farooq, Julie Teuwen and Clemens Dransfeld
Polymers 2020, 12(9), 1908; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12091908 - 24 Aug 2020
Cited by 76 | Viewed by 14308
Abstract
Epoxy resins are widely used for different commercial applications, particularly in the aerospace industry as matrix carbon fibre reinforced polymers composite. This is due to their excellent properties, i.e., ease of processing, low cost, superior mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. However, a pure [...] Read more.
Epoxy resins are widely used for different commercial applications, particularly in the aerospace industry as matrix carbon fibre reinforced polymers composite. This is due to their excellent properties, i.e., ease of processing, low cost, superior mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. However, a pure epoxy system possesses some inherent shortcomings, such as brittleness and low elongation after cure, limiting performance of the composite. Several approaches to toughen epoxy systems have been explored, of which formation of the interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) has gained increasing attention. This methodology usually results in better mechanical properties (e.g., fracture toughness) of the modified epoxy system. Ideally, IPNs result in a synergistic combination of desirable properties of two different polymers, i.e., improved toughness comes from the toughener while thermosets are responsible for high service temperature. Three main parameters influence the mechanical response of IPN toughened systems: (i) the chemical structure of the constituents, (ii) the toughener content and finally and (iii) the type and scale of the resulting morphology. Various synthesis routes exist for the creation of IPN giving different means of control of the IPN structure and also offering different processing routes for making composites. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current state-of-the-art on toughening of epoxy matrix system through formation of IPN structure, either by using thermoplastics or thermosets. Moreover, the potential of IPN based epoxy systems is explored for the formation of composites particularly for aerospace applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Interpenetrating Polymer Networks)
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