Polymers, Volume 12, Issue 9

The limited bioavailability of the highly hydrophobic natural compound, curcumin with wide range of beneficial bioactivity is still a challenge. Self-association type systems of polyethylene oxide-polypropylene oxide-polyethylene oxide block copolyme...

Diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) is a chronic wound frequently delayed from severe infection. Wound dressing provides an essential barrier between the ulcer and the external environment. This review aimed to analyse the effectiveness of antibacterial collag...

Graphene based aerogel has become one of the most likely functional adsorption materials that is applicable to purify various contaminated water sources, such as dye wastewater, because of its high porosity, structural stability, large specific surfa...

A starch-resorcinol-formaldehyde (RF)-lithium triflate (LiTf) based biodegradable polymer electrolyte membrane was synthesized via the solution casting technique. The formation of RF crosslinks in the starch matrix was found to repress the starch&rsq...

The scope of additive manufacturing, particularly fused deposition modelling (FDM), can indeed be explored with the fabrication of multi-material composite laminates using this technology. Laminar composite structures made up of two distinct material...

Polystyrene nanospheres (PNs) were embedded in bovine skin gelatin gels with a poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) network, which were denoted as NGHHs, to generate thermoresponsive behavior. When 265 nm PNs were exploited to generate the pores, bo...

This paper uses polypropylene (PP) as the matrix and acrylic acid (AA) and maleic anhydride (MAH) as functional monomers to prepare PP-g-(AA-MAH) fibers by suspension grafting and melt-blown spinning technology that are easy to industrially scale-up....

In this study, we incorporated carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into poly(styrene-block-isobutylene-block-styrene) (SIBS) to investigate the physical characteristics of the resulting nanocomposite and its cytotoxicity to endothelial cells. CNTs were dispersed...

Amphiphilic graft copolymers based on [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethyl- ammonium chloride (TMAMA) were obtained for the delivery of pharmaceutical ionic drugs, such as p-aminosalicylate (PAS) and clavunate (CLV) anions. The side chains were attach...

This review considers the challenge of developing sustainable organobromine flame retardants (BrFRs) and alternative synergists to the predominantly used antimony III oxide. Current BrFR efficiencies are reviewed for textile coatings and back-coating...

Corn (Zea mays L.) is one of the major food crops, and it is considered to be a very distinctive plant, since it is able to produce a large amount of the natural polymer of starch through its capacity to utilize large amounts of sunlight. Corn starch...

It is necessary to consider the influence of moisture damage on the interlaminar fracture toughness for composite structures that are used for outdoor applications. However, the studies on the progressive variation of the fracture toughness as a func...

As natural polymer materials, proteins are readily biodegradable, interestingly, the synthetic polyamides (PAs) that are based on the same amide bonds (also called peptide bonds in proteins) are barely degradable. Whether did the chirality and config...

(1) Background: A suitable scaffold with adapted mechanical and biological properties for ligament tissue engineering is still missing. (2) Methods: Different scaffold configurations were characterized in terms of morphology and a mechanical response...

Novel oil-based epoxy acrylate (EA)-like prepolymers were synthesized via the ring-opening reaction of epoxidized plant oils with a new unsaturated carboxyl acid precursor (MAAMA) synthesized by reacting maleic anhydride (MA) with methallyl alcohol (...

As a main component of the stratum corneum, ceramides can construct protective lamellae to provide an epidermal barrier against dehydration or external microorganisms. However, as ceramide molecules can easily form the isolated crystalline phase thro...

The static and dynamic mechanical performances of notched and un-notched 3D braided composites were studied. The effect of longitudinal laid-in yarn was investigated in comparison with low braiding angle composites. The specimens were fatigue tested...

New mono- and dinuclear chiral alkoxide/thioalkoxide NNO-scorpinate zinc complexes were easily synthesized in very high yields, and characterized by spectroscopic methods. X-ray diffraction analysis unambiguously confirmed the different nuclearity of...

A new biodegradable aliphatic-aromatic poly (butylene carbonate-co-terephthalate) (PBCT-85) with the molar ratio [BC]/[BT] = 85/15, successfully synthesized through transesterification and polycondensation processes, was identified using 1H-NMR spect...

In this study we incorporated various amounts of a double-decker silsesquioxane (DDSQ) into phenolic/DDSQ hybrids, which we prepared from a bifunctionalized phenolic DDSQ derivative (DDSQ-4OH), phenol, and CH₂O under basic conditions (with DDSQ-4OH i...

Different synthetic strategies were tested for the incorporation of galactose molecules on thermoresponsive nanogels owing to their affinity for receptors expressed in cancer cells. Three families of galactose-functionalized poly(N-vinylcaprolactam)...

To improve the predictive capability of long-term stress relaxation of elastomers during thermo-oxidative ageing, a method to separate reversible and irreversible processes was adopted. The separation is performed through the analysis of compression...

The expansion of the range of physico-chemical methods in the study of industrially significant α-olefin oligomers and polymers is of particular interest. In our article, we present a comparative Raman study of structurally uniform hydrogenated...

The effect of TiO₂ nanoparticles on the photophysical properties of ternary conjugated polymer (CP) blends of poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-2,7-diyl) (PFO), poly 9,9-dioctylfluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole (F8BT) and poly(2-methoxy-5(2-ethylhexyl)-1,4 -pheny...

Magnetic composites play a significant role in various electrical and electronic devices. Properties of such magnetic composites depend on the particle microstructural distribution within the polymer matrix. In this study, a methodology to manufactur...

The research toward environmentally friendly materials has devoted a great effort on composites based on natural fiber-reinforced biopolymers. These materials have shown noticeable mechanical properties, mainly tensile and flexural strengths, as a co...

In this study, the influence of defined extrusion-like treatment conditions on the denaturation behavior and kinetics of single- and multi-component protein model systems at a protein concentration of 70% (w/w) was investigated. α-Lactalbumin (...

Ultraviolet (UV)-induced cationic frontal polymerization has emerged as a novel technique that allows rapid curing of various epoxy monomers upon UV irradiation within a few seconds. In the presence of a diaryliodonium salt photoinitiator together wi...

The present study investigates the effects of close-range blast loading of fibre metal laminates (FMLs) fabricated from woven glass polypropylene and aluminium alloy 2024-T3. The polypropylene layers and anodized aluminium are stacked in 3/2 layering...

Tree bark is a byproduct of the timber industry which accrues in large amounts, because approximately 10% of the volume a log is bark. Bark is used primarily for low-value applications such as fuel or as a soil covering material in agriculture. Withi...

Strong plasmon–exciton coupling between tightly-bound excitons in organic molecular semiconductors and surface plasmons in metal nanostructures has been studied extensively for a number of technical applications, including low-threshold lasing...

Microbial exopolysaccharides are peculiar polymers that are produced by living organisms and protect them against environmental factors. These polymers are industrially recovered from the medium culture after performing a fermentative process. These...

Excess sulfur has become a global problem in petrochemical industry. Inexpensive and easily available cottonseed oil (CSO) is still underutilized. To resolve these issues, bio-based polysulfide composites were prepared via inverse vulcanization of su...

This work proposes the use of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor operating at atmospheric pressure (AP) using air and sub-atmospheric pressure (SAP) using air or argon to treat polyamide 6.6 (PA6.6) fabrics. Here, plasma dosages correspondi...

Life cycle assessment is a methodology to assess environmental impacts associated with a product or system/process by accounting resource requirements and emissions over its life cycle. The life cycle consists of four stages: material production, man...

A new type of chitosan-modified hyperbranched polymer (named HPDACS) was synthesized through the free-radical polymerization of surface-modified chitosan with acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) to achieve an enhanced oil recovery. The optimal poly...

Polymer materials can be functionalized with different surface treatments. By applying nanoparticles in coating, excellent antimicrobial properties are achieved. In addition, antimicrobial properties are enhanced by hydrophobic surface modification....

Low-density polyethylene composites containing different sizes of calcium oxide (CaO) nanoparticles were obtained by melt mixing. The CaO nanoparticles were synthesized by either the sol-gel or sonication methods, obtaining two different sizes: ca. 5...

This study is devoted to the design of an elastic polymer thin film-based capacitive wind-pressure sensor to meet the anticipated use for real-time monitoring of structural wind pressure in civil engineering. This sensor is composed of four basic uni...

We report the fatigue behavior of a novel multiscale fiberglass/epoxy composite modified with reduced-graphene oxide (rGO) and graphene nanoplatelets (GNP). A novel and cost-effective fabrication method based on vacuum assisted resin transfer molding...

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), as a supplement of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), are attracting intensive research interest due to their low cost and abundance. Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) is regarded as a suitable candidates for SIBs electrode material...

Osteoarthritis of the knee with meniscal pathologies is a severe meniscal pathology suffered by the aging population worldwide. However, conventional meniscal substitutes are not 3D-printable and lack the customizability of 3D printed implants and ar...

Electrorheological elastomers based on polydimethylsiloxane filled with hydrated titanium dioxide with a particle size of 100–200 nm were obtained by polymerization of the elastomeric matrix, either in the presence, or in the absence, of an ext...

Polymer-based hydrogels demonstrate superior performance when used as wound dressing. An ideal dressing should possess an active healing function, absorb wound exudates, and provide a moist interface on the wound for rapid injury repair and the preve...

This research endeavor aims to develop polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) based films capable of blends with silver nanoparticles (Ag–NPs) for improved antibacterial properties and good mechanical strength to widen its scope in the field of wound dressing...

Saline water electrolysis (SWE) is an electrochemical process to simultaneously produce hydrogen (H₂), chlorine (Cl₂), and sodium hydroxide (NaOH) with high purity levels (e.g., 99.999%) by applying electric power to saline water. The state-of-the ar...

Nanocellulose is a type of nanomaterial with high strength, high specific surface area and high surface energy. Additionally, it is nontoxic, harmless, biocompatible and environmentally friendly and can be extracted from biomass resources. The surfac...

Magnetic polymer colloids comprising of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles and Eudragit E100 were employed to fabricate thin film gradients and were investigated for in-vitro magnetic resonance imaging. Magnetic polymer colloids (MPC) and polyacrylic ac...

Wood and lignocellulosic-based material components are explored in this review as functional additives and reinforcements in composites for extrusion-based additive manufacturing (AM) or 3D printing. The motivation for using these sustainable alterna...

In this work, we report the preparation of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based activated carbon nanofibers composited with different concentrations of reduced graphene oxide (rGO/ACNF) (1%, 5%, and 10% relative to PAN weight) by a simple electrospinning me...