Polymers, Volume 13, Issue 2

The ultrasonic welding of polymeric materials is one of the methods often used in practice. However, each couple of material subjected to ultrasonic welding is characterized by different values of technological parameters. Therefore, the main objecti...

The research on cellulose fiber-reinforced nanocomposites has increased by an unprecedented magnitude over the past few years due to its wide application range and low production cost. However, the incompatibility between cellulose and most thermopla...

The paper presents the current volume of international production and global markets of carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites, also regarding the potential development trends. Examples were provided on how to effectively recycle carbon fiber rei...

Redox initiating systems (RISs) are highly worthwhile for polymerization in mild conditions (at room temperature—RT) without external thermal or light activation. With high performance redox initiating systems RIS, the free radical polymerizati...

Cellulose is one of the most abundantly available natural polymers. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) belongs to the cellulose family and has different degrees of substitution. Current research comprises the fabrication and characterization of CMC nanofi...

In this report, layer by layer (LBL) fire retardant coatings were produced on wood ply and Polypropylene Homopolymer/Flax fiber composites. FE-SEM and EDAX analysis was carried out to analyze the surface morphology, thickness, growth rate and element...

The rapid estimation of the average shear rate encountered by the material as it flows along the screw elements of a corotating twin-screw extruder is a key point for many applications. In this paper, two methods of evaluation are presented that allo...

This work is made to ascertain the effects of mineral fillers, namely calcium carbonate and talc, on the morphology and properties of multilayer polypropylene (PP)/high-density polyethylene (HDPE) porous membranes. Multilayer membranes were prepared...

Dispersion of carbon nanotubes and carbon nanofibers is a crucial processing step in the production of polymer-based nanocomposites and poses a great challenge due to the tendency of nanofillers to agglomerate. One of the most effective methods for d...

Periodontitis is a set of inflammatory conditions affecting the tissues surrounding the teeth predominantly sustained by bacterial infections. The aim of the work was the design and the development of scaffolds based on biopolymers to be inserted in...

The new trend in the composites industry, as dictated by Industry 4.0, is the personalization of mass production to match every customer’s individual needs. Such synergy can be achieved when several traditional manufacturing techniques are comb...

This work provides an experimental analysis regarding the fracture behavior of recycled opaque PET (rPET-O) containing titanium dioxide (TiO₂) under plane stress conditions. For this purpose, a commercially post-consumer transparent colored/opaque PE...

The use of self-healing (SH) polymers to make 3D-printed polymeric parts offers the potential to increase the quality of 3D-printed parts and to increase their durability and damage tolerance due to their (on-demand) dynamic nature. Nevertheless, 3D-...

Flexible electronic devices have gained significant interest due to their different potential applications. Herein, we report highly flexible, stretchable, and sensitive sensors made of sprayed CNT layer, sandwiched between two polymer layers. A faci...

Networks in the human brain are extremely complex and sophisticated. The abstract model of the human brain has been used in software development, specifically in artificial intelligence. Despite the remarkable outcomes achieved using artificial intel...

Controlling chondroitin sulfates (CSs) biological functions to exploit their interesting potential biomedical applications requires a comprehensive understanding of how the specific sulfate distribution along the polysaccharide backbone can impact in...

Ultrafine fully vulcanized powdered natural rubber (UFPNR) has a promising application as a renewable toughening modifier in polymer matrices. In this work, the effects of acrylate coagents, which had different amounts of functional groups, on proper...

For pilot-scale production of chito-oligosaccharides, it must be cost-effective to prepare designable recombinant chitosanase. Herein, an efficient method for preparing recombinant Bacillus chitosanase from Escherichia coli by elimination of undesira...

Xylan is a major type of hemicellulose that has attracted a lot of research and development activities. It is often derivatized in order to improve its properties. In the literature, hydrophobic modification of polymers is often used to produce surfa...

The folding of certain proteins (e.g., enzymes) into perfectly defined 3D conformations via multi-orthogonal interactions is critical to their function. Concerning synthetic polymers chains, the “folding” of individual polymer chains at h...

We report on the reorientation dynamics of small spin probe 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxyl (TEMPO) in cis-1,4-poly(isoprene) (cis-1,4-PIP10k) from electron spin resonance (ESR) and the free volume of cis-1,4-PIP10k from positron annihilation l...

Local drug delivery has become indispensable in biomedical engineering with stents being ideal carrier platforms. While local drug release is superior to systemic administration in many fields, the incorporation of drugs into polymers may influence t...

Degradable bone implants are designed to foster the complete regeneration of natural tissue after large-scale loss trauma. Polycaprolactone (PCL) and hydroxyapatite (HA) composites are promising scaffold materials with superior mechanical and osteoin...

The influence of epoxycyclophosphazene modifier on the process of epoxy-amine curing was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The study revealed that the curing process of epoxyphosphazene binders with 4′4′diaminodiphenylsu...

Epoxy-anhydride resins are widely used in engineering fields due to their excellent performance. However, the insolubility and infusibility make the recycling of epoxy resins challenging. The development of degradable epoxy resins with stable covalen...

A new approach to the creation of polypropylene (PP) based foaming materials was developed using food grade foaming agents that were coated on the PP pellets. More specifically, sodium bicarbonate and organic acids were used to coat PP pellets using...

Bioretention systems are frequently employed in stormwater treatment to reduce phosphorus pollution and prevent eutrophication. To enhance their efficiency, filter additives are required but the currently used traditional materials cannot meet the pr...

The rapid development of electronic devices with high integration levels, a light weight, and a multifunctional performance has fostered the design of novel polymer materials with low dielectric constants, which is crucial for the electronic packagin...

The low dielectric constant of the nonpolar polymer poly(1-butene) (PB-1) limits its application as a diaphragm element in energy storage capacitors. In this work, Ba(Zr_0.2Ti_0.8)O₃-coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (BZT@MWCNTs) were first prepared...

When an amorphous polymer is cooled under pressure from above its glass transition temperature to room temperature, and then the pressure is released, this results in a densified state of the glass. This procedure applied to an epoxy composite system...

Agro-byproducts can be utilized as effective and low-cost nutrient sources for microbial fermentation to produce a variety of usable products. In this study, wheat bran powder (WBP) was found to be the most effective carbon source for xylanase produc...

Conducting polymers have attracted significant attention due to their easy fabrication, morphology modification, and their electrical properties. Amongst them, polypyrrole (PPy) has attractive thermoelectric (TE) properties. Engineering of this polym...

Cells grown on bioactive matrices have immensely advanced many aspects of biomedical research related to drug delivery and tissue engineering. Our main objective was to perform simple evaluation of the structural and biotic qualities of cell scaffold...

Semi-crystalline poly(trimethylene carbonate) (PTMC) can be efficiently prepared by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) initiated by amine using various catalysts. More promising results were reached with the one-step process of stannous octanoate unli...

The main advantages of the use of silica instead of carbon black in rubber compounds are based on the use of a silane coupling agent. The use of a coupling agent to modify the silica surface improves the compatibility between the silica and the rubbe...

This study was dedicated to the functional characterization of innovative poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based bilayer films containing lignocellulosic nanostructures (cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) or lignin nanoparticles (LNPs)) and umbelliferone (UMB) as...

The development of biological strategies to obtain new high-added value biopolymers from lignocellulosic biomass is a current challenge for scientific community. This study evaluates the biodegradability and ecotoxicity of new formulated oleogels obt...

The kinetics of ethylene and propylene polymerization catalyzed by homogeneous metallocene were investigated using 2-thiophenecarbonyl chloride followed by quenched-flow methods. The studied metallocene catalysts are: rac-Me₂Si(2-Me-4-Ph-Ind)₂ZrCl₂ (...

Depositing minute light emitters into a regular array is a basic but essential technique in display technology. However, conventional lithographic methodologies involve multistep and energy-consuming processes. Here, we develop a facile method in whi...

Composites of biodegradable phosphate glass fiber and polylactic acid (PGF/PLA) show potential for bone tissue engineering scaffolds, due to their ability to release Ca, P, and Mg during degradation, thus promoting the bone repair. Nevertheless, glas...

The main focus of this work is to investigate the degradation behavior of two newly developed encapsulants for photovoltaic applications (thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) and polyolefin elastomer (POE)), compared to the most widely used Ethylene Vinyl...

In this paper, the calorimetric response of the amorphous phase was examined in hybrid nanocomposites which were prepared thanks to a facile synthetic route, by adding reduced graphene oxide (rGO), Cloisite 30B (C30B), or multiwalled carbon nanotubes...

Responsive polymer particles with switchable properties are of great importance for designing smart materials in various applications. Recently, the self-assembly of block copolymers (BCPs) and polymer blends within evaporative emulsions has led to a...

In this work, dolomite filler was introduced into thermoplastic starch (TPS) matrix to form TPS-dolomite (TPS-DOL) biocomposites. TPS-DOL biocomposites were prepared at different dolomite loadings (1 wt%, 2 wt%, 3 wt%, 4 wt% and 5 wt%) and by using t...

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) display surface plasmon resonance (SPR) as a result of their irradiation at a targeted light frequency. SPR also results in heat production that increases the temperature of the surrounding environment, affecting polymeriza...

The rheological behavior of an epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) nanocomposite containing 10 wt.% of silica particles was examined by time-resolved mechanical spectroscopy (TRMS), exploiting the unique capability of this technique for monitoring the ti...

The over-reliance on antibiotics and their enormous misuse has led to warnings of a future without effective medicines and so, the need for alternatives to antibiotics has become a must. Non-traditional antibacterial treatment was performed by using...

Four D-π-A conjugated polymers, namely P1–P4, which contain benzotriazole building blocks in their backbone as acceptor, are synthesized via palladium-catalyzed direct C-H cross-coupling polycondensation of 5,6-difluorobenzotriazole with dif...

This research focused on the synthesis of a functional alginate-based material via chemical modification processes with two steps: oxidation and reductive amination. In previous alginate functionalization with a target molecule such as cysteine, the...

The presence of a surface preferably attracting one component of a polymer mixture by the long-range van der Waals surface potential while the mixture undergoes phase separation by spinodal decomposition is called long-range surface-directed spinodal...