Advances in Nanomodified Polymers and in Polymer Science

A special issue of Nanomaterials (ISSN 2079-4991). This special issue belongs to the section "Nanocomposite Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2024) | Viewed by 4419

Special Issue Editors


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Instituto de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación en Biotecnología Sanitaria de Elche (IDiBE), Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH), Elche, 03202 Alicante, Spain
Interests: antiviral activity; polymeric nanomaterials; controlled release; biopolymer formulations; antimicrobial compounds; immunomodulators
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Instituto de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación en Biotecnología Sanitaria de Elche (IDiBE), Universidad Miguel Hernández (UMH), Elche, 03202 Alicante, Spain
Interests: synthesis, characterization and applications of conjugated polyfluorenes; nanostructures based on biopolymers with biochemical and pharmaceutical applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer science, a subfield of materials science, involves research in several disciplines, including chemistry, physics, engineering, and beyond (for example, biomedicine and ecology), given the wide range of its applicable results. Such advances, together with the great expectations of the field, explain its high growth in recent decades, and its convergence with the simultaneous developments in (i) electronics technology, which greatly improves molecular characterization capabilities, and (ii) nanotechnology, which studies the unique properties of nanometric materials (nanomaterials).

This joint Special Issue of the journals Polymers and Nanomaterials, entitled Advances in Nanomodified Polymers and in Polymer Science, covers a broad topic that aims to summarize recent advances in research on polymeric nanomaterials and functional polymers. We therefore encourage submissions from leading groups in the field with the aim of providing an advanced view of the current state of the art in these aspects.

This Special Issue is arranged in the context of the XI Congress of Young Researchers in Polymers (JIP 2023, https://jip2023.polimero.org/), which is periodically organized by the Specialized Group of Polymers (GEP) of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry, and this year was hosted and coordinated by us. Thus, the general topics of this Special Issue are closely related to the specific topics of the Congress. In short, they cover the latest research on:

  • Synthesis and characterization of new polymers;
  • Polymers in energy applications, sensors and optoelectronics;
  • Biopolymers with biomedical applications, e.g., nanomedicine;
  • Structure–property relationships, e.g., simulation, rheology and mechanical properties;
  • Polymers in industry: polymer processing, recycling and circular economy.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Polymers.

Dr. Alberto Falco
Prof. Dr. Ricardo Mallavia
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • nanomodified polymers
  • polymeric nanomaterials
  • functional polymers
  • polymer synthesis
  • polymer characterization
  • polymer applications
  • biopolymers
  • polymer processing
  • polymer recycling

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 9393 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Thermal, Chemical, Mechanical, and Microbial Stability of New Nanohybrids Based on Carboxymethyl-Scleroglucan and Silica Nanoparticles for EOR Applications
by Rubén H. Castro, Laura M. Corredor, Sebastián Llanos, Zully P. Rodríguez, Isidro Burgos, Jhorman A. Niño, Eduardo A. Idrobo, Arnold R. Romero Bohórquez, Karol Zapata Acosta, Camilo A. Franco and Farid B. Cortés
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(8), 676; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14080676 - 13 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1272
Abstract
Scleroglucan (SG) is resistant to harsh reservoir conditions such as high temperature, high shear stresses, and the presence of chemical substances. However, it is susceptible to biological degradation because bacteria use SG as a source of energy and carbon. All degradation effects lead [...] Read more.
Scleroglucan (SG) is resistant to harsh reservoir conditions such as high temperature, high shear stresses, and the presence of chemical substances. However, it is susceptible to biological degradation because bacteria use SG as a source of energy and carbon. All degradation effects lead to viscosity loss of the SG solutions, affecting their performance as an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) polymer. Recent studies have shown that nanoparticles (NPs) can mitigate these degradative effects. For this reason, the EOR performance of two new nanohybrids (NH-A and NH-B) based on carboxymethyl-scleroglucan and amino-functionalized silica nanoparticles was studied. The susceptibility of these products to chemical, mechanical, and thermal degradation was evaluated following standard procedures (API RP 63), and the microbial degradation was assessed under reservoir-relevant conditions (1311 ppm and 100 °C) using a bottle test system. The results showed that the chemical reactions for the nanohybrids obtained modified the SG triple helix configuration, impacting its viscosifying power. However, the nanohybrid solutions retained their viscosity during thermal, mechanical, and chemical degradation experiments due to the formation of a tridimensional network between the nanoparticles (NPs) and the SG. Also, NH-A and NH-B solutions exhibited bacterial control because of steric hindrances caused by nanoparticle modifications to SG. This prevents extracellular glucanases from recognizing the site of catalysis, limiting free glucose availability and generating cell death due to substrate depletion. This study provides insights into the performance of these nanohybrids and promotes their application in reservoirs with harsh conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomodified Polymers and in Polymer Science)
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17 pages, 7728 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Characterization of New Nanohybrids Based on Carboxymethyl Scleroglucan and Silica Nanoparticles
by Rubén H. Castro, Laura M. Corredor, Isidro Burgos, Sebastián Llanos, Camilo A. Franco, Farid B. Cortés, Eduardo A. Idrobo and Arnold R. Romero Bohórquez
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(6), 499; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14060499 - 10 Mar 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1522
Abstract
In this study, two new nanohybrids (NH-A and NH-B) were synthesized through carbodiimide-assisted coupling. The reaction was performed between carboxymethyl-scleroglucans (CMS-A and CMS-B) with different degrees of substitution and commercial amino-functionalized silica nanoparticles using 4-(dimethylamino)-pyridine (DMAP) and N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) as catalysts. The morphology [...] Read more.
In this study, two new nanohybrids (NH-A and NH-B) were synthesized through carbodiimide-assisted coupling. The reaction was performed between carboxymethyl-scleroglucans (CMS-A and CMS-B) with different degrees of substitution and commercial amino-functionalized silica nanoparticles using 4-(dimethylamino)-pyridine (DMAP) and N,N′-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) as catalysts. The morphology and properties of the nanohybrids were investigated by using transmission (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electron-dispersive scanning (EDS), attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic light scattering (DLS). The nanohybrids exhibited differences in structure due to the incorporation of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) materials. The results reveal that hybrid nanomaterials exhibit similar thermal properties but differ in morphology, chemical structure, and crystallinity properties. Finally, a viscosity study was performed on the newly obtained nanohybrid materials; viscosities of nanohybrids increased significantly in comparison to the carboxymethyl-scleroglucans, with a viscosity difference of 7.2% for NH-A and up to 32.6% for NH-B. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomodified Polymers and in Polymer Science)
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19 pages, 6580 KiB  
Article
Experimental Investigation of the Viscosity and Stability of Scleroglucan-Based Nanofluids for Enhanced Oil Recovery
by Rubén H. Castro, Laura M. Corredor, Sebastián Llanos, María A. Causil, Adriana Arias, Eduar Pérez, Henderson I. Quintero, Arnold R. Romero Bohórquez, Camilo A. Franco and Farid B. Cortés
Nanomaterials 2024, 14(2), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14020156 - 10 Jan 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1290
Abstract
Biopolymers emerge as promising candidates for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications due to their molecular structures, which exhibit better stability than polyacrylamides under harsh conditions. Nonetheless, biopolymers are susceptible to oxidation and biological degradation. Biopolymers reinforced with nanoparticles could be a potential solution [...] Read more.
Biopolymers emerge as promising candidates for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) applications due to their molecular structures, which exhibit better stability than polyacrylamides under harsh conditions. Nonetheless, biopolymers are susceptible to oxidation and biological degradation. Biopolymers reinforced with nanoparticles could be a potential solution to the issue. The nanofluids’ stability and performance depend on the nanoparticles’ properties and the preparation method. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the preparation method and the nanoparticle type (SiO2, Al2O3, and TiO2) on the viscosity and stability of the scleroglucan (SG). The thickening effect of the SG solution was improved by adding all NPs due to the formation of three-dimensional structures between the NPs and the SG chains. The stability test showed that the SG + Al2O3 and SG + TiO2 nanofluids are highly unstable, but the SG + SiO2 nanofluids are highly stable (regardless of the preparation method). According to the ANOVA results, the preparation method and standing time influence the nanofluid viscosity with a statistical significance of 95%. On the contrary, the heating temperature and NP type are insignificant. Finally, the nanofluid with the best performance was 1000 ppm of SG + 100 ppm of SiO2_120 NPs prepared by method II. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nanomodified Polymers and in Polymer Science)
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