Functional and Sustainable Polymers

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart and Functional Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (10 January 2024) | Viewed by 2431

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China
Interests: bio-based hybrid resins; hybrid polymer; coating; eco-friendly composites
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Ningbo Institute of Materials Technological and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
Interests: polymer precursor conversion ceramics; special polymer and its composites; near-infrared/short-wave infrared optical materials
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School of Chemical Engineering, Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute, Yangzhou, China
Interests: polymer composites; biodegradable polymers and antibacterial materials

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Guest Editor
College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China
Interests: resin; synthetic; composite material; recyclable polymer; biological-based polymer

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Guest Editor
Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo, China
Interests: synthesis of organosilicon; organoboron polymers and its functionalization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Concerns with various environment issues spur scientists to design sustainable approaches for fabrication of novel polymer materials, including but not limited to high-performance polymers, natural or degradable polymers, conducting polymers, and porous polymers. These new polymers can be used as functional agents in catalysts, templates, ion exchangers, selective sorbents, chelating or antimicrobial agents, making them highly promising in the packaging, energy, construction, and consumer goods industries. The establishment of this Special Issue aims to bring in a wealth of current research on sustainable/functional polymers to readers, in an endeavor to provide potential solutions to current challenges. This Special Issue welcomes contributions on the design of sustainable or functional polymers, polymer processing and molding, characterization, simulation, and engineering applications. Both research articles and reviews are acceptable.

Prof. Dr. Ming Liu
Dr. Yujie Song
Dr. Ming Yin
Dr. Wanshuang Liu
Dr. Tianhao Li
Guest Editors

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

  • novel polymer materials
  • high-performance polymers
  • natural or degradable polymers
  • conducting polymers
  • porous polymers

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 9301 KiB  
Article
A Comparison Study on Toughening Vinyl Ester Resins Using Different Nanocarbon Materials
by Ruirui Yang, Yating Wang, Xiaolu Ran and Wanshuang Liu
Polymers 2023, 15(23), 4536; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15234536 - 25 Nov 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1085
Abstract
This study aims to comprehensively compare and evaluate the toughening effects of different nanocarbon materials on vinyl ester resins. Four typical nanocarbon materials, including graphene, graphene oxide (GO), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), were used as reinforcing fillers for [...] Read more.
This study aims to comprehensively compare and evaluate the toughening effects of different nanocarbon materials on vinyl ester resins. Four typical nanocarbon materials, including graphene, graphene oxide (GO), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), were used as reinforcing fillers for vinyl ester resins. These four nanocarbon materials were dispersed in the vinyl ester resin matrix by the combination of high-speed stirring and probe sonication, and their dispersion states were observed with optical microscopy. The effects of incorporating different nanocarbon materials on the viscosities, thermal properties, tensile properties, and fracture toughness of the resulting modified vinyl ester resins were systematically investigated. The results indicate that the four nanocarbon materials show enhanced toughening effects on the vinyl ester resin in the sequence of SWCNTs, GO, MWCNTs, and graphene. Compared with the control resin, the modified vinyl ester resin containing 0.2 wt% graphene shows 45% and 54% enhancements in the critical stress intensity factor (KIC) and critical strain energy release rate (GIC), respectively. The incorporation of the four nanocarbon materials has almost no effect on the glass transition temperatures of the resulting modified vinyl ester resins. This study provides valuable insights into the selection of nanocarbon additives for enhancing the toughness of vinyl ester resins. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional and Sustainable Polymers)
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22 pages, 11411 KiB  
Article
Biomass-Based Shape-Stabilized Composite Phase-Change Materials with High Solar–Thermal Conversion Efficiency for Thermal Energy Storage
by Ning Gao, Jiaoli Du, Wenbo Yang, Youbing Li and Ning Chen
Polymers 2023, 15(18), 3747; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15183747 - 13 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1112
Abstract
To alleviate the increasing energy crisis and achieve energy saving and consumption reduction in building materials, preparing shape-stabilized phase-change materials using bio-porous carbon materials from renewable organic waste to building envelope materials is an effective strategy. In this work, pine cone porous biomass [...] Read more.
To alleviate the increasing energy crisis and achieve energy saving and consumption reduction in building materials, preparing shape-stabilized phase-change materials using bio-porous carbon materials from renewable organic waste to building envelope materials is an effective strategy. In this work, pine cone porous biomass carbon (PCC) was prepared via a chemical activation method using renewable biomaterial pine cone as a precursor and potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an activator. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and octadecane (OD) were loaded into PCC using the vacuum impregnation method to prepare polyethylene glycol/pine cone porous biomass carbon (PEG/PCC) and octadecane/pine cone porous biomass carbon (OD/PCC) shape-stabilized phase-change materials. PCCs with a high specific surface area and pore volume were obtained by adjusting the calcination temperature and amount of KOH, which was shown as a caterpillar-like and block morphology. The shape-stabilized PEG/PCC and OD/PCC composites showed high phase-change enthalpies of 144.3 J/g and 162.3 J/g, and the solar–thermal energy conversion efficiencies of the PEG/PCC and OD/PCC reached 79.9% and 84.8%, respectively. The effects of the contents of PEG/PCC and OD/PCC on the temperature-controlling capability of rigid polyurethane foam composites were further investigated. The results showed that the temperature-regulating and temperature-controlling capabilities of the energy-storing rigid polyurethane foam composites were gradually enhanced with an increase in the phase-change material content, and there was a significant thermostatic plateau in energy absorption at 25 °C and energy release at 10 °C, which decreased the energy consumption. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional and Sustainable Polymers)
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