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Polymers
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Advanced Polymeric Materials: Structure Property Relationships
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Advanced Polymeric Materials: Structure Property Relationships

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2024) | Viewed by 9225

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Samuel Kenig

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Guest Editor
Department of Polymer Materials Engineering, The Pernick Faculty of Engineering Shenkar College, 12 Anna Frank Street, Ramat Gan 52526, Israel
Interests: polymer nanocomposites; thermoplastics and thermosetting systems composed of nanoclays; carbon nanotubes; nanosilica; poss; graphene; inorganic nanoparticles; effect of process parameters on orientation and properties; advanced polymer nanocomposite coatings
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Hanna Dodiuk

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Polymer Materials Engineering, The Pernick Faculty of Engineering Shenkar College, 12 Anna Frank Street, Ramat Gan 52526, Israel
Interests: adhesives; coatings; nanotechnology; nanoparticles; biomedical polymers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The idea that polymers consist of numerous elongated chains or networks of covalently bonded atoms has been with us for a long time. Irrespective of whether the polymer is in a form of fiber, bulk plastic, thin coating, or adhesive, it consists of a backbone of covalently bonded atoms or polymer networks. The differences between the final properties depend to a large extent on the morphology, the network formation, the intermolecular secondary forces of homopolymers, and the interfacial forces of the constituents in hybrid polymer systems. 

Advanced polymeric materials are those polymers that exhibit unique or enhanced properties relative to conventional polymers. Among them are polymer blends, nano- and microcomposites, electrically conductive and optically active polymers, biodegradable polymers, biomedical polymers, bioinspired polymers, dendrimers, hyperbranched polymers, and vitrimers.

The objective of this Special Issue is to assemble research or review papers that can demonstrate the understanding and relationship between the structure and composition of advanced polymers with their unique properties, in the final processed part. This Special Issue seeks contributions from academic and research institutions as well as industrial entities. 

Prof. Dr. Samuel Kenig
Prof. Dr. Hanna Dodiuk
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

  • structure–property relationship
  • advanced polymers
  • hybrid polymer systems
  • nano- and microcomposites
  • electrical and optical active polymers
  • biomedical polymers

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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17 pages, 5208 KiB  
Article
Degree of Cure, Microstructures, and Properties of Carbon/Epoxy Composites Processed via Frontal Polymerization
by Aurpon Tahsin Shams, Easir Arafat Papon, Pravin S. Shinde, Jason Bara and Anwarul Haque
Polymers 2024, 16(11), 1493; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16111493 - 24 May 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1971
Abstract
The frontal polymerization (FP) of carbon/epoxy (C/Ep) composites is investigated, considering FP as a viable route for the additive manufacturing (AM) of thermoset composites. Neat epoxy (Ep) resin-, short carbon fiber (SCF)-, and continuous carbon fiber (CCF)-reinforced composites are considered in this study. [...] Read more.
The frontal polymerization (FP) of carbon/epoxy (C/Ep) composites is investigated, considering FP as a viable route for the additive manufacturing (AM) of thermoset composites. Neat epoxy (Ep) resin-, short carbon fiber (SCF)-, and continuous carbon fiber (CCF)-reinforced composites are considered in this study. The evolution of the exothermic reaction temperature, polymerization frontal velocity, degree of cure, microstructures, effects of fiber concentration, fracture surface, and thermal and mechanical properties are investigated. The results show that exothermic reaction temperatures range between 110 °C and 153 °C, while the initial excitation temperatures range from 150 °C to 270 °C. It is observed that a higher fiber content increases cure time and decreases average frontal velocity, particularly in low SCF concentrations. This occurs because resin content, which predominantly drives the exothermic reaction, decreases with increased fiber content. The FP velocities of neat Ep resin- and SCF-reinforced composites are seen to be 0.58 and 0.50 mm/s, respectively. The maximum FP velocity (0.64 mm/s) is observed in CCF/Ep composites. The degree of cure (αc) is observed to be in the range of 70% to 85% in FP-processed composites. Such a range of αc is significantly low in comparison to traditional composites processed through a long cure cycle. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of neat epoxy resin is seen to be approximately 154 °C, and it reduces slightly to a lower value (149 °C) for SCF-reinforced composites. The microstructures show significantly high void contents (12%) and large internal cracks. These internal cracks are initiated due to high thermal residual stress developed during curing for non-uniform temperature distribution. The tensile properties of FP-cured samples are seen to be inferior in comparison to autoclave-processed neat epoxy. This occurs mostly due to the presence of large void contents, internal cracks, and a poor degree of cure. Finally, a highly efficient and controlled FP method is desirable to achieve a defect-free microstructure with improved mechanical and thermal properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Materials: Structure Property Relationships)
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22 pages, 2471 KiB  
Article
Performance of Recycled Polylactic Acid/Amorphous Polyhydroxyalkanoate Blends
by Simran Chatrath, Mansour Alotaibi and Carol Forance Barry
Polymers 2024, 16(9), 1230; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16091230 - 28 Apr 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1585
Abstract
Blends of polylactic acid (PLA) with amorphous polyhydroxyalkanoate (aPHA) are less brittle than neat PLA, thus enabling their use as biodegradable packaging. This work investigated the impact of recycling on the properties of neat PLA and PLA/aPHA blends with 90 and 75 wt. [...] Read more.
Blends of polylactic acid (PLA) with amorphous polyhydroxyalkanoate (aPHA) are less brittle than neat PLA, thus enabling their use as biodegradable packaging. This work investigated the impact of recycling on the properties of neat PLA and PLA/aPHA blends with 90 and 75 wt. % PLA. After the materials were subjected to five heat histories in a single-screw extruder, the mechanical, rheological, and thermal properties were measured. All recycled compounds with 100% PLA and 75% PLA had similar decomposition behavior, whereas the decomposition temperatures for the blends with 90% PLA decreased with each additional heat cycle. The glass transition and melting temperatures were not impacted by reprocessing, but the crystallinity increased with more heat cycles. The complex viscosity of the reprocessed PLA and PLA/aPHA blends was much lower than for the neat PLA and increasing the number of heat cycles produced smaller reductions in the complex viscosity of 100% PLA and the blend with 90% PLA; no change in complex viscosity was observed for blends with 75% PLA exposed to 2 to 5 heat cycles. The tensile properties were not affected by reprocessing, whereas the impact strength for the 75% PLA blend decreased with reprocessing. These properties suggest that users will be able to incorporate scrap into the neat resin for thermoformed packaging. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Materials: Structure Property Relationships)
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16 pages, 4734 KiB  
Article
The Mechanical Properties Relationship of Radiation-Cured Nanocomposites Based on Acrylates and Cationic Polymerized Epoxies and the Composition of Silane-Modified Tungsten Disulfide Nanoparticles
by Yarden Gercci, Natali Yosef-Tal, Tatyana Bendikov, Hanna Dodiuk, Samuel Kenig and Reshef Tenne
Polymers 2023, 15(14), 3061; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15143061 - 16 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1638
Abstract
The effect of semiconducting tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanoparticles (NPs), functionalized by either methacryloxy, glycidyl, vinyl, or amino silanes, has been studied in photocuring of acrylate and epoxy resins (the latter photocured according to a cationic mechanism). The curing time, degree of [...] Read more.
The effect of semiconducting tungsten disulfide (WS2) nanoparticles (NPs), functionalized by either methacryloxy, glycidyl, vinyl, or amino silanes, has been studied in photocuring of acrylate and epoxy resins (the latter photocured according to a cationic mechanism). The curing time, degree of curing (DC), thermal effects, and mechanical properties of the radiation-cured resins were investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses confirmed that a silane coating was formed (1–4 nm) on the NPs’ surface having a thickness of 1–4 nm. Fourier transition infrared (FTIR) was used to determine the DC of the nanocomposite resin. The curing time of the epoxy resin, at 345–385 nm wavelength, was 10 to 20 s, while for acrylate, the curing time was 7.5 min, reaching 92% DC in epoxy and 84% in acrylate. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of the photocured acrylates in the presence of WS2 NPs increased. In contrast to the acrylate, the epoxy displayed no significant variations of the Tg. It was found that the silane surface treatments enhanced the DC. Significant increases in impact resistance and enhancement in shear adhesion strength were observed when the NPs were treated with vinyl silane. A previous study has shown that the addition of WS2 NPs at a concentration of 0.5 wt.% is the optimal loading for improving the resin’s mechanical properties. This study supports these earlier findings not only for the unmodified NPs but also for those functionalized with silane moieties. This study opens new vistas for the photocuring of resins and polymers in general when incorporating WS2 NPs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Materials: Structure Property Relationships)
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Review

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22 pages, 4301 KiB  
Review
Characterization Methods to Determine Interpenetrating Polymer Network (IPN) in Hydrogels
by Ceren Cona, Katherine Bailey and Elizabeth Barker
Polymers 2024, 16(14), 2050; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16142050 - 18 Jul 2024
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3120
Abstract
Significant developments have been achieved with the invention of hydrogels. They are effective in many fields such as wastewater treatment, food, agriculture, pharmaceutical applications, and drug delivery. Although hydrogels have been used successfully in these areas, there is a need to make them [...] Read more.
Significant developments have been achieved with the invention of hydrogels. They are effective in many fields such as wastewater treatment, food, agriculture, pharmaceutical applications, and drug delivery. Although hydrogels have been used successfully in these areas, there is a need to make them better for future applications. Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) can be created to make hydrogels more adjustable and suitable for a specific purpose. IPN formation is an innovative approach for polymeric systems. It brings two or more polymer networks together with entanglements. The properties of IPNs are controlled by its chemistry, crosslinking density, and morphology. Therefore, it is necessary to understand characterization methods in order to detect the formation of IPN structure and to develop the properties of hydrogels. In recent studies, IPN structure in hydrogels has been determined via chemical, physical, and mechanical methods such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and rheology methods. In this paper, these characterization methods will be explained, recent studies will be scrutinized, and the effectiveness of these methods to confirm IPN formation will be evaluated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advanced Polymeric Materials: Structure Property Relationships)
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