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Polymers
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Polymer/Particle Composites: New Advances and Applications
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Polymer/Particle Composites: New Advances and Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 November 2023) | Viewed by 3405

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Huagui Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Fujian Key Laboratory of Polymer Materials, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China
Interests: polymer processing; nanocomposites; rheology; colloids and interfaces; microgels; water treatment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymers, particles, and their composites continue to act as popular model systems for the development of new materials, processes, and technologies to meet the increasing demands of new functions for applications in fields that broadly range from daily care to environmental remediation, oil recovery, new energy, life health, soft-robotics, etc. In particular, more and more attention is being focused on high-performance polymers that are also environmentally degradable, readily recyclable, renewable (e.g., vitrimer), or attainable from sustainable resources; on particles that have unique functions (e.g., stimuli-responsiveness, pollutant sorption ability, etc.) with designable structures and programable behaviours; and on polymers/particles (e.g., composites and blends) that have enhanced or new properties with tailorable microstructures and tuneable interactions. These mixtures are often multicomponent and/or multiphase systems in which the interface plays a crucial role in the stages ranging from synthesis to processing, etc., to determine the ultimate properties. Hence, fundamentally understanding and engineering the interface, including the interfacial interactions, dynamics, rheology, and multiphase stabilization and morphology modulation, etc., represents one of the key aspects on which research in this field focuses.

This Special Issue aims to cover the latest advancements in materials, processes, properties, and applications related to polymers, particles, and their mixtures, especially those that are developed based on fundamental understandings of the interfaces between different phases or components. It will highlight cutting-edge research converging the fields of polymer, colloid, chemical; and environmental engineering, as well as others. Both original contributions and comprehensive reviews are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Huagui Zhang
Guest Editor

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

  • functional particles
  • microgels
  • natural and biopolymers
  • polymer blends
  • nanocomposites
  • polymer processing
  • rheology
  • interfacial behaviour
  • water treatment
  • emulsions/foams

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 5178 KiB  
Article
Nanofluids of Amphiphilic Kaolinite-Based Janus Nanosheets for Enhanced Oil Recovery: The Importance of Stable Emulsion
by Yixuan Mao, Alain Luigi Lanzon, Botuo Zheng, Zhengxiao Xu, Jiatong Jiang, David Harbottle, Kai Yu, Mingfeng Chen, Yu Sheng and Huagui Zhang
Polymers 2023, 15(11), 2515; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15112515 - 30 May 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1210
Abstract
To meet the increasing global demand for energy, better recovery of crude oil from reservoirs must be achieved using methods that are economical and environmentally benign. Here, we have developed a nanofluid of amphiphilic clay-based Janus nanosheets via a facile and scalable method [...] Read more.
To meet the increasing global demand for energy, better recovery of crude oil from reservoirs must be achieved using methods that are economical and environmentally benign. Here, we have developed a nanofluid of amphiphilic clay-based Janus nanosheets via a facile and scalable method that provides potential to enhance oil recovery. With the aid of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) intercalation and ultrasonication, kaolinite was exfoliated into nanosheets (KaolNS) before being grafted with 3-methacryloxypropyl-triemethoxysilane (KH570) on the Alumina Octahedral Sheet at 40 and 70 °C to form amphiphilic Janus nanosheets (i.e., KaolKH@40 and KaolKH@70). The amphiphilicity and Janus nature of the KaolKH nanosheets have been well demonstrated, with distinct wettability obtained on two sides of the nanosheets, and the KaolKH@70 was more amphiphilic than the KaolKH@40. Upon preparing Pickering emulsion in a hydrophilic glass tube, the KaolKH@40 preferentially stabilized emulsions, while the KaolNS and KaolKH@70 tended to form an observable and high-strength elastic planar interfacial film at the oil–water interface as well as films climbing along the tube’s surface, which were supposed to be the result of emulsion instability and the strong adherence of Janus nanosheets towards tube’s surface. Subsequently, the KaolKH was grafted with poly(N-Isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), and the prepared thermo-responsive Janus nanosheets demonstrated a reversible transformation between stable emulsion and the observable interfacial films. Finally, when the samples were subjected to core flooding tests, the nanofluid containing 0.01 wt% KaolKH@40 that formed stable emulsions showed an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) rate of 22.37%, outperforming the other nanofluids that formed observable films (an EOR rate ~13%), showcasing the superiority of Pickering emulsions from interfacial films. This work demonstrates that KH-570-modified amphiphilic clay-based Janus nanosheets have the potential to be used to improve oil recovery, especially when it is able to form stable Pickering emulsions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer/Particle Composites: New Advances and Applications)
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9 pages, 2238 KiB  
Article
Time/Molecular Weight Superposition to Describe the Behavior of Controlled-Rheology Polypropylenes
by Françoise Berzin and Bruno Vergnes
Polymers 2022, 14(16), 3398; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14163398 - 19 Aug 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1303
Abstract
Polypropylene resins issuing from polymerization reactors are degraded by peroxides in subsequent reactive extrusion processes to improve their processability. This operation reduces their molecular weight and, thus, their viscosity and elasticity. In a previous study, a series of homo- and copolymer polypropylenes of [...] Read more.
Polypropylene resins issuing from polymerization reactors are degraded by peroxides in subsequent reactive extrusion processes to improve their processability. This operation reduces their molecular weight and, thus, their viscosity and elasticity. In a previous study, a series of homo- and copolymer polypropylenes of different molecular weight distributions were prepared by twin-screw extrusion and characterized by oscillatory rheometry. It was shown that their behavior could be described by Carreau–Yasuda equations, possibly with a yield stress, in which all parameters depended on the weight average molecular weight. By using these experimental data, it is show in the present study that a time/molecular weight superposition allowed for a drastic reduction in the number of parameters to be considered in order to precisely describe the viscous behavior of these materials. This concept was then validated by applying it to various experimental data from the bibliography. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer/Particle Composites: New Advances and Applications)
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