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Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2024 | Viewed by 25624

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kumkum Ahmed

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Guest Editor

Shibaura Institute of Technology, Koto City, Tokyo 135-8548, Japan
Interests: hydrogels; stimuli responsive gels/polymers; ionic gels; porous polymers; 3D/4D printing; sensors

Dr. MD Nahin Islam Shiblee

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamagata University, Yamagata, Japan
Interests: material science; 3D/4D printing; soft robotics; shape memory hydrogels

Dr. Chanchal Kumar Roy

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemistry, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
Interests: physical chemistry; electrochemistry

Prof. Dr. Hidemitsu Furukawa

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Guest Editor

Department of Mechanical Systems Engineering, Yamagata University, Yonezawa, Yamagata 992-8510, Japan
Interests: 3D printing; soft robotics; gels; food; light scattering
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to this the Special Issue of “Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications”. Soft materials such as hydrogels, organogels, ionic/ionogels, stimuli-responsive polymers, elastomers, etc., are one of the most fascinating classes of scientific materials, and one that has widened the scope of flexible electronics, soft robotics, sensors and bio-medical fields. Therefore, fundamental understanding of physical and chemical phenomena in soft materials will be crucial for designing novel materials for a wide range of applications.

In this Special Issue, “Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications”, we will welcome original and innovative research outcomes focusing on the synthesis processes, characterization techniques and/or applications of soft polymerics materials in various sectors including but not limited to 3D/4D printing, flexible electronics, sensors, soft robotics, energy sectors and so on. Original research articles, reviews, and communications are welcomed.

Dr. Kumkum Ahmed
Dr. MD Nahin Islam Shiblee
Dr. Chanchal Kumar Roy
Prof. Dr. Hidemitsu Furukawa
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

polymeric gels- hydrogels, ionic gels, organogels, etc.
elastomers
soft nanocomposites
mechanical properties
rheological properties
light scattering
conductive/ionic properties
3D and 4D Printing
flexible electronics
sensors
actuators
soft robotics

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 2654 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fluorine-Containing Ionogels with Stretchable, Solvent-Resistant, Wide Temperature Tolerance, and Transparent Properties for Ionic Conductors

by Xiaoxi Fan, Wenlong Feng, Shuang Wang, Yinpeng Chen, Wen Jiang Zheng and Jie Yan

Polymers 2024, 16(7), 1013; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16071013 - 08 Apr 2024

Viewed by 320

Abstract

Stretchable ionogels, as soft ion-conducting materials, have generated significant interest. However, the integration of multiple functions into a single ionogel, including temperature tolerance, self-adhesiveness, and stability in diverse environments, remains a challenge. In this study, a new class of fluorine-containing ionogels was synthesized through photo-initiated copolymerization of fluorinated hexafluorobutyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate in a fluorinated ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide. The resulting ionogels demonstrate good stretchability with a fracture strain of ~1300%. Owing to the advantages of the fluorinated network and the ionic liquid, the ionogels show excellent stability in air and vacuum, as well as in various solvent media such as water, sodium chloride solution, and hexane. Additionally, the ionogels display impressive wide temperature tolerance, functioning effectively within a wide temperature range from −60 to 350 °C. Moreover, due to their adhesive properties, the ionogels can be easily attached to various substrates, including plastic, rubber, steel, and glass. Sensors made of these ionogels reliably respond to repetitive tensile-release motion and finger bending in both air and underwater. These findings suggest that the developed ionogels hold great promise for application in wearable devices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications)

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14 pages, 3125 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Ultrasonication Parameters on the Structural, Morphological, and Electrical Properties of Polypyrrole Nanoparticles and Optimization by Response Surface Methodology

by SK Safdar Hossain, Anis Farhana Abdul Rahman, Agus Arsad, Avijit Basu, Ai Ling Pang, Zakiah Harun, Muhammad Mudassir Ahmad Alwi and Syed Sadiq Ali

Polymers 2023, 15(6), 1528; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15061528 - 20 Mar 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1844

Abstract

Polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles are reliable conducting polymers with many industrial applications. Nevertheless, owing to disadvantages in structure and morphology, producing PPy with high electrical conductivity is challenging. In this study, a chemical oxidative polymerization-assisted ultra-sonication method was used to synthesize PPy with high conductivity. The influence of critical sonication parameters such as time and power on the structure, morphology, and electrical properties was examined using response surface methodology. Various analyses such as SEM, FTIR, DSC, and TGA were performed on the PPy. An R² value of 0.8699 from the regression analysis suggested a fine correlation between the observed and predicted values of PPy conductivity. Using response surface plots and contour line diagrams, the optimum sonication time and sonication power were found to be 17 min and 24 W, respectively, generating a maximum conductivity of 2.334 S/cm. Meanwhile, the model predicted 2.249 S/cm conductivity, indicating successful alignment with the experimental data and incurring marginal error. SEM results demonstrated that the morphology of the particles was almost spherical, whereas the FTIR spectra indicated the presence of certain functional groups in the PPy. The obtained PPy with high conductivity can be a promising conducting material with various applications, such as in supercapacitors, sensors, and other smart electronic devices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications)

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18 pages, 5059 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predictive Modeling of Soft Stretchable Nanocomposites Using Recurrent Neural Networks

by Josué García-Ávila, Diego de Jesus Torres Serrato, Ciro A. Rodriguez, Adriana Vargas Martínez, Erick Ramírez Cedillo and J. Israel Martínez-López

Polymers 2022, 14(23), 5290; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14235290 - 03 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1660

Abstract

Human skin is characterized by rough, elastic, and uneven features that are difficult to recreate using conventional manufacturing technologies and rigid materials. The use of soft materials is a promising alternative to produce devices that mimic the tactile capabilities of biological tissues. Although previous studies have revealed the potential of fillers to modify the properties of composite materials, there is still a gap in modeling the conductivity and mechanical properties of these types of materials. While traditional Finite Element approximations can be used, these methodologies tend to be highly demanding of time and processing power. Instead of this approach, a data-driven learning-based approximation strategy can be used to generate prediction models via neural networks. This paper explores the fabrication of flexible nanocomposites using polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with different single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) loadings (0.5, 1, and 1.5 wt.%). Simple Recurrent Neural Networks (SRNN), Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), and Gated Recurrent Units (GRU) models were formulated, trained, and tested to obtain the predictive sequence data of out-of-plane quasistatic mechanical tests. Finally, the model learned is applied to a dynamic system using the Kelvin-Voight model and the phenomenon known as the bouncing ball. The best predictive results were achieved using a nonlinear activation function in the SRNN model implementing two units and 4000 epochs. These results suggest the feasibility of a hybrid approach of analogy-based learning and data-driven learning for the design and computational analysis of soft and stretchable nanocomposite materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications)

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13 pages, 805 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Use of Polystyrene Nanoparticles as Collectors in the Flotation of Chalcopyrite

by Romina Murga, Camila Rodriguez, John Amalraj, Dennis Vega-Garcia, Leopoldo Gutierrez and Lina Uribe

Polymers 2022, 14(23), 5259; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14235259 - 02 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1658

Abstract

This study proposes the use of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs) as collectors for copper sulfide flotation. The experimental phase included the preparation of two types of polystyrene-based NPs: St-CTAB and St-CTAB-VI. These NPs were characterized by Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Then, microflotation tests with chalcopyrite under different pH conditions and nanoparticle dosages were carried out to verify their capabilities as chalcopyrite collectors. In addition, the zeta potential (ZP) measurements of chalcopyrite in the presence and absence of NPs were carried out to study their interaction. Lastly, some Atomic Force Micrographs (AFM) of NPs and Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis of NPs on the chalcopyrite surface were conducted to analyze the size, the morphology and their interaction. The results obtained at pH 6 and pH 8 show that the NPs under study can achieve a chalcopyrite recovery near or higher than that obtained with the conventional collector. In this study, it was possible to observe that the NPs functionalized by the imidazole group (St-CTAB-VI) achieved better performance due to the presence of this group in its composition, allowing to achieve a greater affinity with the surface of the mineral. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications)

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24 pages, 5558 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Gelatin Methacryloyl Hydrogels for the Localized Delivery of Cefazolin

by Margaux Vigata, Cathal D. O’Connell, Silvia Cometta, Dietmar W. Hutmacher, Christoph Meinert and Nathalie Bock

Polymers 2021, 13(22), 3960; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13223960 - 16 Nov 2021

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2635

Abstract

The tuneability of hydrogels renders them promising candidates for local drug delivery to prevent and treat local surgical site infection (SSI) while avoiding the systemic side-effects of intravenous antibiotic injections. Here, we present a newly developed gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)-based hydrogel drug delivery system (GelMA-DDS) to locally deliver the broad-spectrum antibiotic cefazolin for SSI prophylaxis and treatment. Antibiotic doses from 3 µg to 90 µg were loaded in photocrosslinked GelMA hydrogel discs with 5 to 15% w/v polymer concentration and drug encapsulation efficiencies, mechanical properties, crosslinking and release kinetics, as well as bacterial growth inhibition were assessed. Our results demonstrate that all GelMA groups supported excellent drug encapsulation efficiencies of up to 99%. Mechanical properties of the GelMA-DDS were highly tuneable and unaffected by the loading of small to medium doses of cefazolin. The diffusive and the proteolytic in vitro drug delivery of all investigated cefazolin doses was characterized by a burst release, and the delivered cefazolin amount was directly proportional to the encapsulated dose. Accelerated enzymatic degradation of the GelMA-DDS followed zero-order kinetics and was dependent on both the cefazolin dose and GelMA concentration (3–13 h). Finally, we demonstrate that cefazolin delivered from GelMA induced a dose-dependent antibacterial efficacy against S. aureus, in both a broth and a diffusive assay. The cefazolin-loaded GelMA-DDS presented here provides a highly tuneable and easy-to-use local delivery system for the prophylaxis and treatment of SSI. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications)

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19 pages, 13549 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Superior Technique for the Production of Agarose Dressing Containing Sericin and Its Wound Healing Property

by Supamas Napavichayanun, Prompong Pienpinijtham, Narendra Reddy and Pornanong Aramwit

Polymers 2021, 13(19), 3370; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13193370 - 30 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1898

Abstract

Finding a simple and eco-friendly production technique that matches to the natural agent and results in a truly valuable natural scaffold production is still limited amongst the intensively competitive natural scaffold development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop natural scaffolds that were environmentally friendly, low cost, and easily produced, using natural agents and a physical crosslinking technique. These scaffolds were prepared from agarose and sericin using the freeze-drying method (D) or freeze-thawing together with the freeze-drying method (TD). Moreover, plasticizers were added into the scaffold to improve their properties. Their physical, mechanical, and biological properties were investigated. The results showed that scaffolds that were prepared using the TD method had stronger bonding between sericin and other compounds, leading to a low swelling ratio and low protein release of the scaffolds. This property may be applied in the development of further material as a controlled drug release scaffold. Adding plasticizers, especially glycerin, into the scaffolds significantly increased elongation properties, leading to an increase in elasticity of the scaffold. Moreover, all scaffolds could activate cell migration, which had an advantage on wound healing acceleration. Accordingly, this study was successful in developing natural scaffolds using natural agents and simple and green crosslinking methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications)

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25 pages, 8541 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Long-Term Thermal Aging of Modified Sylgard 184 Formulations

by Zachary Brounstein, Jianchao Zhao, Drew Geller, Nevin Gupta and Andrea Labouriau

Polymers 2021, 13(18), 3125; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13183125 - 16 Sep 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 6145

Abstract

Primarily used as an encapsulant and soft adhesive, Sylgard 184 is an engineered, high-performance silicone polymer that has applications spanning microfluidics, microelectromechanical systems, mechanobiology, and protecting electronic and non-electronic devices and equipment. Despite its ubiquity, there are improvements to be considered, namely, decreasing its gel point at room temperature, understanding volatile gas products upon aging, and determining how material properties change over its lifespan. In this work, these aspects were investigated by incorporating well-defined compounds (the Ashby–Karstedt catalyst and tetrakis (dimethylsiloxy) silane) into Sylgard 184 to make modified formulations. As a result of these additions, the curing time at room temperature was accelerated, which allowed for Sylgard 184 to be useful within a much shorter time frame. Additionally, long-term thermal accelerated aging was performed on Sylgard 184 and its modifications in order to create predictive lifetime models for its volatile gas generation and material properties. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications)

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18 pages, 3990 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Supramolecular Self-Healing Sensor Fiber Composites for Damage Detection in Piezoresistive Electronic Skin for Soft Robots

by Antonia Georgopoulou, Anton W. Bosman, Joost Brancart, Bram Vanderborght and Frank Clemens

Polymers 2021, 13(17), 2983; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym13172983 - 02 Sep 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2722

Abstract

Self-healing materials can prolong the lifetime of structures and products by enabling the repairing of damage. However, detecting the damage and the progress of the healing process remains an important issue. In this study, self-healing, piezoresistive strain sensor fibers (ShSFs) are used for detecting strain deformation and damage in a self-healing elastomeric matrix. The ShSFs were embedded in the self-healing matrix for the development of self-healing sensor fiber composites (ShSFC) with elongation at break values of up to 100%. A quadruple hydrogen-bonded supramolecular elastomer was used as a matrix material. The ShSFCs exhibited a reproducible and monotonic response. The ShSFCs were investigated for use as sensorized electronic skin on 3D-printed soft robotic modules, such as bending actuators. Depending on the bending actuator module, the electronic skin was loaded under either compression (pneumatic-based module) or tension (tendon-based module). In both configurations, the ShSFs could be successfully used as deformation sensors, and in addition, detect the presence of damage based on the sensor signal drift. The sensor under tension showed better recovery of the signal after healing, and smaller signal relaxation. Even with the complete severing of the fiber, the piezoresistive properties returned after the healing, but in that case, thermal heat treatment was required. With their resilient response and self-healing properties, the supramolecular fiber composites can be used for the next generation of soft robotic modules. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications)

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Review

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22 pages, 19652 KiB

Open AccessReview

Self-Healing Hydrogels: Development, Biomedical Applications, and Challenges

by Md. Mahamudul Hasan Rumon, Anwarul Azim Akib, Fahmida Sultana, Md. Moniruzzaman, Mahruba Sultana Niloy, Md Salman Shakil and Chanchal Kumar Roy

Polymers 2022, 14(21), 4539; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14214539 - 26 Oct 2022

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4684

Abstract

Polymeric hydrogels have drawn considerable attention as a biomedical material for their unique mechanical and chemical properties, which are very similar to natural tissues. Among the conventional hydrogel materials, self-healing hydrogels (SHH) are showing their promise in biomedical applications in tissue engineering, wound healing, and drug delivery. Additionally, their responses can be controlled via external stimuli (e.g., pH, temperature, pressure, or radiation). Identifying a suitable combination of viscous and elastic materials, lipophilicity and biocompatibility are crucial challenges in the development of SHH. Furthermore, the trade-off relation between the healing performance and the mechanical toughness also limits their real-time applications. Additionally, short-term and long-term effects of many SHH in the in vivo model are yet to be reported. This review will discuss the mechanism of various SHH, their recent advancements, and their challenges in tissue engineering, wound healing, and drug delivery. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Soft Polymeric Materials: Synthesis, Characterizations and Applications)

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