RSC Applied Polymers最新文献

{"title":"Detection, identification, and quantification of polymer additives: a review of techniques, approaches, challenges, and a possible roadmap in analysis","authors":"Tanmay Rahman, Daniel Meadows, Ke Zhan, Harrish Kumar Senthil Kumar, Marshall Smith, Virginia A. Davis, Bryan S. Beckingham, Yucheng Peng and Edward Davis","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00329F","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00329F","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The type and concentration of additives in polymer systems play a crucial role in determining the physical, mechanical, and chemical properties of these materials, as well as influencing their processing and performance in end-use applications. However, polymer additive detection, identification, and quantification are challenging due to the very low concentrations used and the poor solubility of some additives in solvents required for testing. In addition, polymer degradation products can interact with the additives during testing. To address these challenges, various techniques have been developed. Each method offers unique advantages and challenges, including sensitivity, specificity, and limitations in the polymer systems to which it is applicable. Understanding the advantages and limitations of these methods is essential for selecting the appropriate technique for the polymer additive system under analysis. This article reviews the primary methods used for polymer additive detection, identification, and quantification, including Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, gas chromatography (GC), mass spectrometry (MS), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), carbon/hydrogen/nitrogen/sulfur (CHNS) analysis, inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). This review critically examines the challenges of qualitatively and quantitatively evaluating additive content using these methods, while highlighting their strengths and limitations, and how combinations of techniques can be used synergistically to enhance capabilities. This review aims to provide foundational insights and a potential roadmap for researchers and engineers who are beginning to explore polymer additives.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 466-501"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lp/d5lp00329f?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558632","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Biodegradable copper complexing polymeric microparticles relieve oxidative stress","authors":"Laurel Zhang, Cole Latvis, Xiaokun Jiang, Yadong Wang and Simon Van Herck","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00289C","DOIUrl":"10.1039/D5LP00289C","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Current antioxidant therapies targeting reactive oxygen species (ROS) are often hindered by limitations in stability, efficacy, dosage tolerance, biocompatibility, or immunogenicity. To address these challenges, we developed a therapeutic platform based on polymer microparticles composed of poly(propanediol-<em>co</em>-(hydroxyphenyl methylene)amino-propanediol sebacate) (PAS), fabricated <em>via</em> a straightforward and scalable co-solvent precipitation method. When chelated with copper(<small>II</small>) ions, these microparticles (Cu-PASmp) catalytically degrade hydrogen peroxide and protect cells under oxidative stress. Both Cu-PASmp and PASmp demonstrate excellent biocompatibility and elicit no detectable immunogenic response in either M0 or M1 macrophages. Moreover, their presence appears to reduce the need for cells to express superoxide dismutase (SOD1), indicating a decrease in oxidative stress experienced by the cells. Collectively, these results position Cu-PASmp as a promising, catalytic antioxidant platform.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 557-567"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12865682/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146121461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of corona charging, additives and processing conditions on the barrier and filtration properties of polypropylene melt-blowns","authors":"Partha Sikdar and Gajanan S. Bhat","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00221D","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00221D","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Air pollution and airborne pathogens pose significant risks to public health and well-being. Electret melt-blown filters with high filtration efficiency (FE) and low-pressure drop (PD) are used to prevent inhalation of these pollutants. Melt-blown polypropylene (PP) electret filters offer an attractive combination of fine-fiber structure and electrostatic particle capture but often provide limited charge stability and inconsistent performance. In this study, we investigated the combined effects of corona charging, magnesium stearate (MgSt) additive loading, and melt-blown processing conditions on the filtration behavior and long-term stability of PP melt-blown. Melt-blown webs were produced using controlled variations in air pressure, die-to-collector distance (DCD), and MgSt concentration (0–2 wt%), followed by corona treatment at −50 kV. The incorporation of MgSt significantly increased the surface charge density, leading to substantial improvements in post-charging filtration efficiency (FE). All charged samples achieved FE values exceeding 98% at 32 L min<small>⁻¹</small>, with quality factor (QF) values improving by 2–5 times compared to uncharged webs. Samples containing 1 wt% MgSt exhibited the optimal balance of FE, pressure drop (PD), and electret stability, demonstrating minimal performance decay over 60 days. Structural analysis using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), porometry, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed that MgSt acted as a heterogeneous nucleating agent, increasing crystalline interfaces and enabling deeper charge-trap formation. These findings indicate that the combination of MgSt with optimized processing and corona charging offers a practical route to produce high-efficiency, low-resistance melt-blown electret filters with improved long-term performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 807-822"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lp/d5lp00221d?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Chloroform outperforms chlorobenzene for enhanced mobility in amphiphilic polymer OFETs","authors":"Preeti Yadav, Shunsuke Yamamoto, Kodai Yamanaka, Hengyuan Wang, Nadège Bonnet, Yabing Qi, Itaru Osaka and Christine K. Luscombe","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00320B","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00320B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >High carrier mobility in conjugated polymer-based organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) is often achieved in polymer thin films that display well-ordered long-range structures and good intercrystallite connectivity. While chlorobenzene (CB) is commonly known to yield favorable morphologies for efficient charge transport, in this work, we demonstrate enhanced mobility in the case of chloroform (CF)-processed films over CB. We find that OFETs fabricated from CF exhibit an average mobility of 5.1 × 10<small>⁻³</small> cm<small>²</small> V<small>⁻¹</small> s<small>⁻¹</small>, showing nearly a two-fold increase compared to the 2.7 × 10<small>⁻³</small> cm<small>²</small> V<small>⁻¹</small> s<small>⁻¹</small> achieved by the CB protocol. A detailed study of the polymer morphology through UV-vis spectroscopy, GIWAXS, and pMAIRS suggests that large crystallite size and uniform polymer orientation in both crystalline and amorphous domains for CF-processed films led to improved mobility despite the greater local electronic order and lower <em>g</em>-parameter observed in the CB-films. This superior performance observed in CF- over CB-processed films is hypothesized to be due to the amphiphilic nature of the polymer poly(3-hexyl-4′-((2-methoxyethoxy)methyl)-2,2′-bithiophene). Our findings open new avenues for the independent control of electronic order and macroscopic crystallinity through the design of an amphiphilic polymer.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 716-724"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lp/d5lp00320b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Recyclable and eco-compatible polymer composite nanofibers for broad-spectrum dye remediation","authors":"Kritika Rajput, Jesus Vazquez Chavez, Ana B. Jorge Sobrido, Manish Dev Sharma and Colin R. Crick","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00307E","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00307E","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Photocatalytic nanoparticles (NPs) can be effective in degrading synthetic dyes, but their practical application is often limited by challenges in handling, recovery and recycling, leading to catalyst loss during use. In this study, firstly, CuO–ZrO<small>₂</small> hybrid nanoparticles were synthesised using a facile co-precipitation method at pH 7 and incorporated into the polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymer at 20, 40, and 60 wt% loadings, followed by electrospinning and thermal stabilization (250 °C, 12 h) to obtain novel recyclable CuO–ZrO<small>₂</small>@PAN composite nanofiber mats. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the fabrication and application of electrospun PAN nanofibers incorporating CuO–ZrO<small>₂</small> hybrid nanoparticles. Among these, the 40 wt% CuO–ZrO<small>₂</small>@PAN sample exhibited the highest photocatalytic performance. The optimized composite demonstrated broad-spectrum activity against structurally distinct azo and thiazine dyes (25 ppm), achieving &gt;96% removal of Methylene Blue, ∼90% of Congo Red, ∼85% of Bismarck Brown, and ∼75% of Reactive Black within 60 minutes under irradiation. SEM-EDS analysis confirmed uniform nanoparticle immobilization within the fiber matrix, enabling facile recovery and reuse. Seed germination assays on <em>Vigna radiata</em> seeds further validated the eco-compatibility of the synthesised nanofibers, indicating no phytotoxicity effects up to 75 ppm. These results identify CuO–ZrO<small>₂</small>@PAN nanofibers as a durable, recyclable and environmentally safe photoactive filter system for dye contaminated wastewater treatment.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 725-735"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lp/d5lp00307e?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558640","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Application of chewed gum for treating oil sands tailings and adsorbing organic dyes and heavy metal ions","authors":"Wei Zhang, Amirhossein Farshchi-Andisi, Maryam Salami and Michael J. Serpe","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00278H","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00278H","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Here, we investigated the use of waste chewing gum as an environmentally problematic waste product for use as a sorbent for treating tailings pond water (TPW) from the Alberta oil sands. TPW has been found to contain toxic substances, including heavy metals, certain naphthenic acids, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. These pollutants are known to pose significant risks to the environment and living organisms. In this study, we demonstrated that the gum sorbent exhibited good sorption affinity for model compounds, <em>e.g.</em>, crystal violet (CV), rhodamine B (RB), and methylene blue (MB). Furthermore, a slight decrease in adsorption efficiency was observed over four reuse cycles. Good removal efficiency of heavy metal ions (Pb<small>²⁺</small>, Fe<small>³⁺</small>, Cu<small>²⁺</small>, Zn<small>²⁺</small>, Hg<small>²⁺</small>, Ag<small>⁺</small>, and Cd<small>²⁺</small>) was also observed, especially for lead (100%), iron (99%), and copper (98%), and even in heavy metal ion mixtures. The greatest reduction in TPW cytotoxicity was shown by filtration columns prepared with gum and silica, based on cell viability measured using HeLa cells, even when compared to columns containing charcoal and silica. Interestingly, higher levels of untreated organic carbon were found in the filtrate from these gum-based columns, suggesting that the gum might have reacted with the harmful compounds rather than simply trapping them. These results point to chewing gum as a recyclable waste material that is promising for the development of effective waste-based systems for cleaning industrial wastewater.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 615-625"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lp/d5lp00278h?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Electrical treeing in stress-whitened polypropylene thermoplastic elastomer cable insulation","authors":"Henrik Strand, Jorunn Hølto, Sverre Hvidsten and Mari-Ann Einarsrud","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00365B","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00365B","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Polypropylene thermoplastic elastomer (PP-TPE) is emerging as an energy-saving and environmentally friendly alternative to cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) for high-voltage cable insulation materials. However, the effect of mechanically induced stress whitening on electrical pre-breakdown of PP-TPE remains largely unexplored. This study investigates the influence of stress whitening generated by mechanical impact on electrical tree growth dynamics, morphology and associated partial discharge (PD) activity in extruded PP-TPE insulation taken from a commercially available cable. Electrical trees are initiated using a needle-plane configuration under AC voltage in samples with and without prior mechanical impact and thermal treatment. Impact-generated stress whitening is found to promote increased branching and alter growth directions, likely due to mechanical stress lines and localized material weakening, although it is not observed to significantly accelerate tree growth. Heating to sub-melt temperatures visibly reduces stress whitening but does not affect electrical treeing, suggesting that optical recovery does not reverse mechanical damage. Phase-resolved partial discharge analysis (PRPDA) reveals distinct PD patterns evolving through various phases of tree growth, with evidence of carbonization and gas pressure influencing PD dynamics.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 530-542"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lp/d5lp00365b?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Functionalized nanocellulose for efficient removal of ammonium impurities from contaminated water","authors":"Priyanka Sharma, Eyad Mohammed A. Alfarsi, Stanley C. Hicks, Miles Anthony Miller, Saikumar Muddapu, Abbygayle Razalind Ruggiero, William Borges, Julian J. Koebbe, Michael Kahwaji, Anindya K. Swarnakar and James Springstead","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00201J","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00201J","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Carboxycellulose nanofibers with carboxylate functionality are a promising material for a multitude of applications, including environmental remediation. In this paper, we present an in-depth systematic study on the application of TEMPO-oxidized CNFs for ammonium removal, demonstrating their versatility against a broad range of ammonium impurities (5–5000 ppm) using both simulated and real contaminated water. The efficiency of CNFs was tested under various conditions, including the amount of CNFs, pH, and time. The results showed that CNFs follow both the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherm models with good fitting, indicating their monolayer as well as multilayer adsorption mechanism. Furthermore, characterization using FTIR, SEM/EDS, and adsorption and kinetic analyses employing various models reveals that chemisorption is the dominant mechanism of ammonium adsorption by CNFs. The Langmuir isotherm model, when fitted to adsorption data gathered for original ammonium impurities in the range of 5–5000 ppm using CNFs, yielded a maximum adsorption capacity of 303.3 mg g<small>⁻¹</small>. Additionally, this study includes a technical application to remove ammonium impurities from real contaminated fish water, with results indicating an average removal efficiency of between 80% and 90%. We have also developed an in-house flotation remediation system (FRS) to address handling and collection issues related to CNFs and used CNFs. Hence, this study presents a comprehensive and sustainable approach to addressing the most significant ammonium nutrient problem, utilizing the most abundant, scalable, and eco-friendly plant-based material.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 626-635"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lp/d5lp00201j?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Development of an adsorption–desorption technique for the recovery of rare-earth metal ions using the phase transition behavior of zwitterionic polymer brushes","authors":"Tommy Suhartono Wijaya Tan, Naokazu Idota and Takehiko Tsukahara","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00239G","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00239G","url":null,"abstract":"<p >This study synthesized a sulfobetaine-type zwitterionic polymer brush on a porous silica particle (P-SiO<small>₂</small>-poly(DMAPS)) through surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) and demonstrated its applicability as an adsorption–desorption material for lanthanide (Ln) ions in aqueous solutions. Appropriate Ln adsorption conditions for P-SiO<small>₂</small>-poly(DMAPS) were established according to the effects of various Ln metal ions on the thermo-responsive behavior of poly(DMAPS) in aqueous solutions. From the adsorption experiments, it was confirmed that P-SiO<small>₂</small>-poly(DMAPS) enabled the complete recovery of all Ln ions from aqueous solutions. The regression analyses of the Langmuir adsorption isotherm curves of Ln ions at 50 °C–70 °C showed that the chemisorption processes of all Ln ions on P-SiO<small>₂</small>-poly(DMAPS) were entropy-driven and occurred spontaneously, while the maximum adsorption capacities of Ln ions decreased as the ionic radii decreased from light to heavy Ln ions. Furthermore, 100% of all Ln ions adsorbed on P-SiO<small>₂</small>-poly(DMAPS) desorbed by simple shaking in a certain concentration of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) solution. These results prove that this novel Ln adsorption–desorption technique using a zwitterionic polymer brush has great potential in chemical, environmental, and energy fields.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 736-752"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lp/d5lp00239g?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"High-refractive-index copolymers produced by radical copolymerization of aromatic heterocyclic monomers in deep eutectic solvents","authors":"Yuji Tsuhara, Kento Sato, Sadaki Samitsu and Hideharu Mori","doi":"10.1039/D5LP00343A","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1039/D5LP00343A","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The development of a greener and more efficient methodology for simultaneously achieving polymers with a high refractive index, high Abbe number, good transparency, and high thermal stability remains a challenge, particularly for sustainable production using environmentally friendly solvents. Herein, we report the green production of high-refractive-index copolymers in a deep eutectic solvent (DES) by the radical copolymerization of aromatic heterocyclic <em>S</em>-vinyl and <em>N</em>-vinyl monomers, namely benzothiazoyl vinyl sulfide (BTVS) and <em>N</em>-vinyl carbazole (NVC), combined with methyl methacrylate (MMA). Three hydrophobic natural DESs (NADESs; Thy/Cou, Thy/Men, and Tdc/Men) prepared from naturally derived compounds (Thy: thymol, Men: (±)-menthol, Cou: coumarin, and Tdc: 1-tetradecanol) and two hydrophilic DESs prepared from choline chloride (ChCl) and zinc chloride (ZnCl<small>₂</small>) with urea (ChCl/urea and ZnCl<small>₂</small>/urea) were used for the radical copolymerization of MMA/BTVS, MMA/NVC, and BTVS/NVC. An increase in both the polymer yield and molecular weight of the resulting copolymers was observed, depending on the nature of the DESs and the polymerization conditions. P(BTVS-<em>co</em>-NVC)s prepared at a constant feed ratio (100/100) in the DESs exhibited high refractive indices (1.6738–1.7359 at 589 nm), which were higher than those of P(MMA-<em>co</em>-BTVS)s (1.6076–1.6794) and P(MMA-<em>co</em>-NVC)s (1.5922–1.6349). Three series of the copolymers showed good transparency (&gt;96% at 400 nm) and high thermal stability (<em>T</em><small>_d5</small> = 378 °C, 249 °C, and 246 °C for MMA/NVC, MMA/BTVS, and BTVS/NVC copolymers, respectively). P(BTVS-<em>co</em>-NVC) prepared at a suitable BTVS/NVC (150/50) feed ratio in ZnCl<small>₂</small>/urea showed the highest refractive index (1.7528) with a relatively high Abbe number (21.1), which differs from the general tendency for a trade-off between refractive index and Abbe number. This work demonstrates the great potential of DESs for the sustainable production of next-generation high-refractive-index polymers and provides new opportunities for their applications in related fields.</p>","PeriodicalId":101139,"journal":{"name":"RSC Applied Polymers","volume":" 2","pages":" 591-600"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2026-01-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2026/lp/d5lp00343a?page=search","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147558551","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}