{"title":"Balancing the Mechanical Toughness and Electrical Insulation of Polypropylene by Blending and Grafting Modifications","authors":"Shengkun Niu, Tiandong Zhang, Huiyang Zhang, Changhai Zhang, Yue Zhang, Chao Yin, Yongquan Zhang, Guanglei Wu, Qingguo Chi","doi":"10.1002/macp.202500029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202500029","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Balancing the mechanical toughness and electrical insulation of polypropylene (PP) for recyclable cable insulation application has attracted increasing attention. Due to the different molecular conformation, isotactic polypropylene (IPP) always delivers excellent electrical insulation but poor mechanical toughness, while block polypropylene (BPP) has been dramatically opposed properties. Blending IPP with BPP at an appropriate content may be beneficial to reconcile the toughness and insulation. In this study, the blending ratio of IPP and BPP is first investigated, and it is found that 60: 40 wt.% is the optimized ratio for achieving outstanding overall performance. Furthermore, polyolefin elastomer (POE) and styrene-grafted POE (POE-g-St) are incorporated into IPP/BPP blends respectively to intensify the toughness as well as the insulation property. The microstructure, electrical properties, mechanical properties, and thermal properties of the composites are systematically analyzed and discussed. The results demonstrate that the composite with a grafting ratio of 1.21 wt.% styrene exhibits superior overall performances, the enhanced breakdown field strength of 314.02 kV mm<sup>−1,</sup> and reduced elastic modulus of 352.54 MPa are achieved. Additionally, the modified composites also possess a high melting temperature, high volume resistivity, and excellent space charge suppression capability, achieving the synergistic improvements of the electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties.</p>","PeriodicalId":18054,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics","volume":"226 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143688648","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Urea-Modified Lignin-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Porous Carbon Materials: Synthesis and CO2 Adsorption Properties","authors":"Siriguleng Bao, Yong Sheng Bao, Agula Bao","doi":"10.1002/macp.202400427","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202400427","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Lignin has a high carbon content, but the production of porous carbon materials from it is challenging because of its complex structure and stable physicochemical properties. In this study, nitrogen-doped porous carbon materials are prepared by impregnating lignin with urea, using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an activator. The physicochemical properties of the samples are investigated using various characterization methods. The results showed that the CO<sub>2</sub> adsorption capacity of the sample LUN-10-7, which has a urea solution concentration of 10% and an immersion time of 7 days, is 3.80 mmol g<sup>−1</sup> at 1 bar and 298 K. The characterization results indicated that the abundant pore structure and excellent surface chemistry enhanced the sample's CO<sub>2</sub> adsorption performance. Additionally, the sample demonstrated high CO<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> selectivity and cyclic stability, making it suitable for practical applications as an adsorbent.</p>","PeriodicalId":18054,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics","volume":"226 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143688647","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Structural Modulation in Viologen-Based Ionic Porous Organic Polymers for Catalytic Non-Redox CO2 Fixation","authors":"Tapolabdha Lodh, G. Shreeraj, Abhijit Patra","doi":"10.1002/macp.202400373","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202400373","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The rational design of metal-free, porous, and heterogeneous catalysts with large specific surface areas for efficient CO<sub>2</sub> capture and utilization has remained a significant challenge. In this study, two structurally distinct viologen-based novel ionic porous organic polymers (iPOPs) featuring a triazine core are developed, employing different polymerization methods to modulate their porosity and catalytic properties. The alkyne-linked SC-iPOP, synthesized through Sonogashira polycondensation, exhibits high porosity (specific BET surface area: 616 ± 9 m<sup>2</sup> g<sup>−1</sup>) over BHC-iPOP with secondary amine linkages fabricated by Buchwald-Hartwig polymerization. SC-iPOP demonstrates superior catalytic efficiency in the metal-free cycloaddition of CO<sub>2</sub> with epoxides to form cyclic organic carbonates under atmospheric pressure and solvent-free conditions, with excellent recyclability. This enhanced catalytic performance, compared to BHC-iPOP, is attributed to the high porosity of SC-iPOP and the presence of abundant CO<sub>2</sub>-philic ionic active sites. The current study emphasizes the role of structural modifications in designing efficient porous catalysts for metal-free CO<sub>2</sub> fixation.</p>","PeriodicalId":18054,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics","volume":"226 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143690161","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Svenja Weigold, Kerstin Brödner, Torsten John, Jan Freudenberg, Uwe H. F. Bunz, Tanja Weil, George Fytas, Klaus Müllen
{"title":"Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Polyphenylene Dendrimers with Different Surface Functionalization in Solvent/Non-Solvent Mixtures","authors":"Svenja Weigold, Kerstin Brödner, Torsten John, Jan Freudenberg, Uwe H. F. Bunz, Tanja Weil, George Fytas, Klaus Müllen","doi":"10.1002/macp.202400431","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202400431","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This work compares the self-assembly of nanometer-sized amphiphilic Janus-type and patched polyphenylene dendrimers (PPDs) in solvent/non-solvent mixtures utilizing static and dynamic light-scattering measurements. First- and second-generation (G1 and G2) dendrimers are functionalized with substituents of different polarity, i.e., polar <i>neo</i>-pentyl sulfonate or sulfonic acid groups are combined with non-polar propyl groups. <i>Neo-</i>pentyl sulfonate PPDs give rise to defined supramolecular assembly structures, irrespective of their amphiphilic surface functionalization or size. In contrast, the self-assembly of PPDs with sulfonic acid substitution exhibits a pronounced dependence upon substitution pattern and generation. In particular, the Janus dendrimers demonstrate an increased tendency toward self-assembly compared to their patched counterparts. This trend is more pronounced for G2 than for G1 PPDs.</p>","PeriodicalId":18054,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics","volume":"226 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/macp.202400431","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143690259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ziyi Liu, Yihan Zhang, Costas S. Patrickios, Jianyong Jin
{"title":"Synthesis of Amphiphilic Polymer Co-Networks via the Growth of a Living RAFT Network","authors":"Ziyi Liu, Yihan Zhang, Costas S. Patrickios, Jianyong Jin","doi":"10.1002/macp.202500004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202500004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In this study, a different approach for synthesizing amphiphilic polymer co-networks (APCNs) via the growth of a living RAFT (reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer) network, is presented. For the hydrophilic parent RAFT network, 2-(Dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) is used as the hydrophilic/polar monomer, poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate 700 (PEGDA 700) as the hydrophilic cross-linker, S,S-Dibenzyl trithiocarbonate (DBTTC) as the RAFT agent, and 5,10,15,20-Tetraphenyl-21H,23H-porphine zinc (ZnTPP) as the photocatalyst. Subsequently, the hydrophobic monomer methyl methacrylate (MMA) is incorporated into the parent network to form the amphiphilic daughter network, following the network growth protocol established by the group in 2019. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are employed to characterize the resulting APCN daughter network. Most importantly, the amphiphilicity of the APCN network is evaluated through swelling tests in water and n-hexane. This approach offers advantages in tuning the network's amphiphilicity by simply adjusting the photogrowth time or the crosslinking density of the parent gel. Also, this technique can reduce the time and effort required to produce APCNs.</p>","PeriodicalId":18054,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics","volume":"226 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/macp.202500004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143690258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shin-nosuke Nishimura, Momoka Kamiya, Nobuyuki Higashi, Tomoyuki Koga
{"title":"Thermoresponsive Behaviors of Core-Crosslinked Star Polymers Composed of Amino Acid-Derived Vinyl Polymers in an Aqueous Solution","authors":"Shin-nosuke Nishimura, Momoka Kamiya, Nobuyuki Higashi, Tomoyuki Koga","doi":"10.1002/macp.202400485","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/macp.202400485","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Amino acid-derived vinyl polymers are of great interest as bio-based thermoresponsive soft materials with diverse applications in the industrial, biomedical, and cosmetic fields. In this study, 14 distinct core-crosslinked stars (CCS) polymers are synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization of <i>N</i>-acryloyl amino acid (X)-methyl esters (X = alanine, β-alanine, or glycine), followed by a core–gel approach. These CCS polymers have the following systematic variations in their molecular architecture: i) three types of amino acid-based polymer arms with the same chain lengths but different arm numbers, ii) different combinations of amino acid species in the arm and core segments, and iii) heteroarm composition (i.e., miktoarm type). All CCS polymers are water-soluble and exhibited lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behaviors. The thermal responses are strongly dependent on structural factors, such as arm species (hydrophobicity), arm number, and polymer shape. The transition temperatures of the CCS polymers are lower than those of the corresponding linear polymers with almost the same molecular weight, particularly when the arm polymers has relatively high hydrophilicity. Furthermore, tunable LCST behaviors (20–55 °C) are achieved for miktoarm-type CCS polymers by adjusting heteroarm composition. These findings provide useful insights into the thermoresponsive behaviors of bio-based CCS polymers.</p>","PeriodicalId":18054,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Chemistry and Physics","volume":"226 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143690289","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}