Daniel Inman, Veronika Kozlovskaya, Sarah Nealy, Pavel Nikishau, Md Golam Hossain, Eugenia Kharlampieva
{"title":"Uniform Reversible Buckling in Highly Hydrated Spherical Ultrathin Hydrogel Shells.","authors":"Daniel Inman, Veronika Kozlovskaya, Sarah Nealy, Pavel Nikishau, Md Golam Hossain, Eugenia Kharlampieva","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500257","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500257","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Elastic colloids with reversible shape transformations have various applications in cellular mimicry, controlled release, targeted therapy, responsive biosensors, and adaptive optics. Herein, a reversible volume reduction is explored in ultrathin spherical hydrogel shells made of poly(methacrylic acid) in response to osmotic pressure changes in solution. The 4-µm pH-responsive hydrogel shells are synthesized via polymer multilayer assembly on sacrificial spherical microparticles to produce nanostructured hydrogel shells with varied thicknesses. The degree of hydrogel shell volume reduction and rapid recovery of its spherical shape in response to osmotically induced deformation and after stress removal are studied in highly hydrated shells. The spherical hydrogel shape uniformly deforms inward by producing a dimple at critical osmotic pressures (1-15 kN m<sup>-2</sup>), followed by the formation of a soft half-shell. These deformations are entirely uniform and are rapidly reversed upon stress removal. These large shape deformations and quick recovery are due to the shell's low elasticity of 4.0 ± 0.1 MPa, characteristic of elastomers. This study demonstrates the potential of the ultrathin highly hydrated hydrogel microshells for extending the class of elastomeric colloids with programmable compressibility and flow properties, leading to new fundamental and applied knowledge about elastic non-spherical hydrogels.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500257"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143959732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Synthesis and Ring-Opening Polymerization of Mono-Benzoxazines Based on 2-(2-Hydroxyethoxy)phenol and Aniline/Furfurylamine.","authors":"Zongran Zhang, Yuwei Wang, Zhiyun Li, Chunfang Zhang, Hongzan Song, Yanfang Liu","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500210","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500210","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Two mono-benzoxazines are synthesized from 2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)phenol, aniline, furfurylamine, and formaldehyde, respectively. The ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of the two mono-benzoxazines is studied with differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Compared to phenol-aniline-based benzoxazine, both 2-hydroxyethoxy and N-furfuryl groups can reduce the ROP temperature. Side reactions related to the 2-hydroxyethoxy and N-furfuryl groups are involved in the ROP. The ring-opening reaction leads to the formation of zwitterion intermediates, which undergo chain propagation to form oligomeric zwitterions and series of cyclic and linear oligomers in the early stage of ROP, indicating that the same benzoxazine monomer can polymerize into different polymers through different ROP pathways. Based on the experimental results, the ROP pathways are proposed and validated by density functional theory calculations.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500210"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143959057","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimizing Curing Profiles of One-Component Epoxy Resins with Small Molecule Thermal Latent Curing Agents Containing Reversible Urea Bonds.","authors":"S M Ashik Abedin, Bekir Dizman","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500228","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500228","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study focused on the synthesis of small-molecule thermal latent curing agents (TLCs) containing reversible urea bonds and their utilization in one-component epoxy resins (OCERs). The TLCs were synthesized by reacting aromatic monoisocyanates with linear aliphatic amines with primary and secondary amino groups and characterized by NMR, FTIR, TGA, and DSC. The TLCs were then incorporated into diglycidyl ether bisphenol A (DGEBA) resin at 60 °C to formulate OCERs and assess their effectiveness. Optical microscopy of the OCERs showed uniform dispersion of the TLCs. Cure kinetics, evaluated by dynamic and isothermal DSC and rheological analysis, revealed that the stability of urea bonds of the TLCs was affected by phenyl group substitution and the amino group type. Urea bonds formed from dichlorophenyl isocyanate (DCPI) with secondary amino groups showed the lowest thermal stability. The TLC-5 synthesized from DCPI and triethylenetetramine (TETA), was most effective, initiating the curing of DGEBA at 120 °C. OCER-5, prepared with TLC-5 and DGEBA and cured at 140 °C, was analyzed by DMA, showing a T<sub>g</sub> of 135 °C. This study highlighted the importance of molecular structure in optimizing TLC stability and efficacy, guiding the design of improved TLCs for epoxy applications in composites and adhesives.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500228"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143961786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Theodore Manouras, Apostolos Vagias, Eleftherios Koufakis, Spiros H Anastasiadis, Peter Müller-Buschbaum, Maria Vamvakaki
{"title":"Microphase Separation of Poly(2-(Dimethylamino)Ethyl Methacrylate)-b-Poly(Tetrahydropyranyl Methacrylate) Diblock Copolymer Thin Films.","authors":"Theodore Manouras, Apostolos Vagias, Eleftherios Koufakis, Spiros H Anastasiadis, Peter Müller-Buschbaum, Maria Vamvakaki","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500138","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500138","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The microphase separation in diblock copolymer films comprising two chemically similar methacrylate blocks, poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) and poly(tetrahydropyranyl methacrylate), is investigated. Four symmetric diblock copolymers, with M<sub>n</sub>'s ranging from 4300 to 109 700 g mol<sup>-1</sup> and narrow molecular weight distributions, are synthesized by group-transfer polymerization, are spin-coated from ethyl lactate solutions and are subsequently solvent vapor annealed. The two lower M<sub>n</sub> copolymers dewet the silicon substrates after annealing, whereas the two higher M<sub>n</sub> copolymers reveal the formation of holes and islands by optical microscopy, suggesting their microphase separation into lamellae structures orientated parallel to the substrate. The ordering of these weakly segregated diblock copolymers is verified by X-ray reflectivity (XRR) and grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). XRR provided the film thickness and lamellae spacing by probing along the direction perpendicular to the sample surface, whereas GISAXS probes the nanoscale morphology along the sample plane and the lateral and vertical correlation lengths of the films by analyzing the diffuse scattering. The lamellae thicknesses determined by XRR and GISAXS are in good agreement with those measured by atomic force microscopy. The results hold great promise for the development of highly functional ordered nanostructures in thin film geometries for applications in energy, catalysis, and others.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500138"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143951606","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chengsen Liu, Xianghan Zhang, Jiazheng Shen, Yingzhuo Liu, Zhe Ma
{"title":"Self-Nucelation Effect on Crystallization of Double Crystalline Polypropylene-b-Polybutene Block Copolymers.","authors":"Chengsen Liu, Xianghan Zhang, Jiazheng Shen, Yingzhuo Liu, Zhe Ma","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500194","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500194","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Self-nucleation effect of crystalline polymers originates from the intrinsic in-complete relaxation of crystallization-associated ordered structure and plays a crucial role in accelerating crystallization without adding the extra nucleating agents. In this work, the polypropylene-b-polybutene block copolymers are designed and synthesized with the sequential polymerization method. The in situ wide-angle X-ray diffraction characterization demonstrates that polybutene (PB) and polypropylene (PP) sequences are both crystallizable, which crystallize into the mixture of tetragonal and trigonal phases, and monoclinic phase, respectively. In the meanwhile, The PP sequences in block copolymers exhibit the self-nucleation effect similar to the homopolymer, of which the PP crystallization kinetics is accelerated with decreasing self-nucleation temperatures (T<sub>s</sub>). Unexpectedly, this self-nucleation effect of PP blocks on PB crystallization exhibits a rather complex and non-monotonous dependence on T<sub>s</sub>. It is interesting to see that as T<sub>s</sub> is lowered to Domains II and III to largely accelerate crystallization of PP, PB crystallization is suppressed. However, as the further decreased T<sub>s</sub> only anneals PP crystallites, the suppressed PB crystallization could recover. This complex self-nucleation on crystallization is interpreted by the constraint of evolved PP crystallites on PB sequences.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500194"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143959151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yixuan Li, Zheyi Wang, Guitian Tai, Qinghao Wang, Zhuo Yang, Junqi Sun
{"title":"Mechanically Robust Nafion-Based Anhydrous Proton Exchange Membranes with High Proton Conductivity and Efficient In Situ Self-Healing Capacities.","authors":"Yixuan Li, Zheyi Wang, Guitian Tai, Qinghao Wang, Zhuo Yang, Junqi Sun","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500291","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500291","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is increasing demand for self-healing high-temperature proton exchange membranes (HT-PEMs) with superior mechanical robustness and proton conductivity. In this study, the fabrication of mechanically robust HT-PEMs (denoted as N-IL-PW) is demonstrated by integrating high proton conductivity and the ability to in situ heal fatigue and damage during operation via the complexation of Nafion, phosphotungstic acid (PW) clusters, and ionic liquids (ILs). Originating from the synergistic effect of high-density electrostatic interactions as well as hydrogen bonds in ionic domains and stable crystalline domains, the N-IL-PW membranes are highly resilient and fatigue resistant, and display excellent creep resistance even at 170 °C. Under an anhydrous condition of ≈170 °C, the N-IL-PW membranes have a high proton conductivity of ≈18.86 mS cm<sup>-1</sup>. Meanwhile, the hydrogen-powered HT-PEM fuel cells assembled with N-IL-PW membranes exhibit good cell performance under an anhydrous condition of ≈120 °C. More importantly, the reversibility of electrostatic and hydrogen bonding interactions enables the membranes in situ to heal fatigue and mechanical damages under fuel cell operation conditions. Healed membranes can regain their pristine mechanical properties, proton conductivity, hydrogen barrier property, and cell performance. Excellent high-temperature creep resistance, fatigue resistance, and healing capability can work in concert to enhance the reliability of N-IL-PW membranes.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500291"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143957892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wanting Zhang, Xiaotao Guo, Wenyuan Lang, Ling Zhao, Nuojin Zhang, Lijun Du, Bing Xue, Shuguang Yang
{"title":"Ultrafiltration Membrane with High Stability and Anti-fouling Performance Fabricated via Stepwise Interfacial Complexation of Charged Polytrifluorostyrene.","authors":"Wanting Zhang, Xiaotao Guo, Wenyuan Lang, Ling Zhao, Nuojin Zhang, Lijun Du, Bing Xue, Shuguang Yang","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500181","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500181","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Surface coating of polymer complexes driven by electrostatic interaction represents a facile strategy for membrane modification. However, chemical stability is still a major issue for the application of such polymer coatings and the study of polymer complex-modified membranes for ultrafiltration is less explored. In this study, positively charged quaternized poly(trifluorostyrene) (QPTFS) and negatively charged sulfonated poly(trifluorostyrene) (SPTFS) are synthesized and used to prepare ultrafiltration membranes through stepwise interfacial complexation. The successful complexation between QPTFS and SPTFS is verified using quartz crystal microbalance and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The separation performance of the modified membranes is evaluated and the QS-2 membrane (containing two bilayers of polymer complexes) demonstrates a desired water flux of 378 L m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> bar<sup>-1</sup> and an excellent BSA rejection of 96.8%. Moreover, the QPTFS/SPTFS selective layer exhibits remarkable stability against saturated NaCl or at extreme pHs, and its separation performance is maintained with BSA rejection above 95%. The cyclic filtration indicates the enhanced anti-fouling performance upon QPTFS/SPTFS decoration, in which the flux recovery rate of QS-2 is ≈3-fold higher than that of polyvinylidene fluoride substrate. This work proposes an accessible approach using charged fluoropolymers to achieve chemically stable ultrafiltration membranes with desired water flux, excellent protein separation performance and enhanced anti-fouling property.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500181"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143957999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Asya E Can, Abdul W U Ali, Claude Oelschlaeger, Norbert Willenbacher, Iliya D Stoev
{"title":"Mechanically Tunable DNA Hydrogels as Prospective Biosensing Modules.","authors":"Asya E Can, Abdul W U Ali, Claude Oelschlaeger, Norbert Willenbacher, Iliya D Stoev","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500149","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500149","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Sequence-programmable DNA building blocks offer high degree of freedom in designing arbitrarily complex networks of tunable viscoelastic properties. Yet, the deployment of DNA-based functional materials remains limited due to insufficient control over the emerging structures and their mechanics. In an ongoing effort to place structure-property relations in stimuli-responsive DNA materials on a firm foundation, here a systematic rheological study of self-assembling DNA networks is presented, comprised of short DNA nanomotifs, namely trivalent nanostars and bivalent linkers, where the latter differ in their composition on a single base-pair level. Notably, we found through combining conventional bulk rheology with diffusing wave spectroscopy (DWS-based) passive microrheology a relationship between the melting temperature of a DNA hydrogel and its DNA sequence composition. By providing a use case, we demonstrated how the determination of such empirical relations could impact the areas of biosensing and mechanical computing, where control over the system state and target identification are key.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500149"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143955239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Shaowei Wang, Kun Qian, Zekai Mei, Wangwang Zhu, Zhaobing Zhou, Mingqiang Ye, Yihui Zhou, Shuijian He, Shaohua Jiang, Jingquan Han
{"title":"High-Strength Conductive Hydrogel Fiber Prepared Via Microfluidic Technology for Functionalized Strain Sensing.","authors":"Shaowei Wang, Kun Qian, Zekai Mei, Wangwang Zhu, Zhaobing Zhou, Mingqiang Ye, Yihui Zhou, Shuijian He, Shaohua Jiang, Jingquan Han","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500222","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500222","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The rapid advancement of wearable flexible electronics has heightened the demand for hydrogel materials that combine mechanical robustness with electrical conductivity. Herein, the TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofibers-Graphene nanosheets/poly(vinyl alcohol)-sodium alginate-tannic acid (TOCN-GN/PVA-SA-TA, TGG) composite hydrogel fibers are prepared by microfluidic spinning technology to solve the bottleneck problems of poor dispersion of GN and imbalance of mechanical-conductive properties of traditional hydrogels. TOCN, acting as a biotemplate, effectively inhibits GN agglomeration via hydrogen bonding and mechanical interlocking, thereby enhancing GN dispersion and facilitating the formation of 3D conductive networks within hydrogel fibers. The optimized TGG fibers achieved a tensile strength of 0.96 MPa, 150% elongation at break, and electrical conductivity of 2.66 S m<sup>-1</sup>, while exhibiting enhanced energy dissipation and fatigue resistance. As strain sensors, TGG fibers demonstrated high sensitivity (gauge factor is 1.81 at 40-100% strain) and rapid response (≈0.3 s), enabling precise monitoring of joint movements, facial micro-expressions, and swallowing actions. Furthermore, PDMS-encapsulated textile sensors enabled encrypted Morse code transmission, demonstrating innovative potential for next-generation flexible electronics in health monitoring and human-machine interfaces.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500222"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143952137","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mickaël Du Fraysseix, Simon Lewandowski, Sophie Perraud, Stéphane Carlotti, Audrey Llevot
{"title":"Synthesis of Aldehyde Functional Polydimethylsiloxane as a New Precursor for Aliphatic Imine-Based Self-Healing PDMS.","authors":"Mickaël Du Fraysseix, Simon Lewandowski, Sophie Perraud, Stéphane Carlotti, Audrey Llevot","doi":"10.1002/marc.202500173","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/marc.202500173","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The development of a simple synthetic route to aldehyde functional poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) through oxidative C─C bond cleavage of terminal epoxide functions by periodic acid is presented first. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Infrared spectroscopies revealed the full conversion of the PDMS terminal epoxides to aldehyde groups. This new aldehyde functional PDMS is then used to elaborate aliphatic self-healing materials through imine chemistry by reaction with an amine-terminated PDMS featuring urea moieties in its structure. The reactivity of the aldehyde terminated PDMS is investigated through the preparation of supramolecular networks formed by the hydrogen bonds of ureas. The incorporation of permanent chemical cross-linking points through reaction with a triisocyanate leads to the preparation of covalent adaptable networks (CANs). As a result, materials with a wide range of mechanical properties are obtained, depending on the composition and structure of the PDMS networks. Due to the presence of dynamic covalent imine bonds, the supramolecular networks show excellent scratch recovery at room temperature while the CANs retain their mechanical properties after two cycles of reshaping by heating.</p>","PeriodicalId":205,"journal":{"name":"Macromolecular Rapid Communications","volume":" ","pages":"e2500173"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144052893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}