European Polymer Journal最新文献

{"title":"Effects of alkyl-substituted 1,3-propanediols on the synthesis and properties of bio-based copolyester elastomers based on adipate, itaconate, and furandicarboxylate","authors":"Yaru Li,&nbsp;Xin Pan,&nbsp;Weiwei Lei,&nbsp;Youfang Zhang,&nbsp;Ke Wang,&nbsp;Libing Qian,&nbsp;Zhao Wang,&nbsp;Dean Shi,&nbsp;Liqun Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.115199","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.115199","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Crosslinkable furandicarboxylate copolyesters hold promise as polyester elastomers with gas-barrier functionality, yet the influence of C-2 substituents in 1,3-propanediol-derived diols on the structure–property relationships of the resulting polyesters remains largely unexplored. Herein, we synthesized a series of polyesters via two-step interesterification and melt polycondensation, using dimethyl 2,5-furandicarboxylate, dimethyl adipate, dimethyl itaconate, and 1,3-propanediol-derived diols with varying substituent sizes. As the substituents size increased, the weight-average molecular weight of the copolyesters decreased generally, while the molecular weight distribution remained relatively broad. Of the five 1,3-propanediol-based polyesters, the unsubstituted (PPAIF) and disubstituted (PNPAIF) are crystalline, whereas mono- or asymmetric substituted analogues remain fully amorphous. Increasing methyl substitution on the 1,3-propanediol moiety (from none to mono- and di-substitution) markedly elevates <em>T_g</em>, owing to steric hindrance that restricts chain mobility. Conversely, elongating the pendant group to a four-carbon chain (PEBPAIF) induces a plasticizing effect, slightly decreasing <em>T_g.</em> Concurrently, the fractional free volume and oxygen permeability of the polyesters increased progressively with side-group sizes. Notably, all cured samples maintained superior oxygen barrier properties relative to conventional rubbers. Collectively, these findings substantiate that the diol side-group structure offers a rational design pathway for modulating crystallization, thermal performance, and barrier properties of furan-based polyester elastomers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"261 ","pages":"Article 115199"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-11-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149365811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to “A “transient-comonomer” strategy for polycondensation of lignin-derived AB-type aromatic polyesters to high molecular weight” [Eur. Polym. J. 246 (2026) 114564]","authors":"Tam T. Nguyen,&nbsp;Ismail Ben Youssef,&nbsp;Reza Sarbandi,&nbsp;Tom De Smedt,&nbsp;Patric Jannasch,&nbsp;Baozhong Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114883","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114883","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"255 ","pages":"Article 114883"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148737695","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to “3D printing, biocompatibility and long-lasting antibacterial hydrogel with recognizing stimuli for electromyographic signal” [Eur. Polym. J. 243 (2026) 114461]","authors":"Ruijia Wang,&nbsp;Xijia Fu,&nbsp;Yibo Sun,&nbsp;Zhuang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114901","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114901","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"255 ","pages":"Article 114901"},"PeriodicalIF":6.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148737696","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Synthesis of high-molecular-weight poly(ethylene oxalate-co-terephthalate) via a temperature-matching melt polymerization strategy","authors":"Jian Wang ,&nbsp;Penglei Guo ,&nbsp;Jie Zhang ,&nbsp;Yabin Zhu ,&nbsp;Haijun Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiaoqing Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114680","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114680","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Oxalate-based copolyesters have attracted considerable interest for advancing a circular economy and mitigating plastic pollution. However, the synthesis of Poly(ethylene oxalate-co-terephthalate) (PEOT) remains underexplored, primarily due to the poor thermal stability of ethylene oxalate units. Herein, a temperature-matching polycondensation strategy was developed to synthesize high-molecular-weight PEOT, overcoming the issues of low molecular weight and imprecise oxalate unit control caused by the thermal degradation of oxalate units. By feeding excess oxalate units and maintaining the polymerization temperature 10–20 °C above the predicted <em>T_m</em> of target copolymers, a series of composition-controlled PEOT with high molecular weight were thus obtained. It was proven that the success of this approach depended on two facts: a linear correlation between copolymers’ melting point (<em>T_m</em>) and oxalate content, and the inherent thermal stability enhancement at lower oxalate content. Among the PEOT copolyesters, PEO₁₇T (17 mol% oxalate) achieves an optimal balance of properties, which displays a practical hot-pressing window, gas barrier and mechanical performance superior to PET, and efficient chemical recyclability with 93.5% recovery of terephthalic acid under mild alkaline hydrolysis. Additionally, mold inhibition and hygrothermal aging tests further underscore the material’s application prospects. This work establishes a thermally adaptive synthesis framework for designing recyclable, high-performance PEOT copolyesters.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 114680"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147554770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Advanced interpenetrating cross-linking strategy for upgrading non-formaldehyde glyoxal based adhesives","authors":"Haixiang Liu ,&nbsp;Zhi Li ,&nbsp;Antonio Pizzi ,&nbsp;Xianghong Zhang ,&nbsp;Zhiyong Qin ,&nbsp;Yanhua Zhang ,&nbsp;Xianghong Li ,&nbsp;Guanben Du ,&nbsp;Shuduan Deng","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114683","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114683","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The emission of formaldehyde is an intrinsic drawback of conventional formaldehyde-based wood adhesives, posing serious risks to both environmental safety and human health. Glyoxal, a low-toxicity and non-volatile dialdehyde has therefore been proposed as an alternative to formaldehyde for the synthesis of urea-based adhesives. However, glyoxal–urea (GU) resins generally suffer from inferior viscosity, bonding performance, and water resistance, primarily due to intramolecular cyclization and extensive hydration reactions that limit effective network formation. In this work, an in-situ interpenetrating cross-linking strategy was developed to convert the cyclic and hydrated structures present in GU resins into structural advantages for molecular chain extension and crosslinking enhancement. N-(Hydroxymethyl)acrylamide (NMA), containing both hydroxymethyl and vinyl functional groups, was introduced as a multifunctional modifier to interact with the GU resin system. Unexpectedly, spectroscopic characterizations revealed that under acidic conditions, addition reactions occurred between the amide groups of NMA and the aldehyde groups of glyoxal, generating intermediates enriched with multiple reactive sites and promoting branched architectures. Simultaneously, the vinyl groups of NMA participated in free-radical polymerization during curing, resulting in the formation of a robust interpenetrating crosslinked network. As a consequence, the modified N-(hydroxymethyl)acrylamide–glyoxal–urea (NGU) resin exhibited substantially enhanced viscosity, bonding strength, and water resistance. Compared with previously reported GU adhesives, plywood bonded with the adhesive NGU_7%/K₂S₂O₈/MBA demonstrated superior dry shear strength (1.85 MPa, increase of 40%), cold water wet shear strength (1.57 MPa, increase of 196%), and 63 ℃ water wet shear strength (1.46 MPa), fully satisfying the requirements for Class II plywood (≥ 0.7 MPa).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 114683"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147554704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Highly stretchable and room-temperature self-healing waterborne polyurethane for bending sensor","authors":"Yafei Shi ,&nbsp;Liyang Yao ,&nbsp;Miaomiao Qian ,&nbsp;Lin Chen ,&nbsp;Yanchao Zhu ,&nbsp;Yan Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114666","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114666","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Waterborne polyurethane with fine-tuned chemical structure, excellent mechanics and healing properties allows them to be widely used in flexible electronic devices. In this study, thiourea was introduced into waterborne polyurethane to construct a reversible multi-hydrogen-bonded physical crosslinking network. The resultant WPU-TU2 material exhibited outstanding elongation (1286%), satisfactory mechanical properties (1.40 MPa), and fast and efficient self-healing at room temperature. Notably, WPU-TU2 can be stretched to the strain of 400% after being healed just for 30 s at room temperature, and completely recover its tensile strength within 180 min (self-healing efficiency with 101.22%). Based on this material, we successfully fabricated a three-layer bending sensor (WPU-TU2/Ag). The sensor was capable of quickly and accurately monitoring various types of human motion. Owing to the self-healing capability of WPU-TU2, the sensor can restore its functionality for minor damage at room temperature, and can be recycled and reused in cases of severe damage, which provides a new idea for enhancing the reliability, durability and the safety of the flexible sensors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"250 ","pages":"Article 114666"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147554699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Precision polymer segment editing based on cross metathesis reaction and Thiol-Michael addition","authors":"Kanqi He,&nbsp;Shaoen Qiu,&nbsp;Xiayun Huang,&nbsp;Junpo He","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114546","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114546","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tailoring macromolecules enables the synthesis of polymers with controlled molecular weights, narrow length distribution, desired architectures, and variety of functionalities at designated sites of the chain. We hereby report macromolecular tailoring through segment reorganization, i.e., chain scission and recombination, to prepare ABA-type triblock copolymers that contains flexible PEG (A) segments and rigid oligo aromatic ester or amide (B) segments. In the two-step process, a PEG precursor with a double bond in the middle of the main chain was cleaved at the olefinic site through the metathesis reaction with a small molecular bifunctional itaconic derivate, BES, in the presence of Hoveyda-Grubbs 2nd generation catalyst. The cleaved PEG was recombined with a dithiol compound with a rigid aromatic ester building block, HS-OPO-SH, containing a tri-<em>p</em>-phenylene interspaced by two ester groups, to form a rod-coil triblock copolymer. By this two-step process, insertion of a hard segment into a soft chain was achieved. The resulting product was further modified by iterative replacement of the −OPO- by another hard segment, −NPO-, a tri-<em>p</em>-phenylene interspaced by one ester and one amide group, and then by −NPN-, a tri-<em>p</em>-phenylene interspaced by two amide groups. It is noted that the above three hard segments differ only one single atom, O and N, in the ester and amide moieties between neighboring phenyl rings. The self-assembly behaviors of the triblock copolymers were investigated using WAXS, SAXS and TEM. It is interesting to find that the atomic level difference in the main chain caused a significant change in the length of the aggregates.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 114546"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A “transient-comonomer” strategy for polycondensation of lignin-derived AB-type aromatic polyesters to high molecular weight","authors":"Tam T. Nguyen ,&nbsp;Ismail Ben Youssef ,&nbsp;Reza Sarbandi ,&nbsp;Tom De Smedt ,&nbsp;Patric Jannasch ,&nbsp;Baozhong Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114564","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114564","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the active exploration of novel biobased semicrystalline polyesters to replace petrochemical plastics, AB-type aromatic condensation polymerizations are relatively rarely investigated but gain growing attention due to the straightforward synthesis of AB-type monomers from diverse asymmetric biobased feedstocks. However, achieving high molecular weights through AB-type melt polycondensations is often challenging due to premature crystallization and limited thermal stability of the bio-based monomers. Herein, we investigate the polycondensation of methyl 4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)benzoate (MEB), a biobased aromatic hydroxy-ester monomer (AB-type), via the classical two-stage melt transesterification polycondensation process. We demonstrate an efficient “transient-comonomers” strategy to enhance the molecular weight of the obtained polymer PEB corresponding to an intrinsic viscosity of 1.15 dL g⁻¹ by adding a small amount of an aliphatic AA/BB-type comonomer pair at the beginning of the polymerization. These comonomers suppress premature solidification during the initial stages of the melt polycondensation, and are partially depleted during the later stages of the reaction. In addition, we investigated the effects of various metal-based catalysts, including a kinetic analysis of the transesterification steps, which revealed that titanium-based catalysts produced a faster reaction rate compared to other catalysts based on antimony, tin, manganese, and zinc. Furthermore, the catalyst also influenced the thermal properties of the resulting polyester, particularly the crystallinity and crystallization kinetics. Overall, this study provides new insights into achieving high-molecular-weight biobased aromatic polyesters via AB-type polycondensation and offers a promising approach to broaden the synthesis approaches for sustainable condensation polymers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 114564"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186811","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gallic acid and chitosan-AgNPs gel beads co-encapsulated sodium alginate/gelatin hydrogels as wound dressings for promoting wound repair","authors":"Zhongwei Sun ,&nbsp;Lingrui Xu ,&nbsp;Jun Gao ,&nbsp;Junyao Li ,&nbsp;Guojun Zheng ,&nbsp;Laidi Xu ,&nbsp;Yong Kong","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114561","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114561","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Multifunctional hydrogel wound dressings are prepared for wound repair. Chitosan (CS)-AgNPs gel beads are first synthesized through electrostatic attractions, which are then co-encapsulated with gallic acid (GA) in the sodium alginate (SA)/gelatin hydrogels prepared by using Ca²⁺ as the crosslinker. Due to the antibacterial effects of CS, AgNPs and GA, the resulting SA/gelatin/GA/CS-AgNPs (SGGCA) hydrogels can significantly inhibit the growth of <em>E. coli</em> and <em>S. aureus.</em> On the other hand, the integration of GA can also endow the hydrogels with high antioxidant activity, which show strong scavenging capability for free radicals. In addition, the SGGCA hydrogels also exhibit excellent blood compatibility and cytocompatibility. Finally, the hydrogels are used as wound dressings for <em>in vivo</em> wound repair of mice, and the results demonstrate that the hydrogel wound dressings can effectively promote the healing of wounds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 114561"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186810","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Radiation-induced gas evolution in epoxy resins with correlation to bond cleavage under γ-irradiation","authors":"Lei Zhang,&nbsp;Xionghou Peng,&nbsp;Chizhou Wang,&nbsp;Yuan Zu,&nbsp;Shuzhan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114569","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2026.114569","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Epoxy resins face critical challenges under γ-ray irradiation, where bond scission and radical generation trigger volatile release and structural degradation. Herein, we systematically investigate the gas evolution behavior and structural response of epoxy resins cured by bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA) and ethylenediamine to γ-ray irradiation doses ranging from 0 to 600 kGy. At 50–100 kGy, gas evolution was negligible (&lt;0.1 μL), but H₂ and CO₂ sharply increased to 0.216 and 1.198 μL at 600 kGy. Concurrently, tensile strength decreased from 60.39 to 52.67 MPa, accompanied by progressive discoloration and a ductile-to-brittle transition. Notably, despite the cleavage of C–H and C–O bonds, the glass transition temperature (T_g) increased from 83.65 °C to approximately 87 °C due to the predominance of radical-induced crosslinking at the studied doses. XPS further confirmed backbone disruption and oxygen-rich surface reconstruction. Together, these results establish a radical formation–β-scission–oxidation mechanism, highlighting both degradation pathways and intrinsic radiation resistance of epoxy systems for extreme environments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":315,"journal":{"name":"European Polymer Journal","volume":"246 ","pages":"Article 114569"},"PeriodicalIF":6.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146186809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}