Polymer最新文献

{"title":"Freestanding measurement of the polar/nonpolar adsorption interface for complete hydrophobicity switching in polyethylene nanofibrous membranes by trace poly(acrylic acid)","authors":"Junkan Yue ,&nbsp;Xizhi Chen ,&nbsp;Man Chen ,&nbsp;Zirui Wang ,&nbsp;He Zhang ,&nbsp;Shaochuan Luo ,&nbsp;Hongwei Bai ,&nbsp;Runlai Li ,&nbsp;Qiang Fu","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127879","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127879","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study explores the underlying mechanisms of polar/nonpolar adsorption dynamics utilizing ultrathin polyethylene (PE) membranes, presenting an innovative method to directly characterize interfacial phenomena. By modifying the surface of these membranes with trace amounts of poly (acrylic acid) (PAA), we probe the entropy-driven hydrophobic and depletion interactions that dominate the adsorption process. This encapsulation significantly alters the hydrophilicity of PE—from a contact angle of 132.2° to 37.0°—while maintaining the micro-structural integrity at remarkably low PAA loadings. For the first time, this approach allows for the isolation and direct characterization of the interface through methods such as weighing, thermal cycling, and tensile testing. Key findings demonstrate that the adsorbed PAA layer is exceptionally loosely packed, exhibiting a porosity exceeding 90 %. Moreover, the presence of PAA differentially impacts the crystallization behavior of FCC and ECC within PE, hindering FCC crystallization significantly while mildly affecting ECC. Post-adsorption, the modified PE membrane exhibits smart separation capabilities: it behaves amphiphilically in air, allowing simultaneous permeation of water and oil, and selectively separates water/oil mixtures in liquid environments based on the pre-wetting phase. The resulting hydrophilic ultrathin PAA-PE membranes maintain high transparency (over 90 %), robust mechanical strength (309 MPa in tensile maximum stress), and substantial porosity, all within a freestanding, 340 nm-thick form. This work not only elucidates several first-time observations of the intriguing polar/nonpolar adsorption interface but also provides new approaches for thorough and stable physical modification to polymer membranes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127879"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142712574","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":"Snail mucus-inspired soybean meal adhesive with excellent mechanical strength and prepressing performance","authors":"Fudong Zhang ,&nbsp;Ying Zhu ,&nbsp;Haoran Li ,&nbsp;John Tosin Aladejana ,&nbsp;Youming Dong ,&nbsp;Kuang Li ,&nbsp;Jiongjiong Li ,&nbsp;Xiaona Li ,&nbsp;Jianzhang Li","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127885","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127885","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant-derived soybean protein adhesives have potential to replace petroleum-based resins. However, soybean protein adhesives generally face a compromise between bonding strength and toughness, and these adhesives display insufficient prepressing strength, hindering their further industrial application. Herein, inspired by the interface drainage snail mucus, we integrated electrostatic interaction and hydrogen bonding into adhesive network to achieve excellent mechanical strength and prepressing performance. Specifically, oppositely charged phytic acid functionalized boron nitride nanosheets (PA@BNNSs) and quaternized chitosan (QCS) formulated with soybean meal (SM) to produce the biomimetic adhesive. The electrostatic interaction formed between PA@BNNSs and QCS serves to enhance the cohesive strength of the adhesive in the wet state, while also improving its wettability. Benefiting from multiple interactions and nanomaterial reinforcement, the biomimetic adhesive achieved a prepressing strength of 0.65 MPa and wet shear strength of 2.53/1.50 MPa, which were 124 % and 80.7/117 % higher than the pure SM adhesive. In addition, the biomimetic adhesive exhibited good flame-retardant and mildew resistance properties. Therefore, this work offers a route to prepare advanced multifunctional bio-based adhesives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127885"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142718446","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":"Molecular dynamics analysis of iPP-polymorphs; Investigating thermal expansion and elastic properties","authors":"H.N. Chávez Thielemann ,&nbsp;J.A.W. van Dommelen ,&nbsp;L.E. Govaert ,&nbsp;M. Hütter","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127853","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127853","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The elastic properties of &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mi&gt;α&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; and &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; crystals of isotactic polypropylene are obtained by molecular dynamics simulations of a crystalline domain resembling an infinite crystal. The helical polymer chains are modeled with an all-atom force-field. The assessment of the pristine &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;α&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;2&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msub&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; lattice agreed with published results of structure, density, thermal expansion, and stiffness. Monoclinic &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mi&gt;α&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; systems with particular imperfections are sampled to assess the effect of defects on conformational stability and elastic properties. The sensitivity of elastic moduli with temperature correlates with the helicity disruption: the more chain-conformational defects, the stronger the decrease in elastic modulus. The non-perfect chiral up-down &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;α&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;1&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msub&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; lattice and the arrangement with one vacancy also display a lower stiffness than &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;α&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;2&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msub&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, which can be attributed to a less dense crystal and decreased inter-chain cooperative forces due to periodicity disruption.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Two variations of the metastable &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; modification were sampled to assess the most energetically favorable configurations. Then, both were subjected to the same procedure, validated first for &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mi&gt;α&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt;. A trigonal mono-chiral system, &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;2&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msub&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, and a stable bi-chiral one with a four-chain frustrated orthorhombic cell, &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;1&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msub&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, were found, both presenting novel characteristics. Both &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; structures display a less stable conformation than &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;α&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;2&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msub&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt;, observed by a higher specific volume, a lower transition temperature, and a more significant dependence of the elastic moduli with temperature. Remarkably, the mono-chiral &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;2&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msub&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; crystal showed higher elastic modulus than any other crystal below room temperature, related to a more efficient global methyl interlocking between chains. The fact that the experimental value for the density of the &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt;-kind of crystal is in between the values that we obtained from the simulations of &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;2&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msub&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; and &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;mn&gt;1&lt;/mn&gt;&lt;/mrow&gt;&lt;/msub&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; implies that the experimental observations consist of both of these &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;mi&gt;β&lt;/mi&gt;&lt;/math&gt;&lt;/span&gt; crystals, where &lt;span&gt;&lt;math&gt;&lt;msub&gt;&lt;mrow&gt;&lt;","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127853"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142712830","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":"Enhancing thermal stability of one-dimensional poly(ethylene oxide) nanocrystals via matrix chemical crosslinking","authors":"Jessica Gutiérrez-González,&nbsp;Walter F. Schroeder,&nbsp;Ileana A. Zucchi","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127884","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127884","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>One-dimensional (1D) polymer nanocrystals have attracted interest due to the exceptional properties imparted to host matrices. A proven protocol exists for developing a dispersion of 1D poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) nanocrystals in a polystyrene (PS) matrix from PS-<em>b</em>-PEO self-assembly during styrene (St) photopolymerization. However, the 1D nanocrystals remain stable only below the Tg of the PS matrix. Above Tg, the matrix softens, and the molten PEO transforms into nanospheres due to Plateau-Rayleigh instability.</div><div>In this study, we stabilized the nanostructures through crosslinking, replacing St with divinylbenzene (DVB). The original protocol, which began with a homogeneous solution of PS-<em>b</em>-PEO in St, led to macrophase separation of PS-<em>b</em>-PEO instead of 1D nanocrystals. Based on the PEO/St phase diagram, we tried a different approach, where PS-<em>b</em>-PEO nanostructures self-assembled in a gelled solution before photocuring. This resulted in a dispersion of 1D nanostructures and shorter micelles in a DVB-crosslinked matrix. When heated beyond Tg, the morphology remained stable, confirming the effectiveness of crosslinking in preserving the 1D nanostructure.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127884"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142712580","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":"Frequency-dependent ferroelectric heat cycles in polymer blends: Enhancements in electrocaloric performance of P(VDF-TrFE) and P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)","authors":"Mudassar Shehzad ,&nbsp;Sohail Ahmed ,&nbsp;Faisal Siddiqui ,&nbsp;Syed Zaighum Abbas Bukhari ,&nbsp;Fahad Bin Zahid ,&nbsp;Farooq Akram ,&nbsp;Adeela Nasreen ,&nbsp;Jiabao Yi","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127881","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127881","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Copolymer (P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)) and terpolymer (P(VDF-TrFE)) have been widely investigated for their promising electrocaloric effect (ECE), whereas, their mixture of ECE has not been investigated. In this work, P(VDF-TrFE was mixed with a variety of concentrations of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) and its ECE effect was investigated in detail. Results indicated that after mixing of the copolymer, an additional change of adiabatic temperature (T + Tad) could be obtained. Moreover, the energy density (N_D) is drastically enhanced when the copolymer concentration increases up to 3 % due to antiferroelectric behavior of polymer blends (i.e. Copolymer content = 30 wt%). In addition, we observed that we can tune the working of frequency dependent ferroelectric heat cycle instead of pyroelectric heat cycle by changing the operational frequency in antiferroelectric range and the rejection of output heat is increased by decreasing the operational frequency (from 10⁻²Hz to 10² Hz). And we propose to use ΔT Vs E loop as the criteria to explain the ferroelectric heat cycle. Using this novel technique, we could successfully compare the efficiency of heat cycles. Three times higher efficiency of ΔT-E loop at low frequency (10⁻² Hz) was achieved due to the blend's antiferroelectric behavior.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127881"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142712575","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":"Self-adhesive, stretchable, anti-freezing conductive organohydrogels with fast gelation from catechol-metal ion self-catalytic system for flexible strain sensors","authors":"Shihai Wei ,&nbsp;Xuwei Wang ,&nbsp;Jisheng Yang ,&nbsp;Zhiyong Qin ,&nbsp;Chao Ma ,&nbsp;Qiong Jiang ,&nbsp;Liuting Mo","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127877","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127877","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Conductive hydrogels have attracted tremendous attention in flexible sensors due to their flexibility, durability, and multifunctionality. However, time and energy-consumption fabrication process and intrinsic instability in extreme environments severely limit their practical implementations. Herein, a universal and facile synergetic self-catalytic system based on catechol-based molecules and metal ions has been developed to the fast gelation (≈3s) of conductive organohydrogels in water–ethylene glycol (EG) binary solvent, which exhibits excellent stretchability (up to 630 % elongation), satisfactory self-adhesion (up to 16.3 kPa), and extreme environment applicability (−80 °C to 45 °C). This dual self-catalytic system consists of tannic acid (TA) and ferric ions (Fe³⁺), which form stable redox pairs to activate ammonium persulfate to generate free radicals, rapidly initiating the polymerization of monomers. Furthermore, the introduction of H₂O/EG binary solvent not only facilitates the dispersion of components to improve the mechanical performance of organohydrogels, but also the generation of abundant hydrogen bonds between EG and water molecules endows extreme freezing drying resistance, and enhances self-adhesion for organohydrogels. The organohydrogels showing high sensitivity toward tensile deformation are assembled into flexible strain sensors to detect human motions with high sensitivity, exceptional stability, and excellent durability, which holds great promise in flexible electronics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127877"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142712577","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":"TPV concentrate: Fabrication and performance","authors":"Yongjian Zhao ,&nbsp;Haonan Shi ,&nbsp;Martin Hoch ,&nbsp;Jie Mao ,&nbsp;Xinyan Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127882","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127882","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thermoplastic vulcanizates (TPVs) have been widely studied and applied in recent years because of their excellent elasticity and re-processibility similar to those of thermoplastics. However, its dynamical vulcanization processing normally requires an expensive twin-screw extruder with a very high L/D ratio. In this paper, a kind of thermoplastic vulcanizate concentrate (TPVC) with very high rubber phase content and low hardness was prepared by using highly oil-extended ultra-high molecular weight ethylene propylene diene rubber (EPDM) dynamically cured by peroxide and a low melt index polypropylene (PP) and extra oil softener. Then a new kind of high purity TPV with a wide hardness range was fabricated by using this TPVC simply melt blended with various contents of PP. The mechanical and recycling properties, rheological responses, phase morphology, crystallization, thermal stability and UV radiation resistance were systematically studied. In addition, because TPVC is filled with a large amount of white oil, the process parameters can be controlled reasonably by studying the distribution coefficient of white oil in the two phases.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127882"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142718447","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":"The effect of annealing on the morphology and thermo-mechanical properties of TPU/CNS nanocomposites","authors":"Rasoul Rahimzadeh ,&nbsp;Jake Grondz ,&nbsp;Lucivan Barros ,&nbsp;Lucio Souza ,&nbsp;Marianne Prevot ,&nbsp;Ica Manas-Zloczower","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127886","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127886","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) are highly versatile elastomers, commonly used in various applications due to their excellent mechanical properties and good chemical resistance. However, their low thermal stability and poor mechanical performance at elevated temperatures remain a significant challenge and limits their application. The utilization of nanofillers and thermal treatment (annealing) offers opportunities to enhance the mechanical properties and thermal stability of TPUs through distinct mechanisms. This study aims to uncover the potential synergistic effects of annealing on the enhanced properties of TPU nanocomposites containing branched carbon nanotubes (CNS). Annealing the TPU/CNS nanocomposites is conducive to the formation of a higher number of hydrogen bonded carbonyl species and a greater degree of microphase separation. In addition, the branches of CNS within the TPU matrix improve the hard segments (HS) segregation process into well-structured areas along the CNS boundaries. This process may establish a secondary network of the hard segment domains (HSDs) within the TPU matrix, contributing to the synergistic enhancement observed in the thermo-mechanical performance, particularly at elevated temperatures. These enhancements may broaden the application potential of TPUs in demanding environments, providing a promising solution to their traditional limitations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127886"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142712829","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":"Facile construction of polypropylene foam with dense oriented cell structure and enhancing-ductility mechanism","authors":"Bu-Yong Wu,&nbsp;Ying-Long Zhang,&nbsp;Ying-Guo Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127887","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127887","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Common polypropylene (PP) foam exhibited intrinsic inferior ductility and mechanical strength, which restricted its application as lightweight structural parts. To improve the ductility and mechanical strength of PP foam, the highly oriented PP component with fibrillar structure (cold-drawn fiber, CDF) was blended with isotropic PP resin to prepare PP/CDF foam via a facile foam injection molding process. During foaming at 170 °C, CDF was not melted completely. Then, the remaining fibrils acted as shish structure and induced the crystallization of PP chains on its surface to form oriented kebab crystals, and the viscoelasticity and melt strength of the system were significantly improved, which promoted the nucleation of the bubble and the elongation of the cells, constructing a dense oriented cell structure with a large number of slender cylindrical cell walls for the foam. Such cell wall structure was prone to large plastic deformation and continuous elongation under load, which reduced stress concentration and absorbed a significant amount of tensile energy. As a result, a ductile and strong PP/CDF foam was successfully constructed, which exhibited roughly 465 % increase in strain at break and 15 % increase in tensile strength, respectively compared with PP foam.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127887"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142712579","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 chemical modification-free strategy for fabricating tough and tear-resistant natural rubber/polysaccharide material","authors":"Shaoqi Huang,&nbsp;Junqi Zhang,&nbsp;Lingmin Kong,&nbsp;Zheng-Tian Xie,&nbsp;Jinrong Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127880","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2024.127880","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Natural rubber latex (NRL) is widely used in a variety of products, including gloves, balloons, condoms, and foamed items like pillows and footwear components. However, the limitations of traditional NRL materials in terms of tear resistance and toughness restrict their use in high-end applications. Hence, developing tough and tear-resistant NRL materials using eco-friendly and user-friendly methods remains highly desirable. In this work, a chemical modification-free method is reported for the fabrication of tough and tear-resistant vulcanized natural rubber/carrageenan material (SNR/KC). KC is introduced into NRL via a modified latex mixing strategy, which can form hydrogen bonds with the non-rubber components (NRC) such as proteins on the surface of natural rubber latex particles. As a result, KC can be well dispersed and form a segregated network structure within the rubber matrix. The rigid filler network created by KC effectively impedes crack propagation and enhances energy dissipation during deformation. Furthermore, the presence of KC in the NR matrix fosters the strain-induced crystallization (SIC) of NR. All these contribute to the superior tear resistance and toughness of composite materials. With only 0.1 phr of KC, the composite exhibits a fracture toughness of 208.4 kJ/m² and a tear strength of 50 kN/m. This work demonstrated that the interaction between polysaccharide and NRC of NRL can be leveraged to fabricate tough and tear-resistant NR composites without any chemical modification and tedious process, favoring a green development and high-quality pursuit of NRL materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"316 ","pages":"Article 127880"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2024-11-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142712587","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}