PolymerPub Date : 2025-04-17DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128418
Armin Fashi , Ali Fallah Delavar , Abbasali Zamani , Nader Noshiranzadeh , Mehrdad Mohammadi
{"title":"Comparative study of UVC irradiation and heat treatment on Fenton-like oxidation of corn starch in a continuous flow system: Performance and greenness","authors":"Armin Fashi , Ali Fallah Delavar , Abbasali Zamani , Nader Noshiranzadeh , Mehrdad Mohammadi","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128418","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128418","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>UV irradiation and heat treatment, recognized as environmentally friendly methods, are extensively applied in modifying starch properties. The current work presented Fenton-like oxidation process of corn starch using a blend of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and CuSO<sub>4</sub> under ultraviolet C (UVC) irradiation (wavelength of 254 nm) and heat exposure (50 °C) within a novel continuous flow system. The parameters of the experimental setup were separately optimized through one-factor-at-a-time and orthogonal design. The optimal conditions for both treatments included the pH value of 5.0 for starch slurry, irradiation duration of 60 min along with oxidant and catalyst concentrations of 2 % and 0.5 %, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the effect of using H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>/Cu<sup>2+</sup> or H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> alone in combination with UVC and heat on physicochemical and structural attributes of native starch was compared. The higher oxidation degree was obtained for treatments of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>/Cu<sup>2+</sup>/Heat (0.461 %) and H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>/Cu<sup>2+</sup>/UVC (0.378 %) compared to the other treatments. The findings showed that thermal treatment exerted a more pronounced influence on properties of oxidized starches compared to UV-C irradiation. Eco-scale methodology verified the green nature of the designed treatments for the starch oxidation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"327 ","pages":"Article 128418"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143841914","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 condensed-state structure and evolution mechanism of Poly(butylene-succinate) (PBS) multi-filaments in the complex stress and thermal fields of the melt-spinning process","authors":"Weikuan Huang , Yong Chen , Yaning Wang , Jielin Xu , Xiyue Gao , Ruimin Xie , Wu Jing , Huaping Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128420","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128420","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Poly(butylene-succinate) (PBS) is a well-recognized semicrystalline polyester, renowned for its remarkable heat - resistance, extremely rapid crystallization rate, and biodegradability. To date, the constitutive relationship between the condensed-state structure of PBS fibers and their properties has not been systematically explored. This relationship, if understood, could offer theoretical guidance for industrial production. In this study, the structural evolution mechanisms of three types of melt-spun PBS fibers, namely undrawn yarn (UDY), pre-oriented yarn (POY), and fully - drawn yarn (FDY), were investigated. This was accomplished by systematically uncovering the stress-induced orientation and crystallization processes specific to each type during the melt-spinning procedure. The results demonstrated that the fibers crystallized rapidly at lower spinning speeds. Moreover, as the spinning speed increased, stress-induced orientation and crystallization were significantly enhanced, leading to the formation of large - diameter lamellar crystals reaching up to 72.3 nm. However, a higher degree of lamellar crystal diameter imposes limitations on perfect crystallization during the subsequent post - thermal drawing process. Due to the relatively high drawing speed, the “one-step” drawing process (FDY), which combines spinning and drawing, exhibited a significantly weaker stress-inducing effect compared to the “two-step” drawing process. This disparity restricted the orientation and crystallization of FDY fibers during the drawing process. Specifically, after three-times thermal drawing, the degree of orientation and crystallization of FDY fibers were merely 89.3 % and 67.5 % respectively, whereas those of UDY fibers reached 92.4 % and 72.1 %. This difference can be ascribed to insufficient heating in FDY fibers at higher drawing speeds compared to UDY fibers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"327 ","pages":"Article 128420"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143846982","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}
PolymerPub Date : 2025-04-16DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128410
Naomi E. Coutinho, Valerie Shnayder, Neil Ayres
{"title":"Layered porous and non-porous poly(2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate) hydrogels using emulsion templated polymerization","authors":"Naomi E. Coutinho, Valerie Shnayder, Neil Ayres","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128410","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Materials merging different properties together into a layered composite are commonly found in nature and are desirable in biomedical applications such as actuation or medical implants. Here, the synthesis of layered 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) hydrogels is reported with porous hydrogels from emulsion templated polymerizations in combination with traditional non-porous hydrogels using a simultaneous polymerization of both layers. The layered materials possess defined interfaces and maintain mechanical properties after 3 swelling and drying cycles with tunable moduli and swelling ratios. The material properties of the layered materials of traditional and emulsion templated hydrogels were controlled by the porosity of the emulsion-templated hydrogels and moduli of each layer. This work presents an approach to easily synthesize poly (HEMA) bilayers with strong interfaces and tunable material properties.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"328 ","pages":"Article 128410"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143837321","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}
PolymerPub Date : 2025-04-16DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128396
Chaohao Xu , Xinyang Zhou , Man Xi , Haijun Wang , Jiayao Wang , Jichun You , Yufei Dong
{"title":"Enhanced solid α- to γ′-phase transition of poly(vinylidene fluoride) via polar nanodomains with high-concentration ionic liquids","authors":"Chaohao Xu , Xinyang Zhou , Man Xi , Haijun Wang , Jiayao Wang , Jichun You , Yufei Dong","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128396","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128396","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Timesaving but efficient fabrication strategy of γ′-poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) materials is highly demanded for manufacturing PVDF-based electronic devices, yet remains challenging so far. In this work, over 90 % γ′-phase crystals have been obtained in just 50 min in microphase-separated PVDF-co-(PVDF-g-IL) [i.e., the copolymer of PVDF and PVDF grafted with ionic liquid (IL, 1-butyl-3-vinylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate)]. Our results indicate that the PVDF-g-IL nanodomains with high-concentration ILs induced by microphase separation play multiple roles in the fast and high-efficiency solid phase transition of PVDF crystals. Firstly, they produce nucleation effect instead of depression effect on the crystallization of PVDF matrix since all miscible ILs have been restricted in these domains; secondly, the high-concentration ILs in PVDF-g-IL nanodomains facilitates to induce polar conformation of PVDF segments and the consequent γ′-phase PVDF crystals; finally, the solid phase transition can be spread to the whole specimen with the help of widely distributed PVDF-g-IL nanodomains within PVDF matrix, regardless of the thickness of specimen. Our results are significant for not only the fabrication of γ′-PVDF composites, but also the basic understanding of solid α- to γ′-phase transition.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"327 ","pages":"Article 128396"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143837325","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":"Dimensional and conformational properties of pullulan tris(alkylcarbamate)s in tetrahydrofuran","authors":"Yuki Matsumoto , Shinichi Kitamura , Rintaro Takahashi , Ken Terao","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128417","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128417","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pullulan tris(<em>n</em>-butylcarbamate) (PTBC) and pullulan tris(ethylcarbamate) (PTEC) samples with different weight-average molar masses <em>M</em><sub>w</sub> were prepared from pullulan samples with varying chain lengths. Size-exclusion chromatography equipped with multi-angle light scattering detectors (SEC-MALS), small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and viscometry were performed on the samples in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 25 °C to determine <em>M</em><sub>w</sub>, form factor <em>P</em>(<em>q</em>), radius of gyration <em>R</em><sub>g</sub>, second virial coefficient, and intrinsic viscosity [<em>η</em>]. Infrared absorption measurements were also conducted to investigate the intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the C<img>O and NH groups on adjacent monomer units. The obtained <em>P</em>(<em>q</em>), <em>R</em><sub>g</sub>, and [<em>η</em>] data were analyzed using the wormlike chain model with excluded volume effects, primarily to determine the contour length per monomer unit and the Kuhn segment length <em>L</em><sub>K</sub>, a measure of chain stiffness. The latter parameter <em>L</em><sub>K</sub> values were found to be 10 nm and 8 nm for PTBC and PTEC, respectively. The resulting chain stiffness was significantly lower than that of the corresponding amylose derivatives. Notably, PTBC and PTEC exhibited few intramolecular hydrogen bonding, in contrast to previously investigated amylose derivatives. This characteristic feature suggests that the free polar groups in pullulan derivatives could offer potential applications as macromolecular recognition materials.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"327 ","pages":"Article 128417"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143837322","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}
PolymerPub Date : 2025-04-16DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128408
Romina Keshavarz , Marlene A. Velazco-Medel , Matthew D. Green
{"title":"The effect of diamine structure on the thermomechanical properties of epoxy resin thermosets","authors":"Romina Keshavarz , Marlene A. Velazco-Medel , Matthew D. Green","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128408","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128408","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Structure and composition are two essential components that affect the properties of the polymeric thermoset. In this paper, we studied the effect of the diamine structure on thermoset properties by synthesizing a series of epoxy-based thermosets composed of hardeners with almost equivalent molecular weights, including diaminooctane (DAO), Jeffamine-EDR, <em>para</em>-xylylenediamine (<em>p</em>-XDA), and <em>meta</em>-xylylenediamine (<em>m</em>-XDA). The structural and thermomechanical properties of the cured thermosets were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), x-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). These thermosets with amorphous structures, confirmed by XRD, were fully cured and crosslinked according to FTIR results. All thermosets demonstrated high thermal stability above 376 °C, with aromatic thermosets showing the highest char yield. The sample cured with <em>m</em>-XDA exhibited the highest glass transition temperature according to the DMA results, which were in agreement with the DSC results.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"328 ","pages":"Article 128408"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143837329","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":"Antioxidant-enhanced interfacial adhesion and mechanical properties of polyetheretherketone–carbon fiber composites","authors":"Hideyuki Uematsu , Toumu Aratama , Ken Sudo , Yukino Ito , Ayaka Yamaguchi , Akinori Fukushima , Shinji Sugihara , Fumihiro Nishimura , Masachika Yamane , Shuichi Tanoue","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128415","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128415","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The effects of antioxidants on the interfacial adhesion between polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and carbon fiber (CF) and the mechanical properties of PEEK/CF were investigated. The interfacial shear strength of PEEK/CF was improved 30–50 % by adding phosphorus and phenolic antioxidants to PEEK. Its elastic modulus was increased by 40 %, and cohesive failure occurred with the addition of the antioxidants. Electron spin resonance spectroscopy and rheological property analysis of the molten state assumed that the antioxidants helped enhance the interfacial interaction owing to an increase in phenoxy radicals and the generation of phenyl radicals. Micro-Raman spectroscopy indicated that the improved interfacial interactions suppressed the formation of PEEK crystals at the interphase, resulting in cohesive failure. The addition of antioxidants not only improved the interfacial adhesion of PEEK/CF but also suppressed the interfacial fracture of PEEK/CF.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"328 ","pages":"Article 128415"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143837328","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}
PolymerPub Date : 2025-04-15DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128412
Chuanyong Liu , Liang Wang , Yong Liu
{"title":"Hollow fiber with hierarchical loose cellular pores for treating textile wastewater","authors":"Chuanyong Liu , Liang Wang , Yong Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128412","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128412","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Hollow fiber membrane (HFM) has been widely used to purify waste dye water. The nanoporous skin of HFM usually provided high rejection to dye molecules, however, it suffered from the problem of conflict between high flux and rejection. In this study, a foaming layer was constructed in hollow spongy fiber (HPF) via coupling the non-solvent induced phase separation (NIPS) with polymer foaming. The boundary condition of cavity appearance was closely related with generated CO<sub>2</sub> diffusion. Based on theoretical analysis of phase-diagrams, the increased gas diffusion promoted instantaneous demixing. The enhanced thermodynamic instability would benefit CO<sub>2</sub> nucleation and growth, resulting in hierarchical cellular structure. CO<sub>2</sub> bubble diffusion broke the free barrier of gel rich-phase, achieving interconnected nanopores on each cell wall. This spongy nanopores located on foaming layers provided absorption sites for dye molecules, generating a layer by layer absorption and interception effect to dye. The as-prepared HPF membranes exhibited a high dye rejection (<98.2 %) and a high flux (24.4 L m<sup>−2</sup>h<sup>−1</sup>) to Rhodamine B. This proposed coupling principles of bubble nucleation and phase-separation would help to design high-performance HFM with pores optimization.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"327 ","pages":"Article 128412"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143833431","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}
PolymerPub Date : 2025-04-15DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128399
M. Shini , M.T. Ramesan
{"title":"Single-step fabrication of high-performance chlorinated polyethylene /CuO nanocomposites for energy storage applications","authors":"M. Shini , M.T. Ramesan","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128399","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128399","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The development of flexible dielectric materials with superior energy storage capabilities is essential for electronic applications and the next generation electric power systems. This study employed a one-step two-roll mill mixing technique to fabricate chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) nanocomposites reinforced with copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles, specifically engineered for energy storage applications. UV–visible spectroscopy indicated a redshift in absorbance, with the nanocomposite containing 7 wt% CuO displaying the highest refractive index and the lowest optical bandgap energy. FTIR analysis confirmed the bonding interactions between CuO and CPE while XRD verified the presence of crystalline CuO phase. FE-SEM and HR-TEM images demonstrated a uniform surface morphology and homogeneous nanoparticle dispersion of CuO nanoparticles at a 7 wt% loading, while agglomeration became apparent at higher concentrations. Thermal analysis using DSC and TGA revealed enhanced glass transition temperature and thermal stability upon incorporation of nanoparticles. The AC conductivity, dielectric constant, and modulus of the nanocomposites were evaluated across varying temperatures and frequencies, showing a consistent increase with rising nanofiller content. These properties reached their peak at 7 wt% CuO loading, where AC conductivity and dielectric constant values were approximately 13.4 and 3 times higher, respectively than those of pristine CPE. Additionally, mechanical properties were also significantly improved with CuO reinforcement. The nanocomposite containing 7 wt% CuO exhibited outstanding mechanical performance, with tensile strength increasing by 106.7 %, impact strength by 48.9 %, and hardness by 15.6 %. These results underscore the potential of CPE/CuO nanocomposites as advanced electroactive materials for future energy storage applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"327 ","pages":"Article 128399"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143837323","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}
PolymerPub Date : 2025-04-15DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128414
Jianhua Wang, Guofeng Tian, Shengli Qi, Dezhen Wu
{"title":"Processability of poly(amic acid) gel films","authors":"Jianhua Wang, Guofeng Tian, Shengli Qi, Dezhen Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128414","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.polymer.2025.128414","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During the high-temperature drawing process of polyimide (PI) films, simultaneously changing the physicochemical structure of the films and implementing intricate process control is a complex problem. In this study, the PI precursor poly(amic acid) (PAA) was condensed from pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl ether (ODA) and its transformation from solution to gel and then to the glassy state was investigated using isothermal thermogravimetry, isothermal dynamic mechanical analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. The experimental results were combined with molecular simulation results to determine the diffusion behaviors and related mechanisms of the solvents and chain segments. After investigating the effects of the solvent system, temperature, and solid content on the processability of PAA gel films, the processing window was identified on a two-dimensional parameter map (temperature versus solid content), which was divided into three regions with distinct processabilities. Both N,N′-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) solvent systems exhibited a highly elastic gel state within a broad range of solid contents and temperatures but the NMP system demonstrated better processability, with an elongation rate exceeding 120 % within the 110°C-135 °C range and no chemical structural transformation from PAA to PI. This study successfully realizes a high-elastic gel state of PAA without relying on other chemical reagents. The proposed research idea and technical approach is expected to realize low-temperature drawing processing of PI films.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":405,"journal":{"name":"Polymer","volume":"327 ","pages":"Article 128414"},"PeriodicalIF":4.1,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143837324","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}