Journal of Polymers and the Environment最新文献

{"title":"Efficient removal of fluoroquinolone antibiotics from water using a graphene oxide/waste-derived chitosan/zero-valent iron nanocomposite","authors":"Fatemeh Shahloo,&nbsp;Moslem Ahmadian,&nbsp;Mansoor Anbia","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03966-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03966-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The graphene oxide/chitosan/zero-valent iron (GO/CS/ZVI) nanocomposite was employed to remove two fluoroquinolone antibiotics, ciprofloxacin (CIP) and ofloxacin (OFL), from aqueous media. The successful formation of the GO/CS/ZVI nanocomposite was confirmed by FT-IR, XRD, SEM–EDX, VSM, and N₂ adsorption–desorption analyses. XRD and FT-IR verified the incorporation of graphene oxide, chitosan, and zero-valent iron, while SEM revealed a heterogeneous layered morphology with effective chitosan coating. VSM analysis confirmed the magnetic nature of the GO/CS/ZVI nanocomposite, enabling its rapid and efficient separation from aqueous solutions using an external magnetic field. BET analysis showed a specific surface area of 80.95 m²/g, a pore volume of 0.0306 cm³/g, and an average pore diameter of 2.42 nm, confirming the preservation of the mesoporous structure after the nanocomposite formation. The effects of operational parameters, including pH, initial drug concentration (CIP and OFL), adsorbent dosage, and contact time on the removal process of CIP and OFL were examined and optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. Under the optimized conditions, removal efficiencies of 99.17% and 94.21% were achieved for CIP and OFL, respectively, at an initial concentration of 75 mg/L for each drug, an adsorbent dosage of 0.70 g, a contact time of 70 min, and pH 6. The adsorption equilibrium data were best described by the Langmuir isotherm model, while the adsorption kinetics were best fitted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model for both pollutants.</p><h3>Graphical abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149132532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"TiO₂-Integrated Molecularly Imprinted Cryogels: Synthesis, Characterization, and Selective Adsorption of Sulfadimidine","authors":"Merve Çalışır,&nbsp;Erdoğan Özgür,&nbsp;Adil Denizli","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03978-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03978-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The persistence of pharmaceutical residues in aquatic environments has raised increasing concern due to their ecological effects and potential contribution to antibiotic resistance. Sulfonamide antibiotics, including sulfadimidine, are particularly important because of their frequent veterinary use and stability in water systems. In this study, TiO₂-integrated molecularly imprinted poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-4-vinylpyridine) [poly(HEMA-co-4VP)] cryogel membranes were developed as selective adsorbents for sulfadimidine removal from aqueous media. To evaluate the effects of molecular imprinting and TiO₂ incorporation, imprinted and non-imprinted cryogels were synthesized with and without TiO₂ nanoparticles. The cryogels were characterized by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX), micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), and swelling analysis. Adsorption was investigated at 25 °C under varying pH, ionic strength, initial sulfadimidine concentration, and adsorption time. Applicability and reusability were assessed in tap water and over five consecutive adsorption–desorption cycles. The TiO₂-integrated imprinted cryogel (MIP-2) exhibited the highest experimental adsorption capacity of 1.23 mg g⁻¹ and showed preferential adsorption of sulfadimidine over competing antibiotics. MIP-2 maintained the highest adsorption capacity among the four cryogel formulations in tap water and exhibited relatively stable performance over five consecutive cycles. The Elovich model provided the best fit to the kinetic data, while the Langmuir model provided the best fit to the equilibrium adsorption data. Overall, the developed TiO₂-integrated MIP cryogel provides a selective, reusable, and easily handled adsorbent platform for sulfadimidine removal.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149132520","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exosome-Loaded Thermoresponsive Hydrogels for Tissue Regeneration: Design Principles, Delivery Mechanisms, and Translational Challenges","authors":"Elaheh Esmaeili,&nbsp;Iman Rad,&nbsp;Saied Soflaei,&nbsp;Pankaj Bansal,&nbsp;Chandan Sharma,&nbsp;Ozodbek Nematov,&nbsp;Ibrokhim Sapaev","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03972-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03972-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The functional regeneration of complex tissues remains a significant challenge in clinical medicine. While exosomes have emerged as potent, cell-free therapeutic agents capable of orchestrating immunomodulation, angiogenesis, and stem cell recruitment, their clinical translation is severely limited by poor pharmacokinetics, including rapid clearance, enzymatic degradation, and off-target distribution. This review elucidates the strategic integration of exosomes with thermosensitive hydrogels as an innovative delivery platform to overcome these barriers. We detail how injectable, thermosensitive polymers—selected for their tunable sol-gel transition at physiological temperatures—form a protective depot that ensures high local retention and provides sustained spatiotemporal release of exosome cargo. The polymer selection rationale is discussed, balancing biocompatibility, degradation kinetics, and emerging considerations of environmental sustainability, including the use of biodegradable natural polymers (e.g., chitosan, hyaluronic acid) and renewable sourcing strategies that minimize ecological footprint. The article critically analyzes methods for exosome isolation, loading strategies into hydrogel matrices, and essential characterization techniques to ensure vesicle integrity and predict in vivo performance. Furthermore, we highlight the compelling therapeutic efficacy of this synergistic platform across diverse regenerative applications, including bone and cartilage repair, wound healing, and neuroregeneration, demonstrating enhanced outcomes compared to free exosomes. We discuss future perspectives on manufacturing scalability, the development of innovative stimuli-responsive systems, the integration of life-cycle assessment into material design, and the translational pathway toward clinical adoption. The convergence of exosome biology and advanced biomaterial engineering represents a paradigm shift in regenerative medicine, offering a powerful, off-the-shelf strategy for restoring functional tissue while ensuring environmental responsibility.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149132519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Schiff Base Modified Waterborne Polyurethane Composite Coatings with PDA@Si–TiO2: Self-Healing Performance and Enhanced Anticorrosion Protection","authors":"Ziqing Jiang,&nbsp;Yanmeng Lu,&nbsp;Pingbo Zhang,&nbsp;Mingming Fan,&nbsp;Pengpeng Huang,&nbsp;Pingping Jiang,&nbsp;Jialiang Xia","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03980-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03980-7","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Waterborne polyurethane (WPU) coatings are environmentally friendly alternatives to solvent-based coatings, but their practical application is still limited by insufficient corrosion resistance, poor aging resistance, and susceptibility to cracking. These issues were addressed by introducing Schiff base structures into WPU chains to construct a dynamic imine-containing self-healing network, while silane/polydopamine dual-modified TiO₂ nanoparticles (PDA@Si-TiO₂) were incorporated to enhance filler–matrix interactions and barrier properties. The structure, morphology, emulsion stability, wettability, water resistance, mechanical and thermal properties, self-healing behavior, UV-shielding ability, and anticorrosion performance of the resulting PDA@TiO₂-VWPU coatings were systematically characterized. FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM, and EDS supported the successful surface modification of TiO₂ and its effective incorporation into the WPU matrix. The optimized PDA@TiO₂-VWPU-0.6 coating showed superior comprehensive performance, including reduced water absorption of 3.82%, enhanced low-frequency impedance modulus of 612,685 Ω·cm² under the tested conditions, and a thermally activated self‑healing efficiency of 90.0% after healing at 60 °C for 6 h. These improvements were attributed to reversible imine-bond reconstruction, hydrogen-bond-assisted healing, improved filler–matrix interactions, and the enhanced barrier effect associated with PDA@Si-TiO₂. The loading‑dependent optimization identifies 0.6 wt% as the optimal filler content for achieving balanced overall performance.</p><h3>Graphical Abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149035167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gemcitabine-Loaded Poly (HEMA-co-Acrylic Acid-co-Maleic Acid) Bentonite Hydrogels: Physicochemical Characterisation and in Vitro Drug Release","authors":"Sumeyye Idil Celikkaya,&nbsp;Bekir Caglar Celikkaya,&nbsp;Clare Hoskins,&nbsp;Recep Akkaya,&nbsp;Birnur Akkaya","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03981-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03981-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Polymeric composite hydrogel particles incorporating inorganic nanoclays, such as bentonite, have recently received increasing attention as versatile platforms for controlled drug delivery due to their enhanced structural stability and tunable swelling behavior. In this study, a pH-responsive Poly (2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) -co-acrylic acid-co-maleic acid) bentonite (HEMAPAM-Bentonite) nanocomposite hydrogel was developed as a carrier system for Gemcitabine (GEM) to improve its therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of ovarian cancer. The synthesized nanocomposite was characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential analysis, and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Physicochemical characterisation of the dispersed composite hydrogel particles revealed an average hydrodynamic diameter of 1135 nm with a narrow polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.3, and a zeta potential of -14.4 mV. The optimised triple-terpolymer matrix achieved an exceptionally high Gemcitabine loading efficiency of 90.3%. Furthermore, the system exhibited pronounced pH-dependent swelling (reaching maximum swelling ratios of approximately 297% and 339% at pH 5.5 and 7.4, respectively), thereby enabling a controlled, biphasic drug-release profile. Swelling behavior, drug loading efficiency, and in vitro release profiles were systematically evaluated under physiological (pH 7.4) and acidic (pH 5.5) conditions. The system exhibited high drug-loading efficiency (~ 90%) and pronounced pH-dependent swelling, enabling a controlled, biphasic release profile. Furthermore, cytotoxicity studies on SKOV3 ovarian cancer cells demonstrated fair biocompatibility of the blank composite hydrogel particles, while the GEM-loaded formulation showed enhanced, time-dependent anticancer activity compared to free Gemcitabine. These findings suggest that the developed bentonite-based nanocomposite hydrogel particle system represents a promising and effective platform for controlled delivery of chemotherapeutic agents in cancer therapy.</p><h3>Graphical Abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149035168","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Retraction Note: Modification of Novel Chitosan-Starch Cross-Linked Derivatives Polymers: Synthesis and Characterization","authors":"Ernestine Atangana,&nbsp;Trevor T. Chiweshe,&nbsp;Hester Roberts","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03982-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03982-5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149035181","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hermetia illucens-Derived Carboxymethyl Chitosan/Alginate Hydrogels Functionalized with Carbon Dots for Sustainable Malathion Removal","authors":"Nurrahmi Handayani,&nbsp;Fitri Aulia Permatasari,&nbsp;Arum Sinda Santika,&nbsp; Rachmawati,&nbsp;Ferdy Ichsan Imaduddin,&nbsp;Rayhan Harsya,&nbsp;Ira Artilia,&nbsp;Ferry Iskandar,&nbsp;Muhammad Ali Zulfikar,&nbsp;Veinardi Suendo","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03973-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03973-6","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Excessive pesticide use in agriculture has led to hazardous residues in aquatic environments, with malathion remaining a persistent organophosphate contaminant. Despite widespread use of hydrogel-based adsorbents for pollutant removal, sustainable systems combining insect-derived biopolymers and tunable carbon-dot surface chemistry remain insufficiently explored. In this study, alginate (Alg)–carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) hydrogels functionalized with carbon dots (CDs), denoted Alg–CMC–CDs, were developed as sustainable polymer composites for malathion removal. CMC was derived from <i>Hermetia illucens</i>, providing a renewable and waste-based biopolymer source. Pyrrolic-N-functionalized CDs were incorporated into the Alg–CMC matrix as functional modifiers of the composite hydrogel. Structural characterization using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) supported hydrogel formation and changes in the functional-group environment and structural organization following CDs incorporation. Among the tested formulations, the high-pyrrolic-N (HP) formulation, Alg–CMC–CDs HP (2:2:0.05), was selected as the working formulation because of its high adsorption performance and lower carbon-dot loading. The selected hydrogel achieved 71.1% malathion removal within 120 min under the tested conditions of pH 7.0, an adsorbent mass of 0.25 g, and an initial malathion concentration of 15 mg L⁻¹. The adsorption process followed pseudo-first-order kinetics and was best described by the Freundlich isotherm (R² &gt; 0.98), suggesting adsorption on a heterogeneous surface with possible contributions from surface-related interactions. The maximum adsorption capacity (<i>q</i>_<i>max</i>), estimated using the nonlinear Langmuir model, was 1.67 mg g⁻¹. Hydrogels functionalized with high-pyrrolic N CDs exhibited higher adsorption performance than the low-pyrrolic-N-CDs-containing and CDs-free formulations under the investigated conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149035269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Silicon Carbide Reinforced Bio-based Alkyd–Polyurethane Coatings: Structure–Property Relationship and Enhanced Barrier Performance","authors":"Pavan M. Paraskar,&nbsp;Ranjeet B. Doke,&nbsp;Nilesh R. Patil,&nbsp;Yogeshsing N. Rajput,&nbsp;Vinod M. Hatkar,&nbsp;Ravindra D. Kulkarni,&nbsp;Ian Major","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03968-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03968-3","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The transition away from petroleum-derived coatings requires bio-based systems that match the durability of their fossil counterparts without compromising renewable content. In this work, polyurethane (PU) nanocomposite coatings were developed from Niger seed oil (NSO), an underutilized non-edible vegetable oil, and bio-derived itaconic acid, with silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles incorporated at 1, 3, and 5 wt% as reinforcement. The Niger seed oil-based monoglyceride and alkyd resin were characterized by proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), with quantitative ¹H NMR integration confirming ≈ 92% conversion of triglyceride to monoglyceride. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed uniform near-surface SiC dispersion, with the arithmetic-mean roughness rising progressively from 0.29 nm for the neat coating to 0.87 nm at 5 wt% SiC, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) revealed an increasing apparent composite crystalline fraction with increasing nanoparticle content. Crosslinking density was assessed through gel content and independently validated by Flory–Rehner swelling analysis, yielding νₑ values of 0.42 to 1.18 × 10^− 3 mol cm^− 3, while differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) showed a monotonic rise in glass transition temperature from 58 °C (NSOPU-0) to 85 °C (NSOPU-5), confirming progressive network densification. Incorporation of 5 wt% SiC (NSOPU-5) delivered a 41% increase in tensile strength, 191% improvement in abrasion resistance, 26% reduction in water uptake, a water contact angle of 113.3°, a charge-transfer resistance (R_ct), measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), of 1.1 × 10⁷ Ω·cm², and a char residue of 30.9% at 700 °C. The cured coatings exhibit a calculated bio-based carbon content of 74.2% under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) convention, against 0% for a fully petroleum-derived two-component PU reference, and achieve protective performance competitive with a previously reported petroleum-based PU benchmark. The combination of a non-edible vegetable oil, a fermentation-derived dicarboxylic acid, and ceramic SiC reinforcement establishes Niger seed oil/itaconic acid/SiC nanocomposites as promising renewable candidates for protective coating applications, offering a route toward reducing reliance on fossil-derived feedstocks.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149035261","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Finding of Activation Energy and Self-Healing Mechanism of Sustainable Porous Ceramic Microcapsule Encapsulated Polydimethylsiloxane Elastomeric Composite","authors":"Chellaiah Ayyanar,&nbsp;Sumit Pramanik","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03947-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03947-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based elastomers have recently attracted significant attention as self-healing materials for advanced engineering and biomedical applications. In this study, self-healing PDMS composites were developed by incorporating porous ceramic microcapsules containing PDMS healing agents and sustainable, bioceramic nanohydroxyapatite (HA) at concentrations of 1, 2, and 3 mass%. The novelty of the study, particularly the development of HA-based carrier microcapsules in which porous HA particles act as shells that retain PDMS resin and hardener as healing agents. The microcapsules were fabricated using a spray-based technique and embedded within a PDMS elastomer matrix to investigate their crack-healing performance. The self-healing mechanism involves the release of healing agents from ruptured microcapsules at damaged sites, followed by crosslinking through hydrogen-bond interactions between HA and the PDMS resin/hardener system. Among the investigated formulations, the composite containing 2 mass% HA (SH-B2) exhibited the most effective healing performance. UV–Vis analysis revealed that the optimum band gap energy of 3.6 eV, while kinetic analysis using the Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS) model yielded the lowest activation energy of 54.023 kJ/mol, indicating enhanced polymerization and healing kinetics. Correspondingly, SH-B2 demonstrated superior tensile strength and elongation compared with the other compositions. The maximum healing efficiency, determined from tensile strain recovery, reached 77.24%. Furthermore, the composite exhibited excellent crack-recovery behavior under unloading conditions. These findings demonstrate that HA-containing microcapsules significantly enhance the self-healing capability of PDMS elastomers, highlighting their potential for biomedical devices and smart protective coatings.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148987027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bio-inspired, Sustainable TA/Ca2+-Modified Interpenetrating Polymer Networks: Atomic-level Insights into Interfacial Organization and Gas-barrier Mechanisms for Environmental Protection","authors":"Xiaowei Zhai,&nbsp;Tianyi Li,&nbsp;Bobo Song,&nbsp;Lifeng Ren","doi":"10.1007/s10924-026-03963-8","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s10924-026-03963-8","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Uncontrolled underground coal fires contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and ecological damage, while conventional polymeric sealants may raise concerns related to toxicity, persistence, and interfacial durability. Here, a tannic acid (TA)/Ca²⁺-modified interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) was examined as a bio-based gas-barrier coating for coal-fire sealing. Atomistic models were constructed to analyze the stage-dependent O₂ transport behavior of the slurry and its interfacial contact with coal. In the hydrated slurry–probe model, the TA/Ca²⁺-modified system showed a lower fractional free volume than the unmodified system, but its apparent O₂ mobility was higher, suggesting that the high-water-content state mainly corresponds to a transient spraying and wetting stage. After partial dehydration, the TA/Ca²⁺-modified system disrupted connected free-volume pathways and exhibited a lower apparent O₂ transport coefficient than both the unmodified and CaCl₂-only systems within the selected fitting window. At the slurry–coal interface, CaCl₂ alone produced an interaction energy close to that of the unmodified system, whereas TA/Ca²⁺ modification changed the overall contact mode and shifted Ca²⁺ and water toward the slurry side. RDF and DFT-based IGMH analyses were consistent with localized TA–coal hydrogen-bond-type contacts and weaker non-covalent interactions involving aromatic regions. These results indicate that the gas-transport and interfacial behavior of the modified IPN is associated with TA-mediated interfacial organization and pore-network reorganization, rather than with ionic species alone.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":659,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Polymers and the Environment","volume":"34 10","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.6,"publicationDate":"2026-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148974783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}