Polymer International最新文献

For many years, laminated safety glass based on poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) has been widely used in the fields of construction and transportation. In recent years, functional and intelligent laminated safety glass has attracted more and more attention. Laminated safety glass with adjustable refractive index has application value in optical communication and photoelectric switch lights. In this work, as a representative chromophore, disperse red 1 (DR₁) was blended with PVB solution, and then PVB/DR₁ film was prepared by spin coating. Based on this, laminated safety glasses have been constructed by hot processing after high-voltage polarization. The refractive index of the laminated glass can be increased from 1.46 to 1.474 by controlling the polarization voltage. This will have important applications in military and defense industries, laser lenses and other fields. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) modified by addition of the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium hexafluorophosphate was processed by extrusion followed by 3D printing to obtain (PLA + IL). The presence of the IL enhances polymer chain mobility, increasing its fluidity. Variation of storage and loss modulus with strain percentage indicates that the presence of the IL additive reduces strain resistance, decreasing the viscoelastic properties. Reciprocating tribological tests have been carried out on the high-roughness surfaces of as-printed PLA and (PLA + IL), under sliding parallel and perpendicular to the 3D printing direction. The addition of IL reduces friction coefficients with respect to unmodified PLA, shifting the transition to high-steady-state friction to longer distances for (PLA + IL). The highest average friction reduction (45%) is observed for sliding perpendicular to the 3D printing direction. This effect is attributed to a better layer adhesion in (PLA + IL). Surface damage is studied by profilometry and scanning electron microscopy. A very mild polishing effect with unmeasurable wear is observed on the wear paths. Short-term degradability studies of 3D printed films in seawater indicating differences between both materials have been carried out. © 2025 The Author(s). Polymer International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

In the present study, we explored the composition of an epoxy, melamine and cenosphere surface modified by using 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) as a hybrid filler and improved interfacial bonding. We analysed the structure, morphology, mechanical and tribological, thermal conductivity. XRD confirmed a transition from amorphous to semicrystalline phases of the epoxy composite. The chemical structure observed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy exhibits a peak at 2930 cm⁻¹, indicating CH stretching and covalent bonding due to APTES, mutually supported by Raman spectroscopy. Improved filler distribution and reduced porosity were foreseen by SEM. A reduction in void content by 10%–12% was observed as a function of hybrid filler loading, confirmed by density measurements. There was a threefold increase in Shore D hardness (for 15 wt% hybrid filler) and increased tensile strength, 213 N (virgin epoxy) to 931 N (20 wt% hybrid filler). Increased thermal conductivity by 73%, with excellent heat diffusion, was confirmed by Lee's disc. A pin-on-disc tribometer demonstrated (67%) decreased specific wear rate compared to the virgin epoxy. This investigation may be deployable for the automotive and aviation domains as an emerging composite. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

In this work the drying behaviour of the system toluene/polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate)/nanoadditive, cast on a solid substrate, is studied as a numerical experiment. The CuO that is used in antimicrobial coating formulations was chosen as a nanoadditive. The toluene drying from the above mixture is modelled as a coupled heat and mass transfer problem with a moving boundary. The resulting nonlinear model equations are solved by the Galerkin finite element method. This model accounts not only for complex viscoelastic phenomena and glass transition but also for crystallization and nanoadditive effects. The adjustable parameters are kept to a minimum value including a correction coefficient for the mass transfer coefficient at the liquid–gas interface augmented by a crystallization model parameter. These parameters are estimated by fitting data from gravimetric drying experiments. The model predictions show that the toluene weight fraction is below 0.05 at the end of the computational experiment while the respective glass transition temperature profiles vary from 225 K to almost 400 K. The model predictions are in satisfactory agreement with literature data. It is believed that this model could be used in addition to black box models to build efficient hybrid models for drying of similar systems. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

While additive-type flame retardants (FRs) offer ease of application, they may exhibit incompatibility with polyurethane (PU) foams at elevated concentrations, potentially compromising mechanical and morphological properties. This study examines the stabilizing influence of sepiolite (S) on expanded perlite (EP)-doped semi-rigid PU foams (SrPUFs). The thermal stability, morphological structure and flame resistance of S_SrPUF, S_EP_SrPUF and EP_SrPUF samples were evaluated using TGA, SEM and the UL 94 vertical combustion test, respectively. The TGA results indicated a 3.27-fold increase in char residue in the S_EP_SrPUF sample containing sepiolite compared to SrPUF. Additionally, this sample demonstrated a uniform structure akin to pure foam and halted tar flow, extending the combustion time from 50 to 96 s. The S_EP_SrPUF sample, incorporating 2% sepiolite and 8% EP additives, exhibited enhanced strength and flexibility, with mechanical performance improving by 38.4%. The findings suggest that the incorporation of sepiolite with additive-type FRs enhances FR efficacy by establishing a structural equilibrium between the foam matrix and the additive. This study provides significant contributions to both academic and industrial domains. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

In this study, liquid tin(II) n-butoxide (Sn(OnBu)₂) is employed as an initiator in the bulk ring-opening polymerization of l-lactide. Its effectiveness is compared with the conventional tin(II) octoate/n-butanol (Sn(Oct)₂/n-BuOH) initiating system by analyzing kinetics parameters derived from monomer conversion data obtained through gravimetry, ¹H NMR spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Gravimetry kinetics studies of l-lactide ring-opening polymerization in bulk at 120 °C for 24 h reveal that both Sn(OnBu)₂ and Sn(Oct)₂/n-BuOH achieve high conversions (>90%), with first-order rate constants of 0.0432 and 0.0157 min⁻¹, respectively. These results indicate that the highly soluble liquid Sn(OnBu)₂ leads to a faster polymerization rate and higher molecular weight (M_n = 1.45 × 10⁴ g mol⁻¹) than Sn(Oct)₂/n-BuOH (M_n = 6.03 × 10³ g mol⁻¹). However, kinetics studies using ¹H NMR and FTIR suggest that liquid Sn(OnBu)₂ and Sn(Oct)₂/n-BuOH exhibit similar effectiveness in terms of monomer conversion. Finally, the high efficiency of liquid Sn(OnBu)₂ is demonstrated in the first-time synthesis of medical-grade poly(l-lactide) at a large scale (500 g). This advancement paves the way for biomedical applications, such as absorbable surgical sutures, demonstrating performance comparable to commercial medical-grade poly(l-lactide) products. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

The materials commonly used to produce polyurethane foam (PUF) are based on petrochemical derivatives, which can pose long-term environmental and human health risks. Therefore, the search for alternatives to replace these petrochemical derivatives has grown substantially in the last 20 years, aiming mainly at improving polymer properties and leading to a reduced environmental impact. Thus, this review focuses on the advances presented in the literature on PUF production strategies from alternative sources and their impact on polymer material properties, discussing the environmental and technical advantages of using bio-polyols in polyurethane synthesis. From an analysis of the metrics available in the Web of Science and Scopus databases, it was observed that in the last 17 years, 1012 articles and 979 patents were published on bio-based PUFs, mainly in materials sciences, polymeric materials and chemistry. Among these alternative sources used to obtain polyols, castor and soybean vegetable oils are the matrices that stand out the most in current studies. It is concluded that replacing petrochemical polyols with biological sources in the production of PUF allows industrial practices to be aligned with sustainability principles, representing a significant step towards developing cleaner and more efficient technologies. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

Renewable biomass resources, including castor oil and cellulose, present promising avenues for sustainable polymer synthesis. This study involved the fabrication of a novel waterborne polyurethane utilizing cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) as a Pickering emulsion stabilizer and castor oil as a bio-derived polyol. Two different CNFs assessed the function of CNFs in stabilizing castor-oil-derived waterborne polyurethane emulsions by the ratio, their concentration and the emulsion storage duration. Dynamic light scattering and rheological assessments established that CNFs significantly enhanced emulsion stability by forming a semi-flexible network, which impeded droplet coalescence. Moreover, the incorporation of CNFs improved the mechanical performance of castor-oil-derived waterborne polyurethane films. Specifically, the addition of 1 wt% of the longer CNF resulted in an increase in the tensile strength and Young's modulus to 21.2 MPa and 91.0 MPa, respectively, signifying improvements of 103.0% and 256.6% over the CNF-free control. This investigation underscores the synergistic potential of biomass-derived nanomaterials in the design of high-performance, environmentally friendly polymers. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have garnered considerable attention across various fields due to their exceptional specificity and affinity for biomarker detection. These polymers exhibit significant potential in pharmaceuticals, disease diagnosis, electrochemical sensing, extraction of bioactive compounds, pathogen identification and environmental chemistry. The interdisciplinary fusion of chemistry, medicine, analytical techniques and sensing technologies has greatly benefited from the stability and effectiveness of MIPs. The synthesis of MIPs involves various methodologies, including integration of membrane separation technology with molecular imprinting technology. Their structure and composition are characterized using a variety of physical, chemical and thermal techniques. This review explores various aspects of MIP-based biomarker recognition, providing classifications of biomarkers and a balanced discussion on both the advantages and limitations of current approaches. Moreover, the review highlights extensive applications of MIPs, as detection of cancer and neurodegenerative disease markers as well as identification of volatile biomarkers. MIPs have shown promising capabilities in early-stage screening of protein biomarkers and electrochemical detection of pathogens and other biological markers, including non-invasive samples such as saliva. Although applications of MIPs in catalysis and drug delivery are still in their infancy, there are numerous opportunities for further research and development that could lead to significant advancements in coming years. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

This study investigates the development and characterization of solid polymer electrolytes based on hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) for magnesium ion transport. Electrolyte films were prepared using a conventional solution casting technique, incorporating HPMC and magnesium acetate. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and XRD analyses were conducted to examine the interactions between the polymer and salt components. Impedance spectroscopy was employed to assess the electrical conductivity of the prepared electrolytes. Thermal stability was evaluated using TGA. The FTIR and XRD results indicated the formation of a complex between the polymer and salt. The electrolyte containing 30 wt% magnesium acetate exhibited a room temperature ionic conductivity of 5.88 × 10⁻⁴ S cm⁻¹, demonstrating enhanced electrical properties. An electrical double-layer capacitor was fabricated using this high-conductivity electrolyte, and its electrochemical performance was analysed. © 2025 The Author(s). Polymer International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.