Progress in Polymer Science最新文献

The last few decades have witnessed the great progress in surface modification through the use of functional polymer coatings. Surface-grafted polymers with thickness ranging from several nanometers to micrometers have been proven to significantly improve the surface properties of materials, thus enabling diverse, customizable, and controllable performances. Consequently, surface-grafting has become a key tool in scientific research on surface/interface and in surface engineering applications. The interface adhesion and friction between materials and their environments can be precisely controlled by grafting specially designed polymer coatings on material surfaces. As a result, the use of surface-grafted polymers to control the adhesion and friction of materials has attracted extensive attention across various disciplines, from polymer chemistry, physics, and materials science to biology and medical science. This review starts with a discussion of functional surfaces in nature that exhibit unique adhesion and friction phenomena. It then introduces the fundamental principles of tribology and the adhesion and friction behaviors of polymer surfaces. It covers different methods for producing polymer coatings and the corresponding strategies for controlling adhesion and friction. Finally, the challenges and barriers that prevent broader application of surface-grafted polymers are discussed and an outlook of future opportunities is presented.

The design and manufacture of new biodegradable and bioderived polymeric materials has traditionally taken place through experimentation and material characterisation. However, cutting-edge computational methods now provide a less expensive and more efficient approach to innovative biopolymer design and scale-up. In particular, the holistic framework provided by Materials 4.0 combines multiscale simulations and computational modelling with theory and next-generation informatics (big data integration and artificial intelligence) to model biopolymer structures, understand their flow and processibility, and predict their properties. These computational methods are being utilised to model and forecast the properties of a wide variety of biopolymeric materials, including the large family of biodegradable polyesters along with lignocellulosics, polysaccharides, proteinaceous materials, natural rubber, and so on. Ranging from quantum- to macroscale, computational modelling acts as a complement to traditional experimental techniques, probing molecular structure and intramolecular interactions as well as reaction mechanisms. This enables further kinetic modelling studies and molecular simulations. The research has been further expanded to include the use of machine learning approaches for material property optimisation in conjunction with expert knowledge and relevant experimental data. Aside from the modelling of structure-property relationships, computational modelling has also been used to predict the effect of biopolymer modifications and the influence of external factors such as the application of external fields or applied stress and the effects of moisture. In summary, there is a fast-developing library of computational modelling data for biopolymers, and the development of Materials 4.0 in this sector has enabled greater flexibility in design and processing options in advance of more expensive and time-consuming testing.

In this perspective, we explore the historical evolution, photochemical processes, and distinct utility of photoiniferter polymerization. We aim to provide a practical guide encompassing the selection of iniferter and monomer, coupled with the optimization of light wavelengths to conduct efficient photoiniferter polymerizations. We delve into the impact of iniferter structure on photophysical properties and the resulting polymerization behavior. Furthermore, we highlight ongoing research efforts employing photoiniferter polymerization, emphasizing its potential applications in cutting-edge areas of research such as 3D printing and the synthesis of ultra-high molecular weight polymers ($\ge$10⁶ g mol^-1). Through this perspective, we aim to clarify both the fundamental principles and the practical considerations of photoiniferter polymerization, ultimately advancing its utility and paving the way for innovative applications in polymer science.

Chitosan holds great promise for demanding applications such as functional packing and biomedical uses. There has been a notable increase in interest in combining chitosan or its derivatives with other polymers and nanofillers to achieve synergistic effects. Remarkable progress has been made through polymer molecular design and iterative nanotechnology in the development of chitosan-based nanocomposite materials tailored for high-performance applications. This review focuses on strategies to develop chitosan-based materials, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of chitosan modification and critically evaluating various fabrication methods. Following a brief introduction to various nanofillers and their functionalization, this review discusses the functional properties (e.g., mechanical, thermal, water resistance, gas-barrier, stimulus-response, shape memory, biological, electrochemical, corrosion-protection, antifouling, and abruption/desorption) of various chitosan-based nanocomposite systems. It then highlights the emerging and potential applications of chitosan-based nanocomposites in various fields such as functional packaging, biomedicine, 3D bioprinting, sensing and wearable devices, environmental remediation, and chemical engineering. Moreover, we explore the factors that hinder the commercialization of chitosan-based nanocomposites. Our review not only surveys recent advancements in engineering sophisticated functional chitosan-based nanocomposite materials, customized for a diverse array of applications, but also offers insights into the future formulation of multifaceted chitosan-based nanocomposites, poised to tackle the distinct demands and hurdles encountered in burgeoning applications.

Epoxy resins rank among the most significantly used thermosets, showing high thermal and mechanical properties. Unfortunately, current polymerization processes to reach these properties are energy-intensive, characterized by high temperatures and long processing duration. Addressing this problem, recent years have witnessed the emergence of curing methods under mild and ecofriendly conditions, aligning with societal and ecological challenges. Mild conditions were delineated in this review as a polymerization without solvent and at temperatures not exceeding 80 °C. This work highlights three methods, by focusing on research works from 2015 to date: i) polyadditions via step-growth ring opening polymerization, ii) photopolymerization leading to homopolymerization of bio-based monomers and iii) redox polymerization achieved through the release of cations or acidic protons species, initiating the cationic polymerization. In the context of ecofriendly conditions, the replacement of bisphenol-A present in many epoxy monomers is also a huge challenge to keep both good mechanical properties and fast polymerization kinetics. In this context, this review aims at underlining the increasing importance of epoxy curing under mild conditions, in possible combination with bio-based monomers for bisphenol-A replacement and to guide both researchers and industries to explore and develop new curing systems.

Amino acid-based poly(ester urea)s (PEUs) are an emerging class of highly tunable, degradable polymers that have found utility in a wide scope of biomedical applications. PEUs possess three points of tunability at the amino acid side chain, diol length, and copolymer stoichiometric ratio, resulting in a broad range of chemical, thermal and mechanical properties. PEUs are interesting biologically because they degrade into naturally occurring amino acids, urea, oxidized products from the diols, and carbon dioxide, each of which can be metabolized or excreted. The diversity in structure, properties and biodegradation characteristics of PEUs have led to their exploration in a number of pre-clinical applications including hernia repair, adhesives, radiopaque implants, and drug delivery. In this review, we provide a thorough history of PEU synthesis methodology. The polymer properties arising from the various synthetic methods including mechanical, thermal, and biocompatibility properties are also summarized. This review concludes with an overview of progress in the primary applications of PEUs to date including hard and soft-tissue engineering, radiopaque biomaterials, adhesives, and drug delivery.