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Polymers
Special Issues
Structure and Properties of Polymers for Smart Applications
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Structure and Properties of Polymers for Smart Applications

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 February 2023) | Viewed by 7928

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Amparo Ribes-Greus

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Technology of Materials (ITM), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camí de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: smart and biodegradable packaging; biomedical polymers; fuel cell polyelectrolytes; self-healing polymers; electroactive polymers; energy storage; polymers-based adsorbents
Dr. Oscar Gil-Castell

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Technology of Materials (ITM), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camí de Vera, s/n, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Interests: smart and biodegradable packaging; biomedical polymers; fuel cell polyelectrolytes

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The development of polymer science along the last few decades has contributed to accelerate the conception of new functionalities, which have led to increasing the range of human activities, especially from a sustainable perspective.

Recent advances in polymer modification have resulted in new, amazing functionalities. The design and selection of a given structure of polymers for obtaining specific properties allow meeting new requirements for novel applications. Polymer structure modification, either via chemical or physical routes, pursues the endorsement of new features, such as mechanical, thermal, or environmental stability, physical or chemical responses, biocompatibility, or degradability, among others. Generally, the specific design of polymers can be achieved by grafting, crosslinking, copolymerization or irradiation but also through blending with other polymer materials or combining with particles or reinforcements (organic or inorganic) to acquire composite materials. Altogether, along with progress in the processing techniques of polymer materials, this has brought new energy-related opportunities, as well as opportunities in biosensors, smart and biodegradable packaging, and tissue engineering, among others.

In this context, this Special Issue aims to gather knowledge on understanding the structure–properties relationship for the functionalization of polymers according to the given sustainable foreseen performance required to meet with the outcome-oriented conditions that allow for progress and expansion of polymer science.

Prof. Dr. Amparo Ribes-Greus
Dr. Oscar Gil-Castell
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biopolymers
  • smart and biodegradable packaging
  • biomedical polymers
  • fuel cell polyelectrolytes
  • self-healing polymers
  • electroactive polymers
  • energy storage
  • drug delivery
  • photovoltaic devices
  • polymers-based adsorbents

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 8488 KiB  
Article
Dielectric Properties in Oriented and Unoriented Membranes Based on Poly(Epichlorohydrin-co-Ethylene Oxide) Copolymers: Part III
by B. Pascual-Jose, Alireza Zare, Silvia De la Flor, José Antonio Reina, M. Giamberini and A. Ribes-Greus
Polymers 2022, 14(7), 1369; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14071369 - 28 Mar 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1393
Abstract
The dielectric spectra and conductivity properties of neat poly(epichlorohydrin-co-ethylene oxide)(PECH-co-EO) copolymer and two modified copolymers with a 20% or 40% of dendron 3,4,5-tris[4-(n-dodecan-1-yloxy)benzyloxy] benzoate units were analysed. A process of thermal orientation was applied to the copolymers to fine-tune the molecular [...] Read more.
The dielectric spectra and conductivity properties of neat poly(epichlorohydrin-co-ethylene oxide)(PECH-co-EO) copolymer and two modified copolymers with a 20% or 40% of dendron 3,4,5-tris[4-(n-dodecan-1-yloxy)benzyloxy] benzoate units were analysed. A process of thermal orientation was applied to the copolymers to fine-tune the molecular motion of the side chains and determine their validity for cation transport materials. The study was conducted using Dielectric Thermal Analysis (DETA). The spectra of the modified unoriented and oriented copolymers consisted of five dielectric relaxations (δ, γ, β, αTg, and αmelting). The analysis of the relaxations processes shows that as the grafting with the dendron units increases, both the lateral and main chains have a greater difficulty moving. The thermal orientation induces in the main chain partial crystallization, including the polyether segments, and modifies the cooperative motion of the main chain associated with the glass transition (αTg). A deep analysis of the electrical loss modulus revealed that the degree of modification only modifies the temperature peak of each relaxation, and this effect is more perceived if the dendron unit content is higher (40%). The thermal orientation process seems equal to the spectra of CP20-O and CP40-O to the point that the degree of modification does not matter. Nevertheless, the fragility index denotes the differences in the molecular motion between both copolymers (40% and 20%) due to the thermal orientation. The study of the electric conductivity showed that the ideal long-range pathways were being altered by neither the thermal orientation process nor the addition of dendrimers. The analysis of the through-plane proton conductivity confirmed that the oriented copolymer with the highest concentration of dendrimers was the best performer and the most suitable copolymer for proton transport materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure and Properties of Polymers for Smart Applications)
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15 pages, 18137 KiB  
Article
Biomimetic, Highly Reusable and Hydrophobic Graphene/Polyvinyl Alcohol/Cellulose Nanofiber Aerogels as Oil-Removing Absorbents
by Peiyuan Feng, Xiwen Wang and Jin Yang
Polymers 2022, 14(6), 1077; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14061077 - 08 Mar 2022
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2400
Abstract
Aerogels have great potential in oil absorption applications; however, many reported aerogels have the drawbacks of a low oil-recovery rate and poor mechanical properties, which limit their application. In this study, highly reusable graphene oxide (GO)/TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber (TOCN)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) aerogels with [...] Read more.
Aerogels have great potential in oil absorption applications; however, many reported aerogels have the drawbacks of a low oil-recovery rate and poor mechanical properties, which limit their application. In this study, highly reusable graphene oxide (GO)/TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber (TOCN)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) aerogels with excellent mechanical properties and with an architecture similar to that of Thalia dealbata stems were fabricated through a three-step process of bidirectional-freezing, freeze-drying, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) modification. After CVD modification, the modified GTPA (MGTPA) accorded hydrophobicity. The synergistic effects of the three components and the unique biomimetic structure conferred biomimetic-MGTPA (b-MGTPA) with excellent compressible properties. As an adsorbent, b-MGTPA showed a high adsorption capacity (75–151 g/g) for various types of organic solvents. In addition, its high compressibility enables b-MGTPA to have fast and highly efficient recovery of absorbed oil through simple mechanical squeezing and it possesses excellent reusable stability (the oil recovery rate and oil retention rate reached 80% and 91.5%, respectively, after 10 repeated absorption–compression cycles). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure and Properties of Polymers for Smart Applications)
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24 pages, 3882 KiB  
Article
The Role of Eucalyptus Species on the Structural and Thermal Performance of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) Isolated by Acid Hydrolysis
by Oscar Gil-Castell, Pablo Reyes-Contreras, Pabla Andrea Barra, Regis Teixeira Mendonça, Isabel Carrillo-Varela, José David Badia, Angels Serra and Amparo Ribes-Greus
Polymers 2022, 14(3), 423; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym14030423 - 21 Jan 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1739
Abstract
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are attractive materials due to their renewable nature, high surface-to-volume ratio, crystallinity, biodegradability, anisotropic performance, or available hydroxyl groups. However, their source and obtaining pathway determine their subsequent performance. This work evaluates cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) obtained from four different eucalyptus [...] Read more.
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are attractive materials due to their renewable nature, high surface-to-volume ratio, crystallinity, biodegradability, anisotropic performance, or available hydroxyl groups. However, their source and obtaining pathway determine their subsequent performance. This work evaluates cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) obtained from four different eucalyptus species by acid hydrolysis, i.e., E. benthamii, E. globulus, E. smithii, and the hybrid En × Eg. During preparation, CNCs incorporated sulphate groups to their structures, which highlighted dissimilar reactivities, as given by the calculated sulphate index (0.21, 0.97, 0.73 and 0.85, respectively). Although the impact of the incorporation of sulphate groups on the crystalline structure was committed, changes in the hydrophilicity and water retention ability or thermal stability were observed. These effects were also corroborated by the apparent activation energy during thermal decomposition obtained through kinetic analysis. Low-sulphated CNCs (E. benthamii) involved hints of a more crystalline structure along with less water retention ability, higher thermal stability, and greater average apparent activation energy (233 kJ·mol−1) during decomposition. Conversely, the high-sulphated species (E. globulus) involved higher reactivity during preparation that endorsed a little greater water retention ability and lower thermal stability, with subsequently less average apparent activation energy (185 kJ·mol−1). The E. smithii (212 kJ·mol−1) and En × Eg (196 kJ·mol−1) showed an intermediate behavior according to their sulphate index. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure and Properties of Polymers for Smart Applications)
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19 pages, 7002 KiB  
Article
Effect of Dendritic Side Groups on the Mobility of Modified Poly(epichlorohydrin) Copolymers
by R. Teruel-Juanes, B. Pascual-Jose, R. Graf, J. A. Reina, M. Giamberini and A. Ribes-Greus
Polymers 2021, 13(12), 1961; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym13121961 - 13 Jun 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1800
Abstract
The macromolecular dynamics of dendronized copolymer membranes (PECHs), obtained by chemical modification of poly(epichlorohydrin) with the dendron 3,4,5-tris[4-(n-dodecan-1-yloxy)benzyloxy] benzoate, was investigated. In response to a thermal treatment during membrane preparation, these copolymers show an ability to change their shape, achieve orientation, and slightly [...] Read more.
The macromolecular dynamics of dendronized copolymer membranes (PECHs), obtained by chemical modification of poly(epichlorohydrin) with the dendron 3,4,5-tris[4-(n-dodecan-1-yloxy)benzyloxy] benzoate, was investigated. In response to a thermal treatment during membrane preparation, these copolymers show an ability to change their shape, achieve orientation, and slightly crystallize, which was also observed by CP-MAS NMR, XRD, and DSC. The phenomenon was deeply analyzed by dielectric thermal analysis. The dielectric spectra show the influence of several factors such as the number of dendritic side groups, the orientation, their self-assembling dendrons, and the molecular mobility. The dielectric spectra present a sub-Tg dielectric relaxation, labelled as γ, associated with the mobility of the benzyloxy substituent of the dendritic group. This mobility is not related to the percentage of these lateral chains but is somewhat hindered by the orientation of the dendritic groups. Unlike other less complex polymers, the crystallization was dismantled before the appearance of the glass transition (αTg). Only after that, clearing transition (αClear) can be observed. The PECHs were flexible and offered a high free volume, despite presenting a high degree of modifications. However, the molecular mobility is not independent in each phase and the self-assembling dendrons can be eventually fine-tuned according to the percentage of grafted groups. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Structure and Properties of Polymers for Smart Applications)
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