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Multifunctional Hybrid Materials Based on Polymers: Design and Performance, Volume II

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A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 11370

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. M. Ali Aboudzadeh

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Guest Editor

Institut des Sciences Analytiques et de Physico-Chimie pour l’Environnement et les Matériaux, University Pau & Pays Adour, 64000 Pau, France
Interests: polymer synthesis and characterization; supramolecular assemblies; rheology; DNA nanotechnology; encapsulation via emulsion-based systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Shaghayegh Hamzehlou

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Guest Editor

POLYMAT and Kimika Aplikatua Saila, Kimika Fakultatea, University of the Basque Country UPV-EHU, Joxe Mari Korta Zentroa, Tolosa Hiribidea 72, 20018 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
Interests: polymer reaction engineering; modeling and simulation of kinetics, topology, microstructure, and morphology of the complex polymerization systems; emulsion polymerization; polymer synthesis and characterization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

After our first successful Special Issue on "Multifunctional Hybrid Materials Based on Polymers: Design and Performance", we have decided to create a second volume, in order to publish state-of-the-art research on this type of materials and their understanding.

This second Special Issue, same as the first one, covers a wide range of topics in the field of hybrid materials based on polymers and their application in priority areas such as the environment, human health, and energy. Although significant advancements have been made in this field, it is still highly advantageous to provide more breakthrough cases on state-of-the-art manufacturing and scale-up technologies to design and synthesize advanced hybrid materials based on polymers with improved performance.

The main objective of this interdisciplinary Special Issue of Processes is to bring together, at an international level, a high-quality elegant collection of reviews, original articles, and short communications dealing with polymeric hybrid materials within different areas such as:

Biomaterials chemistry, physics, engineering, and processing;
Polymer chemistry, physics, and engineering;
Nanocomposites science;
Colloidal chemistry and physics;
Porous materials science;
Energy storage;
Automotive and aerospace manufacturing.

We review all the articles in our Special Issue, and we believe this editorial will interest the broadest possible section of readership among materials scientists and engineers.

Dr. M. Ali Aboudzadeh
Dr. Shaghayegh Hamzehlou
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 papers will be 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. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2000 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

processing
nanocomposites
nanoparticles
polymer
synthesis
porous materials
characterization
colloidal dispersions

Related Special Issue

Multifunctional Hybrid Materials Based on Polymers: Design and Performance in Processes (13 articles)

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4608 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Hydrogen Bonding on the Photophysical Properties of Diethylamino Hydroxybenzoyl Hexyl Benzoate

by Qianjie Zhang, Qing Lv, Dongmei Zhang, Wen Jiang, Huiwen Zhang and Wanping Zhang

Processes 2023, 11(7), 2077; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr11072077 - 12 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1295

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effects of different hydrogen bond types on the photophysical properties of diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate (DHHB) by systematically exploring the changes in the spectral properties of DHHB in protic and aprotic solvents. The formation and stability of hydrogen bonds were also studied, demonstrating that the system mainly existed in the form of intramolecular hydrogen bonds at low concentrations (≤5 μg/mL). In these circumstances, the fluorescent intensity, and molar absorption coefficient changed little, indicating that the intramolecular hydrogen bonds had little effect on the spectral properties of DHHB. With an increase in concentration, the number of intermolecular hydrogen bonds increased and the molar absorption coefficient significantly increased, indicating that the intermolecular hydrogen bonds were conducive to improving the UV absorption properties of DHHB. With an increase in temperature, the molar absorption coefficient of the system decreased, which reduced the UV absorption performance of DHHB. In the protic solvent, the system also contained DHHB–solvent intermolecular hydrogen bonds. With an increase in the proportion of protic solvent in the system, the fluorescent intensity of the system significantly decreased, and the UV integral area significantly increased, indicating that the hydrogen bond between DHHB and the solvent molecules was beneficial in terms of improving the UV absorption performance of DHHB. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Hybrid Materials Based on Polymers: Design and Performance, Volume II)

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17 pages, 10542 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Synthesis, Modification, and Characterization of Fe₃O₄@SiO₂-PEI-Dextranase Nanoparticles for Enzymatic Degradation of Dextran in Fermented Mash

by Luis Pablo Amador-Gómez, Guadalupe Luna Solano, Galo Rafael Urrea-García, Ruby Sheila Gines-Palestino and Denis Cantú-Lozano

Processes 2023, 11(1), 70; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr11010070 - 27 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1741

Abstract

During the sugar production process, undesirable compounds such as dextrans are produced and contaminate the flow of the sugar mill, reaching levels in the fluid of more than 10,000 ppm. Dextranase is an enzyme that has different industrial applications, since it catalyzes the hydrolysis of the bonds in random sites of the dextran. Therefore, the enzyme was immobilized using synthesized ferrite magnetic nanoparticles to degrade dextran in the fermented mash, because it is suitable to reuse and has a large surface area to bind dextranase on a solid carrier for easy magnetic separation. The synthesized bare and modified nanoparticles were characterized using SEM, EDS, FTIR, and XRD and confirmed the core–shell silica by increasing the silica composition from 0.2% of bare Fe₃O₄ NPs to 31.3% of modified Fe₃O₄ NPs. Ultrasonic treatment reduced the calculated crystal size with Scherer’s equation from 91.3 to 13.5 nm, providing more particles for immobilization. The solvothermal process synthesized ferrite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄) and modified them with TEOS and PEI. The obtained immobilization efficiency was 28%. Perhaps it was lower; Fe₃O₄ degraded almost the same as the free enzyme. The percentage of dextran degradation with free enzymes and immobilized enzymes with Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles was 61 and 52%, respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Hybrid Materials Based on Polymers: Design and Performance, Volume II)

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20 pages, 4001 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Obtention of New Edible Biofilms from Water Kefir Grains in Comparison with Conventional Biofilms from Taro (Colocasia esculenta) and Cassava (Manihot esculenta) Starch

by Paul Linares-Bravo, Samantha D. Cabo-Araoz, Guadalupe Luna-Solano, Galo R. Urrea-Garcia and Denis Cantú-Lozano

Processes 2022, 10(9), 1804; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr10091804 - 07 Sep 2022

Viewed by 1923

Abstract

Microorganism biomass is a sustainable and innovative source of biopolymers, such as proteins and polysaccharides, that is suitable for the development of biodegradable films. The aim of this research was to evaluate the synthesis, morphology, rheology, and morphological and mechanical properties on the production of edible biofilms based on water kefir grains, and compare them with edible films based on thermoplastic compounds from starch (TPS) obtained from taro (Colocasia esculenta) and cassava (Manihot esculenta). Edible biofilms were prepared in solution with 30% wt/wt glycerol relative to starch mass and kefir grain biofilms using the casting method. A stationary rheological analysis was performed on the film-forming suspensions of kefir, taro starch, and cassava starch. Once the films were obtained, a physicochemical and morphological characterization was carried out. Results of the characterization showed the following main aspects: The results indicated an increase in biomass production using muscovado and pineapple peel. The film-forming suspensions had a dilating behavior; however, the results obtained not only show the viscoelastic behavior but also the elastic limit (σ₀), which varied from 0.077 to 0.059 Pa for suspensions of water kefir grains and from 0.077 to 0.072 Pa for starch suspensions. These elastic limit variations can be defined as the minimum shear stress required to start the flow, and all these rheological data were adjusted to the Herschel–Bulkley model; the morphological and mechanical characterization of the films obtained showed homogeneous surfaces with transparency and without cracks; regarding the water activity, values lower than 6 were obtained, which indicates that there will be no growth of any microorganism, and the hardness data showed differences between those obtained from kefir and taro and cassava starch. The similar results of the rheological characterization in the formation of the kefir biofilm and the conventional edible starch films, in addition to the similar results in the water activity below 6 and the hardness, points to an attractive alternative capable of replacing the conventional materials with a mass production of biofilms of probiotic microorganisms. The results also revealed that water kefir grains biomass is a viable and innovative source of biodegradable materials, and these grains can be an alternative to conventional established starch materials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Hybrid Materials Based on Polymers: Design and Performance, Volume II)

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13 pages, 5301 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flexible, Strong and Multifunctional Anf@Ag Nanocomposite Film for Human Physiology and Motion Monitoring

by Haofan Long, Qing Li, Shulan Peng, Shiqiang Chen, Tonghua Zhang, Mingyuan Zhang, Minghua Li and Lei Chen

Processes 2022, 10(5), 961; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr10050961 - 11 May 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1695

Abstract

To expand the application range of flexible pressure sensors, endowing them with multifunction capabilities becomes extremely important. Herein, a flexible, strong and multifunctional nanocomposite film was prepared by introducing silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) into aramid nanofiber (ANF) film using a simple two-step vacuum filtration method. When the Ag content was 27.6 vol%, the electrical resistance of the resulting ANF@Ag nanocomposite film was as low as 1.63 Ω/cm², and the water contact angle of the nanocomposite film reached 153.9 ± 1°. Compared to the ANF film, the tensile strength of the nanocomposite film increased from 55 MPa to 66.3 MPa with an increase of 20.5%. After being applied to the human body, the nanocomposite film served as a pressure sensor that was able to recognize different stimuli for healthcare monitoring. Based on the advantages, it may become a potential candidate for electronic skin, intelligent wearable devices and medical detection equipment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Hybrid Materials Based on Polymers: Design and Performance, Volume II)

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Graphical abstract

12 pages, 5885 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Electrospun SF/PLGA/ICG Composite Nanofibrous Membranes for Potential Wound Healing and Tumor Therapy

by Jiale Zhou, Hai Wang, Haiyan Wu, Dongwei Lan, Yan Peng, Zhi Li and Fangyin Dai

Processes 2022, 10(5), 850; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr10050850 - 25 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1611

Abstract

Indocyanine green (ICG) is a near-infrared (NIR) organic reagent for clinical bioimaging and phototherapy. It is a suitable photosensitizer for photodynamic antimicrobial chemotherapy (PACT). In this study, various ICG-loaded nanofibrous membranes were prepared. The water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of SF/PLGA/20ICG was 3040.49 ± 157.11 g·m⁻² day⁻¹, which allowed the maintenance of a humid environment above the wound. The growth inhibition rates for S. aureus and E. coli were 91.53% and 87.95%, respectively. The nanofibrous membranes exhibited excellent antimicrobial performance. Cellular experiments showed that the nanofibrous membranes have good cytocompatibility and antitumor efficacy. SF/PLGA/20ICG showed good potential for application in wound healing and cancer therapy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Hybrid Materials Based on Polymers: Design and Performance, Volume II)

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15 pages, 4323 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Deposit and Characterization of Semiconductor Films Based on Maleiperinone and Polymeric Matrix of (Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene) Polystyrene Sulfonate)

by María Elena Sánchez Vergara, Sergio Barrientos Ramirez, Rafael Loaiza Alanis, Georgina Montes de Oca Ramírez, María Dolores Baeza Alvarado, Lioudmila Fomina, Citlalli Rios and Roberto Salcedo

Processes 2021, 9(10), 1776; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr9101776 - 04 Oct 2021

Viewed by 1975

Abstract

The development of small semiconductor molecules such as the maleiperinone, have gained importance due to their applications in optoelectronics. In this work semiconductor films composed by a polymer matrix of PEDOT:PSS (poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate) and maleiperinone were manufactured. The films used in the studies were deposited by vacuum evaporation and spin-coating techniques. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Infrared spectroscopy were used for the analysis of morphological and structural films. The fundamental and the onset of the direct and indirect band gaps were also obtained by UV-vis spectroscopy. The band-model theory and the Density-functional theory (DFT) calculations were applied to determine the optical parameters. The dipole moment is 3.33 Db, and the high polarity gives a signal of the heterogeneous charge distribution along the structure of maleiperinone. Simple devices were made from the films and their electrical behavior was subsequently evaluated. The presence of the polymer decreased the energy barrier between the film and the anode, favoring the transport of charges in the device. Graphene decreased the absorption and its ohmic behavior make it a candidate to be used as a transparent electrode in optoelectronic devices. Finally, the MoO₃ provides a behavior similar to a dielectric. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Hybrid Materials Based on Polymers: Design and Performance, Volume II)

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