The integration of high strength and toughness concurrently is a vital requirement for elastomers from the perspective of long-term durability and reliability. Unfortunately, these properties are generally conflicting in artificial materials. In the present work, we propose a facile strategy to simultaneously toughen and strengthen elastomers by constructing 3D segregated filler network via a simple

The intramolecular cross-linking of single polymer chains can form single-chain nanoparticles (SCNPs), which have many applications. In this study, styrenic copolymers with pendent triphenylphosphine as the coordination site for platinum ions (Pt(II)) and benzocyclobutene as the latent reactive groups are synthesized. Triphenylphosphine groups in the chains can coordinate Pt(II) and aid slight single-chain

The branching structures in natural rubber (NR) were believed to be critical for its superior mechanical properties. However, it is challenging to unravel the branching structure-function relationship of NR due to the complexity of the system. Herein, polyisoprene-(polyisoprene-g-polylactide) (PI-PLA) as model compound containing branching structure was designed and synthesized, which can improve the

Flexible and wearable strain sensors for human-computer interaction, health monitoring, and soft robotics have drawn widespread attention to promising applications in the next generation of artificial intelligence devices. However, conventional semiconductor sensors are difficult to meet the requirements of flexibility and stretchability. Here, we reported a kind of novel and simple sensor based on

New ambient sound absorption material, lightweight isocyanate-based polyimide foam (IBPIF), was fabricated by operable combination between different distinctive acoustic IBPIF. Cellular structure of IBPIF was facilely and obviously adjusted by increased slurry temperature corresponding to change in distinctive acoustic properties. Moreover, density of all IBPIF kept at only 12–17 kg/m3. With increasing

With the expanding application of capacitors, thermal resistant dielectric materials are in high demand due to the increasing harsh environments where the capacitors are needed and the heat generated by the capacitors. Herein, we present polyarylene ether nitrile and titanium dioxide hybrids which can be used as thermal resistant dielectrics for these capacitors. Phthalonitrile modified titanium dioxide

Elastomeric vitrimers with covalent adaptable networks are promising candidates to overcome the intrinsic drawbacks of conventional covalently-crosslinked elastomers; however, most elastomeric vitrimers show poor mechanical properties and require the addition of exogenous catalysts. Herein, we fabricate a catalyst-free and mechanically robust elastomeric vitrimer by constructing a segregated structure

Oriented “shish-kebab” structures could be obtained by shearing to enhance the mechanical properties of polymer samples markedly. However, the effect of shear mode on mechanical properties is still uncertain. The study of stepped hoop shear field on the isotactic polypropylene (iPP) pipe was developed through applying a self-designed rotational shear system (RSS). The effect of stepped shear field

4-Aminophenylalanine (4APhe), an exotic amino acid which is obtained as a microorganism metabolite of glucose, is polycondensed with various tetracarboxylic dianhydrides as a diamine monomer to obtain poly(amic acid)s. Subsequent thermal imidization of poly(amic acid)s is made at 220 °C with stepwise heating from 100 °C. Some of the obtained polyimides (PIs) exhibited good solubility in organic solvents

Cellulose diacetate (CDA) can be melt-processed to produce numerous and widely-used plastic products. However, due to the high glass transition temperature (Tg) of CDA, the addition of up to 30 wt% of micromolecular plasticizers is indispensable, which significantly reduces the dimensional stability and raises safety concerns from the migration of plasticizers. In this work, a series of CDA-graft-poly(lactic

Chitin is an abundant natural nitrogen-containing biopolymer with great application potential in materials, environment, energy, and health. However, the structure characteristics and processing technologies have required intense research in related applications. In particular, there have been great efforts to developing solvents for chitin, and the results so far are quite encouraging. This review

Polypeptides have been widely utilized in the fields of biomaterials and biomedicine. Ever since N-carboxyanhydride (NCA) was reported by Hermann Leuchs in 1906, ring-opening polymerization of NCAs has been extensively used to prepare polypeptides. Despite continuous innovations, it is still challenging to synthesize polypeptides in high molecular weight efficiently. To address this challenge, we developed

Developing an effective method for improving the reproducibility of positive temperature coefficient (PTC) effect is of great significance for large-scale application of polymer based PTC composites, owing to its contribution to the security and reliability. Herein, we developed a carbon black (CB)/high density polyethylene (HDPE)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) composite with outstanding PTC reproducibility

The design and fabrication of conductive hydrogels with high stretchability, compressibility, self-healing properties and good adhesion remains a significant challenge. We have fabricated composite hydrogels by random polymerization of acrylic acid (AA) and dopamine (DA) in the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). The π-π interaction between DA and MWCNTs makes MWCNTs stably and homogenously

Thermal properties such as melting temperature can well reflect the microstructure of the polymer material, and have practical implications in the application of nanofibers. In this work, we investigated the melting temperature of individual electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofibers with diameters ranging from smaller than 200 nm to greater than 2 µm by the local thermal analysis technique

Although tremendous efforts have been devoted to the structural and functional tailoring of natural polyphenol-functionalized nanoparticles, preparing ultrasmall sized (< 6 nm) particles with precisely-defined structures has remained a grand challenge. In this work, we reported the preparation of ultra-small and precisely structured polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS)-based polyphenol nanoparticles

The composition and structure of polymer largely determine the properties of its final products. As a novel polymer material, the composition, structure, and properties of the isotactic polypropylene/polybutene-1 in-reactor alloy (iPP/iPB alloy) synthesized by sequential two-stage polymerization with Ziegler-Natta catalyst were correlated for the first time in this work. The iPP/iPB alloy was fractionated

The catalytic activity and stereospecificity of olefin polymerization by using heterogeneous TiCl4/MgCl2 Ziegler-Natta (Z-N) catalysts are determined by the structure and nature of active centers, which are mysterious and fairly controversial. In this work, the propylene polymerization kinetics under different polymerization temperatures by using Z-N catalysts were investigated through monitoring the

Surface design and engineering is a critical tool to improve the interaction of materials with their surroundings. Immobilization of soft hydrogels is one of the attractive strategies to achieve surface modification. The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the different strategies used for surface tethering of hydrogel layers via crosslinking immobilization of pre-fabricated

The isotactic polypropylene (iPP) usually shows a unique parent-daughter lamellae structure in which the parent and daughter lamellae are against each other with a near perpendicular angle (80° or 100°). Inducing a high fraction of oriented cross-hatched structure in iPP during processing is desirable for designing the bi-oriented iPP products. We processed a commercial iPP via tensile-stretching and

In this work, hydroxyl-terminated oxalamide compounds N1,N2-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)oxalamide (OXA1) and N1, N1′-(ethane-1,2-diyl)bis(N2-(2-hydroxyethyl)oxalamide (OXA2) were synthesized to initiate the ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide for preparation of oxalamide-hybridized poly(L-lactide) (PLAOXA), i.e., PLAOXA1 and PLAOXA2. The crystallization properties of PLA were improved by the self-assembly

Poly(L-lactic acid) (PLLA) has drawn much attention due to its excellent medical and pharmaceutical applications for decades. As a semi-crystalline polymer, morphology and crystal structure of PLLA greatly determine its properties. Here, we demonstrate, for PLLA films, a non-conventional texture featuring two types of spherulites emerging in pairs to form a distinct nested structure where a small spherulite

Controlling the formation of the conductive network in the polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) is very meaningful to enhance their electrical property. In this work, we investigated the effect of grafted nanoparticles (NPs) on the conductive probability of PNCs in the quiescent state as well as under the shear field via a coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation. It is found that the smallest percolation

In lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), separators play a vital role in lithium-ion (Li+) transport, and thus affect rate performance, battery life, and safety. Here, a new kind of multifunctional copolymer poly(acrylonitrile-co-lithium acrylate-co-butyl acrylate) (PAAB-Li) is synthesized through soap-free emulsion polymerization, and is used to form homogeneous-covered separator based on PP matrix by a simple

The authors regret that Fig. 4(c) was misplaced by the first author originally. The corrected version of Fig. 4 is provided below. The quantitative analysis shown in Fig. 4(b) is not changed, and thus the conclusions related to Fig. 4 and reported in this article are not altered. Additional text corrections are not needed. The authors apologize for any inconvenience caused.

The multiple endothermic peaks without observable recrystallization phenomenon of isomorphous poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) [P(HB-co-HV)] with the middle HV content of 19.4 mol% and 28.7 mol% were confirmed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the evolutions of crystal structure and lamellar morphology in the heating and melting process were tracked by in situ synchrotron

Solid-state cooling based on caloric effects is considered a viable alternative to replace the conventional vapor-compression refrigeration systems. Regarding barocaloric materials, recent results show that elastomers are promising candidates for cooling applications around room-temperature. In the present paper, we report supergiant barocaloric effects observed in acetoxy silicone rubber—a very popular

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technology is a facile method for constructing thin film composite membrane. Herein, a novel nanofiltration (NF) membrane was prepared by LbL assembly of polyethyleneimine (PEI) and sodium lignosulfonate (LS) followed by cross-linking. The surface composition, morphology, and property of PEI/LS bilayer were detailedly investigated by FTIR/ATR, XPS, SEM, AFM, and water

The controlled and efficient synthesis of polymers with tailored topologies is challenging but important for exploring structure/property research. Herein, we proposed a concept of macro-latent monomer to achieve the controlled growth of polymer topologies. The macro-latent monomer was installed by a dynamic furan/maleimide covalent bond at the chain terminal. One-shot reversible addition-fragmentation

Polymer microspheres with uniform size, composition, and surface property have gained extensive researches in past decades. Conventional bottom-up approaches are using monomers or oligomers to build up desired polymer microspheres. However, directly shaping high-molecular-weight polymers into well-ordered polymer microspheres remains a great challenge. Herein, we reported a facile and efficient top-down

As a widely used reinforcing filler of rubber, carbon black (CB) often enhances the nonlinear Payne effect and its mechanism still remains controversial. We adopt simultaneous measurement of rheological and electrical behaviors for styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR)/CB compounds and CB gel (CBG) during large deformation/recovery to investigate the contribution of conductive CB network evolution to the

Green monomers, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), are closely related to our daily life and highly desirable to be transferred to functional polymers with diverse structures and versatile properties because they are abundant, cheap, nontoxic, renewable, and sustainable. However, the polymerizations based on these green monomers are to be further developed. In this work, a facile CO2 and alkyne-based one-pot

Transparency is often an important property in the practical applications of temperature-responsive shape-memory gels. We investigated the mechanism of significant transparency improvement upon a change in two copolymer gels with their molar ratios between stearyl acrylate and N, N-dimethylacrylamide from 1:1 to 0.75:1. By means of Flash DSC measurement, we made the thermal analysis characterization

The structural evolutions of LLDPE-LMW/HMW blend during uniaxial deformation at temperatures of 80 and 120 °C were investigated by the in situ synchrotron radiation small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SR-SAXS/WAXS). The magic sandwich echo (MSE) sequence was used to detect a virtually dead-time-free induction decay (FID) for solid-state NMR analysis. The thermal property of the blend was first

A series of thermoresponsive cationic dendronized copolymers and their corresponding nanogels containing dendritic oligoethylene glycol (OEG) units and guanidine groups were prepared, and their complexation, protection, and release of nucleic acids were investigated. The dendritic OEGs endow these copolymer materials with good biocompatibility and characteristic thermoresponsiveness, while cationic

Poly(lactide), PLA, suffers from brittleness and low heat deflection temperature (HDT), which limits its application as an engineering plastic. In this work, poly(L-lactide)/poly(D-lactide)/ethylene-vinyl acetate-glycidyl methacrylate random copolymer (PLLA/PDLA/EVM-GMA = 1/1/x) composites were prepared by melt blending, and the in situ formed EVM-g-PLA copolymers improved the compatibility between

The objective of this study was to improve the toughness of bio-based brittle poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF) by melt blending with bio-based polyamide11 (PA11) in the presence of a reactive multifunctional epoxy compatibilizer (Joncryl ADR®-4368). The morphological, thermal, rheological, and mechanical properties of PEF/PA11 blends were investigated. Compared with neat PEF, the toughness

A series of Salen-Co(II) complexes were synthesized to study the effect of O2 on the catalytic performance of Salen-Co complexes for the copolymerization of PO/CO2. The Salen-Co(II) complexes showed low activity on the cyclo-addition of CO2 to PO with the aid of a cocatalyst such as PPNCl. Unexpectedly, with the addition of O2, the activity of Salen-Co(II) complexes was obviously increased and 100%

Polyimide (PI) synthesized from aromatic diamine and dianhydrides via two-step poly-condensation method was highly soluble in TGDDM (MY-720) and DGEBA (E-51) at desirable temperature. TGDDM-PI (M-PI) and DGEBA-PI (E-PI) composites within 0.5%-3% PI loading could be prepared without organic solvent. On the cryogenically fractured surfaces of M-PI and E-PI composites, no obvious heterogeneous phase was

The aging behaviors and mechanism of fluoroelastomer (FKM) under lubricating oil (FKM-O) and air (FKM-A, as a comparison) at elevated temperatures were studied from both physical and chemical viewpoints. The obvious changes of mechanical and swelling performances indicate that the coupling effect of lubricating oil and temperature causes more serious deterioration of FKM-O compared to that of FKM-A

In this study, wide bandgap (WBG) two-dimensional (2D) copolymer donors (DZ1, DZ2, and DZ3) based on benzodithiophene (BDT) on alkoxyphenyl conjugated side chains without and with different amounts of chlorine atoms and difluorobenzotriazole (FBTZ) are designed and synthesized successfully for efficient non-fullerene polymer solar cells (PSCs). Three polymer donors DZ1, DZ2, and DZ3 display similar

A series of polyimide (PI) films derived from pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA) were prepared with the employment of chemical pre-imidization, and the pre-imidization degree (pre-ID) was found influential on structures and properties of the films obtained. Specifically, a certain degree of chemical imidization could promote the in-plane orientation of molecular chains inside

High transparency and toughness are prerequisites for sustainable polymers if they are to find wide application as alternatives to petroleum-based polymers. However, the utility of sustainable polymers such as commercially available polylactide (PLA) is limited by their inherent brittleness and high cost. Unfortunately, toughening PLA-based materials via cost-effective blending strategies without sacrificing

The mechanism of nucleating agents (NAs) accelerating the crystallization of semi-crystalline polymers has received continuous attention due to the extreme importance in academic research and industry application. In this work, the nucleation effect and probable mechanism of 1,3:2,4-bis(3,4-dimethylbenzylidene)sorbitol (DMDBS) on promoting the crystallization of syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) was

A convenient tape-casting method was applied to prepare high performance aromatic polyamide (PA) films based on Technora®. During the polycondensation, CaO was introduced to improve the solubility of the PA resin, and the generated halides were totally removed from the film via a simple water bath, without leaving any defects in PA films. The factors of processing temperature and immersion time had

Nanoporous polymer film with a hexagonal columnar (Colh) structure was fabricated by templated hydrogen-bonding discotic liquid crystals containing methacrylate functional group. The supramolecular hydrogen-bonded complex T3Ph-L is composed of a 1,3,5-tris(1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)benzene (T3Ph) core molecule as the hydrogen-bonding acceptor and 3,4,5-tris((11-(methacryloyloxy)undecyl)oxy)benzoic acid

The crystalline and amorphous regions were alternately arranged in the hard elastic polypropylene (PP) films with row-nucleated lamellae. In this work, their structure evolution during stretching and recovery at room temperature was followed and the elastic recovery mechanism was discussed by twice cyclic tensile experiment. During the first stretching to 100%, the lamellae crystals are parallel separated

In this work, the formation of cocontinuous structure in immiscible high density polyethylene/isotactic polypropylene (HDPE/iPP) blends was investigated for various olefin-based compatibilizers of distinct molecular architectures, including ternary random copolymer EPDM, olefin block copolymer (OBC), polypropylene-based OBC (PP-OBC), ethylene/a-olefin copolymer (POE), bottlebrush polymer poly(1-dodecene)

Electrospun poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) nanofiber web has been widely utilized as a functional material in various flexible sensors and generators due to its high piezoelectricity, ease processability, and low cost. Among all the crystalline phases of PVDF, β-phase is a key property for PVDF nanofiber web, because the content of β-phase is directly proportional to piezoelectric performance of

This study aims to disclose the thermo-oxidative degradation behaviors and kinetics of a carbon fiber reinforced polyimide (CFRPI) composite for modeling of the long-term degradation process. The degradation behaviors were revealed through off-gas products analysis, and the overall kinetic interpretation was achieved from study of the mass-loss curves recorded under dynamic conditions. It was found

In this contribution, we reported the preparation of vitrimers by using commodity thermoplastics via post crosslinking with hindered urea bonds (HUBs). First, three hindered urea diisocyanates (HUDIs) were synthesized via the reactions of N,N’-di-tert-butylethylenediamine, N,N’-diethylethylenediamine, and piperazine with isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI). Thereafter, these HUDIs were used as the crosslinking

In order to explore new substitutes for 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) or poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF) and try to develop more ideal bio-based polyesters, several thiophene-aromatic polyesters (PETH, PPTH, PBTH, and PHTH) were synthesized from dimethyl thiophene-2,5-dicarboxylate (DMTD) and different diols, including ethylene glycol, 1,3-propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, and 1,6-hexanediol

Two new ionic porous organic polymers (iPOPs) with different counter anions were successfully fabricated via well-known pyrylium mediated transformation into pyridinium. 13C solid-state NMR, XPS, and FTIR were analyzed and confirmed the formation of pyridinium in the network. Containing charged and aromatic networks, both iPOPs exhibit a high affinity towards toxic hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) ions.

Stereoblock polypropylenes bearing isotactic, atactic, and syndiotactic polypropylene segments were successfully prepared by dry methyl aluminoxane activated binary catalysts system, Ph2CFluCpZrCl2 and {Me2Si(2,5-Me2-3-(2-MePh)-cyclopento[2,3-b]thiophen-6-yl)2}ZrCl2, in the presence of iBu3Al as a chain shuttling agent. By studying the catalyst activity, chain transfer efficiency, and reversibility

The Theological property evolution of polyamide 1012 (PA1012) in the isothermal process in molten state has been investigated. The results show that the viscosity increases and crosslinking reaction occurs simultaneously together with the increase of temperature, thus causing the variation of storage modulus (G′) and loss modulus (G″) in the repeated frequency sweeps with residual time. This research

It remains a significant challenge to fabricate self-healing aerogels with excellent flame retardancy. Herein, we develop a class of biomass aerogels by electrostatically assembling chitosan (CS), phytic acid (PA), and itaconic acid (IA). The electrostatic interaction between CS and IA is weak and dynamic, so freeze-drying the solution of CS and IA enables the formation of continuous aerogel skeleton

The substantial increase in the efficiency of organic solar cells achieved in recent years would not have been possible without work on the synthesis of new materials and understanding the relationship between the morphology and performance of organic photovoltaic devices. The structure of solvent-cast active layers is a result of phase separation in mixtures of donor and acceptor components. To a

The activation and deactivation of the chain-transfer agent were achieved by oxygen initiation and regulation with triethylborane under ambient temperature and atmosphere. The autoxidation of triethylborane overcame the oxygen inhibition and produced initiating radicals that selectively activate the chain-transfer agent for the chain growth or deactivate the active chain-end of polymer in controlled

In order to promote the thermostability of α-diimine nickel complex by ligand backbone structure, a series of α-diimine nickel complexes with substituents on acenaphthequinone backbone were synthesized and used as catalysts for ethylene polymerization. When the hydroxyethyl phenoxyl group was introduced to the acenaphthequinone-backbone, the thermal stability and activity of the catalyst could be significantly

Converting renewable cellulose into glucose via cellulase catalysis for further production of biofuel has been recognized as one of the most promising ways for solving energy crisis. However, the hydrolysis performance of immobilized cellulase was not satisfactory for practical application due to the reduced catalytic efficiency and lack of β-glucosidase (BG) component in cellulase. Here, a facile