CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
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2024
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IF 13.3
Tingting Luo,Yinbo Zhao,Kunkun Fu,Xiaoyu Cui,Biqiong Chen
Two-point initiation of frontal polymerizations (FPs) is a highly promising approach to enhance the curing efficiency of epoxy resins. However, the mechanical properties may be compromised due to the void accumulation at the merging interface. In this study, we proposed a two-point FP strategy for the rapid and energy-efficient manufacturing of epoxy resins without compromising their mechanical properties. First, density function theory (DFT) calculations were performed to elucidate the microscopic mechanism of FP. The voids and chemical composition of the merger by two-point FPs were characterized by X-ray micro-computed tomography and thermogravimetric analyzer coupled with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, aiming to comprehend the frontal characteristics and mechanical properties of the cured epoxy resins. The results revealed that high temperature generated during FP led to intense resin pyrolysis, resulting in significant gas formation (e.g. CO 2 ) at high initiator concentration. These gas products became trapped at the merger as columnar-like voids, thereby compromising the mechanical properties of cured epoxy resins. Finally, we established a processing window for efficient fabrication of high-performance epoxy resins by simultaneously tailoring the number of initiation points, initiator concentration and initial resin temperature. The results demonstrated this strategy could significantly reduce curing time and enhanced energy efficiency without sacrificing mechanical performance of epoxy resins compared to conventional techniques.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
RSC Advances
·
2023
·Vol. 13
·期 9
·5667-5673
·
IF 3.9
Bin Li,Haibo Qin,Ming Ma,Xiaojia Xu,Mengjing Zhou,Wenrui Hao,Zhigang Hu
In this paper, betaine (Bet) was used as a hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA), and acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) were used as hydrogen bond donors (HBD) and mixed to form a deep eutectic solvent (DES). Different concentrations of β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) were dispersed in the DES, and a novel β-CD/P(AA-co-AM) hydrogel was prepared by frontal polymerization (FP). The characteristic structure and morphology of the hydrogels were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the properties of the hydrogels were investigated. The results show that the mechanical properties of the hydrogel were improved by β-CD acting as a second cross-linking agent in the polymerization process, thus increasing the cross-link density of the hydrogel. Because the carboxyl groups contained in the acrylic acid dissociate under alkaline conditions, the composite hydrogel shows excellent pH responsiveness under alkaline conditions. Tetracycline hydrochloride was used as a drug model to test the drug loading and drug release performance of the hydrogels. With the increase of β-CD content, the loading capacity of the hydrogels for tetracycline hydrochloride gradually increased. The data of drug release indicated that the hydrogel has good drug delivery performance and has promising applications in drug delivery systems and other areas.
研究领域:
材料科学
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药学
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化学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2024
·
IF 13.3
Jiongfeng Sun,Wei Liu,Song Chen,Guofu Qiao,Heng Zhang
Designing underwater structural materials and adhesives with short polymerization time yet high strength is in pressing demand in many applications such as underwater construction and repair. In this work, a controlled underwater synthesis method, UV-initiated front polymerization (FP), for the fast preparation of high-strength epoxy composites and adhesives is proposed, and the whole fabrication progresses within several minutes. The epoxy-premixed solution was divided into A/B two-component forms to prevent pre-polymerization and significantly extended shelf life. The instantaneous flexural and compressive strengths of epoxy composites exceeded 14 MPa and 24 MPa underwater, respectively, with a self-propagation velocity of 41.6 mm min −1 . Furthermore, the polymer composites exhibited long-term underwater durability. In addition, the epoxy-premixed solution could bond steel, aluminum, ceramic, and glass underwater within 1 d using FP with apparent shear strengths reaching 4.4 MPa, 3.9 MPa, 7 MPa, and 3.6 MPa, respectively. This in-situ underwater polymerization strategy presents a new method for rapidly creating structural materials, in-situ repair, 3D printing, and more.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
RSC Advances
·
2022
·Vol. 12
·期 30
·19022-19028
·
IF 4.036
Bin Li,Xiaojia Xu,Zhigang Hu,Yongjing Li,Mengjing Zhou,Jizhen Liu,Yajun Jiang,Peng Wang
Deep eutectic solvent (DES) was prepared by using acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) as hydrogen bonding donors (HBD) and choline chloride (ChCl) as hydrogen bonding receptors (HBA). Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) were dispersed in DES as fillers, and N-CNTs/P(AA-co-AM) composite hydrogels were prepared by FP. The interaction mode between the hydrogel and N-CNTs was characterized by Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties, pH response and electrical conductivity of the composite hydrogels were studied. The results showed that the mechanical properties of the hydrogel were significantly enhanced with the increase of N-CNT content. The tensile strength and compressive strength of the FP4 composite hydrogel reached 5.42 MPa and 4.29 MPa, respectively. Due to the dissociation of carboxyl groups in AA in an alkaline environment the composite hydrogel showed excellent pH response performance. The conductivity of the hydrogel was also found to be improved with the content of N-CNTs. When the content of N-CNTs is 1.0 wt%, the conductivity of the hydrogel was 4.2 times higher than that of the hydrogel without N-CNTs, and connecting it to a circuit can make an LED lamp emit bright light. In this study, a simple and green method was proposed to prepare composite hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties and electrical conductivity by FP of DES in less than 5 min.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Materials
·
2024
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IF 3.1
Bin Li,Aolin Wu,Mengjing Zhou,Ying Wang,Zhigang Hu,Lihua Su
This study aimed to develop composite hydrogels with exceptional piezoelectric properties and pressure sensitivity. To achieve the objective, this study created a deep eutectic solvent (DES) by mixing choline chloride (ChCl), acrylamide (AM), and acrylic acid (AA). Barium titanate nanoparticles (BTNPs) were incorporated as fillers into the deep eutectic solvents (DES) to synthesize the composite hydrogels using frontal polymerization (FP). The mechanical and piezoelectric properties of the resulting composite hydrogels were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This study found that the BTNPs/P(AM-co-AA) composite hydrogels exhibited excellent mechanical and piezoelectric properties. This is attributed to the high dielectric constant of BTNPs and the electrode polarization phenomenon when subjected to pressure. With a BTNPs content of 0.6 wt%, the maximum compressive strength increased by 3.68 times compared with the hydrogel without added BTNPs. Moreover, increasing the BTNPs content to 0.6 wt% resulted in a 1.48 times increase in generated voltage under the same pressure, compared with the hydrogel with only 0.2 wt% BTNPs. This study provides a method for preparing composite hydrogels with outstanding piezoelectric properties and pressure sensitivity.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
RSC Advances
·
2023
·Vol. 13
·期 17
·11530-11536
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IF 3.9
Bin Li,Aolin Wu,Wenrui Hao,Jizhen Liu,Zhigang Hu,Ying Wang
Deep eutectic solvent (DES) was synthesized from urea (U), acrylamide (AM) and choline chloride (ChCl), sodium alginate (SA) was selected as filler, and SA/P(U-AM-ChCl) composite hydrogel was prepared by thermal initiation frontal polymerization (FP). The hydrogels were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effects of SA on the swelling properties, mechanical properties and self-healing properties of the composite hydrogels were investigated. The results show that the swelling properties of the composite hydrogel with the addition of SA are greatly enhanced due to the large number of hydroxyl groups contained in the SA chain. The tensile strength of the hydrogel gradually increased with increasing SA content, with the maximum tensile strength increasing by a factor of 2.89. The self-healing efficiency of the composite hydrogel gradually increased with the increase of SA, and the healing rate of FP5 reached 94.4% after 48 h of healing. This study provides a simple and rapid method for the preparation of composite hydrogels with good mechanical properties and self-healing properties.
研究领域:
材料科学
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高分子化学
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
RSC Advances
·
2021
·Vol. 11
·期 56
·35268-35273
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IF 3.361
Bin Li,Jizhen Liu,Dandan Fu,Yongjing Li,Xiaojia Xu,Ming Cheng
In this study, a simple and eco-friendly method was proposed to efficiently prepare nanocomposite hydrogels with excellent mechanical properties and satisfactory pH response behaviour by frontal polymerization (FP) of DEM in close to 4 minutes. Acrylamide (AM) and choline chloride (ChCl) were used as raw materials to synthesize deep eutectic monomers (DEMs). Nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes were dispersed in DEMs as fillers, and poly(acrylamide)/nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (PAM/N-CNT) nanocomposite hydrogels were prepared by FP. The non-covalent interactions between PAM hydrogels and N-CNTs was verified by Fourier infrared spectroscopy. The mechanical properties of PAM/N-CNT nanocomposite hydrogels were investigated, as well as the swelling and pH response properties. The results showed that the compressive strength of PAM hydrogels was significantly enhanced by the addition of N-CNTs due to the hydrophobic interaction of N-CNTs, which also causes sensitive response properties of the PAM hydrogels in acid solution.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
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2024
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IF 8.1
Ya-Lan Zhao,Yin Li,Rong Chen,Liangliang Zhu,Guo-Xing Li,Hai-Xia Shen,Qing Li,Su Chen
The scarcity of freshwater has become a growing threat for human life, which sparks intense interests in hydrogel evaporator towards seawater desalination. Thus, methods allowing the rapid synthesis of high-performance hydrogel evaporator is highly desirable. In this work, we develop polyzwitterionic hydrogel by using zwitterionic monomer (2-Methacryloyloxy)ethyl]dimethyl-(3-sulfopropy, DMAPS) via frontal polymerization (FP) method, which is time- and energy-saving, allowing the preparation of hydrogels within several minutes. Meanwhile, the polyzwitterionic hydrogel shows higher swelling ratios and water evaporation performance than that prepared by common strategy. The polyzwitterionic hydrogel has anti-polyelectrolyte effects, showing electrostatic interaction between the anionic/cationic groups and salt ions, which is beneficial to the swelling capacity and evaporation performance in high salinity brines. Specially, by regulating the DMAPS content, a maximum seawater evaporation rate of 3.62 kg·m −2 h −1 under simulated sunlight and a maximum seawater evaporation rate of 3.57 kg·m −2 h −1 under natural sunlight are achieved, which holds great potentials in seawater desalination. This work proposes a polyzwitterionic hydrogel with high evaporation rate in seawater via a facile FP strategy, which enables the preparation of a variety of high-performance hydrogel evaporators in a rapid fashion.
研究领域:
材料科学
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环境科学
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ACS Applied Polymer Materials
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2022
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IF 4.855
Jin Zhao,Ji-Dong Liu,Haixia Shen,Min Guo,Qing Li,Cai-Feng Wang,Chang Liu,Su Chen
The hydrogel artificial muscle has demonstrated enormous potential in various applications, such as soft robotics and actuators. However, the poor mechanical properties have always limited the practical applications of hydrogels. Here, we designed a Zr4+ coordinated and vinyl hybrid silica nanoparticle (VSNP) grafted poly(acrylamide-co-2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (VSNP@poly(AM-co-AMPS)-Zr4+) via frontal polymerization (FP). Benefiting from the synergistic effect of the polymer–nanocomposite interaction (VSNP nanocomposite) and metal ion–ligand interactions (Zr4+–sulfonate group coordination), the mechanical properties of hydrogels can be extremely improved. In addition, a deformable hydrogel with gradient structure and swelling ratio was designed through introducing Zr4+ to one side of the hydrogel, which can serve as an artificial muscle to accomplish multiple moving activities, such as bending and grabbing. This work offers an easy-to-perform strategy to construct mechanically strong hydrogels, which might promote the development of artificial muscle materials.
研究领域:
材料科学
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软体机器人
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生物医学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
COMPOSITES COMMUNICATIONS
·
2025
·
IF 7.7
Zhikang He,Rulin Shen,Taizhi Liu,Shuqi He,Yanling Gong
Manufacturing high-performance glass fiber epoxy composites (GFRP) through radical-induced cationic frontal polymerization (RICFP) is challenging. Achieving high fiber content is difficult due to low resin levels and inadequate chemical reactivity. This study systematically investigates the effects of ultraviolet (UV) light and local thermal initiation on RICFP using bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) epoxy resin as the substrate. The preferred initiation method was identified, and the enthalpy change and thermal equilibrium of the resin's RICFP reaction were effectively controlled by optimizing preheating conditions, resin composition, and the initiator ratio. A method for preparing high-fiber-volume GFRP via RICFP was also proposed. Experimental results revealed that GFRP prepared by UV-initiated RICFP exhibited a 13.8 % increase in flexural strength, alongside an 11.8 % reduction in frontal temperature compared to local thermal initiation. By optimizing the resin composition for the RICFP process, a fiber volume fraction of up to 52 % was achieved. The frontal polymerization specimen's flexural strength increased by 27.7 % and 28.7 %, while its interlaminar fracture toughness improved by 11.9 % and 50.9 %, respectively, compared to the two thermal curing specimens (SEP-Heat Cured and BADGE-Heat Cured). Furthermore, dynamic thermomechanical analysis (DMA) demonstrated significant enhancements in the glass transition temperature, with increases of 69.14 % and 139.53 %, respectively. This study provides both a theoretical foundation and technical guidelines for the RICFP process, aiming to produce high-performance GFRP with a high fiber volume fraction.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）