JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE PART A-POLYMER CHEMISTRY
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2018
·Vol. 56
·期 13
·1412-1423
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IF 2.588
Nigus Mesele Tsegay,Xiang-Yun Du,Si-Si Liu,Cai-Feng Wang,Su Chen
Frontal polymerization (FP) is applied for the synthesis of β-cyclodextrin/poly(vinylimidazole- co -N-vinylcaprolactam- co -acrylic acid) (β-CD/P(VI- co -NVCL- co -AA)) copolymers. The dependence of frontal velocity and temperature on the initiator and cross-linker are discussed. The synthesized copolymers have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermo-pH dual-stimuli responsive behavior of the hydrogel is determined by swelling measurement at different temperatures and pH values. Besides, the hydrogels show intrinsic self-healing behavior and their healing efficiency is determined by the mechanical tests. Interestingly, we integrate FP with microfluidic technology, which may realize the execution of FP under continuous condition. Such simple microfluidics-FP integrated approach has both methodological and practical value for the synthesis of functional materials. This paper mainly presents the synthesis and characterization of β-cyclodextrin/poly(vinylimidazole- co -N-vinylcaprolactam- co -acrylic acid) (β-CD/P(VI- co -NVCL- co -AA)) copolymers by using thermal frontal polymerization (TFP). Hydrogels were found to be self-healing with good mechanical performance and show dual thermo-pH responsive behavior. Low-cost, energy-saving and efficient method of thermal frontal polymerization process was integrated with microfluidics technology to prepare supraball hydrogel. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2018 , 56 , 1412–1423
研究领域:
材料科学
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高分子化学
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高影响因子
EUROPEAN POLYMER JOURNAL
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2026
·
IF 6.3
Jia-Le Lu,Jiawei Wang,Jingjing Ning,Rong Chen,Haixia Shen,Guo-Xing Li,Qing Li,Su Chen
Conventional microfluidic chips, fabricated from rigid polymers like polydimethylsiloxane, fail to recapitulate the dynamic and compliant nature of the native extracellular matrix (ECM), limiting their broader applications in biomedicine. In contrast, hydrogel-based microfluidic chips offer a promising alternative. However, their fabrication remains challenging due to the structural fragility, often requiring multi-step processes and secondary bonding. Here, we report a paradigm-shifting strategy for the monolithic fabrication of hydrogel-based microfluidic chips by leveraging the unique spatiotemporal control of aqueous frontal polymerization (FP). We employ 3D-printed polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a sacrificial template, which is encapsulated and preserved within a propagating polymerization front. The Transient reaction zone rapidly solidifies the hydrogel matrix within minutes, enabling the sacrificial template in its pristine state without significant deformation. Subsequent removal of the template yields complex, high-fidelity, and leak-free microchannels, avoiding post-fabrication bonding. The resulting hydrogel chip exhibits robust mechanical properties, anti-swelling capacity, antibacterial activity, and superior biocompatibility, providing great potentials for biomedical applications. This FP-directed fabrication method provides great convenience for precise control over channel geometries and sizes, paving a new avenue for creating next-generation all- hydrogel biomimetic microfluidic platforms.
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JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE
·
2022
·Vol. 60
·期 19
·2784-2793
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IF 3.046
Yue Yang,Jie Hu,Ji-Dong Liu,Ying Qin,Jian Mao,Yunzheng Liang,Gefei Wang,Haixia Shen,Cai-Feng Wang,Su Chen
Hydrogels have been attracting much attention as smart soft materials. The exploration of methods allowing hydrogels to have anisotropic composition, structure, and properties would benefit the fabrication of smart materials with versatile multi-functions. Here we report the rapid frontal polymerization (FP) of bilayer hydrogels possessing good water swelling, mechanical strength, self-healing, biocompatibility, and antibacterial capabilities. The bilayer hydrogels, consisting of poly(AM- co -AMPS) ( G-1 ) and poly(AM- co -HPA) ( G-2 ) (AM, acrylamide; AMPS, 2-acrylamide-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid; HPA, hydroxypropyl acrylate), are synthesized in one step within 6 minutes (min) by horizontal FP. These polymer hydrogels have hierarchical porous morphology with pore sizes of several micrometers and several hundreds of micrometers respectively, equilibrium swelling ratio up to 3371% in water, tensile strength up to 0.204 MPa, and self-healing ability. The good cytocompatibility and low toxicity of the hydrogels are demonstrated through cell culture of L929 fibroblasts in vitro experiments. The tests of hydrogels with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus reveal their antibacterial property. The results demonstrate that biocompatible anisotropic hydrogels with versatile functions could be fabricated via the rapid and energy-saving approach of FP. Graphical
研究领域:
材料科学
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生物医学工程
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高分子化学
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高影响因子
COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING
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2025
·
IF 8.9
Xiyang Su,Weixi Gao,Sepideh Sadat Hosseini Noorabadi,Yihao Li,Patrick Ryan Galligan,Yapeng Chen,Xingyi Zhang,Jinglei Yang
As an emerging low-energy-consumption and rapid-processing technique, frontal polymerization (FP) has garnered increasing attention due to its significant potential in free-standing three-dimensional printing, advanced composite manufacturing etc. However, effects from thermal expansion, chemical shrinkage, and nonuniform reaction propagation during the FP process inevitably generate gradient deformations at the FP front, adversely affecting the mechanical properties of the final processed components. To elucidate the intrinsic deformation mechanisms of polymer materials during FP and optimize their mechanical performance after polymerization, we employ a representative dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) gel system for investigation. In this study, simultaneous temperature and strain measurement revealed anisotropic deformation patterns of DCPD gels during FP. Meanwhile, experimental and numerical studies investigated the strain evolution of DCPD gels during both single and multi-point initiation of FP, revealing that the maximum compressive strain in uncured regions gradually decreased with increasing pre-curing degree but increased with rising width. Finally, mechanical characterization results show that, as the pre-curing degree increases, both compressive and tensile performances of polydicyclopentadiene are progressively enhanced, with yield strengths under tension and compression at 77 K significantly exceeding those at room temperature. These findings provide an experimental and theoretical foundation for high-performance material fabrication based on FP of gel-state systems.
研究领域:
高分子科学
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材料工程
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热加工
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增材制造
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智能材料
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高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
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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
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高影响因子
Gels
·
2023
·Vol. 9
·期 5
·380
·
IF 4.6
Ying Qin,Hao Li,Hai-Xia Shen,Cai-Feng Wang,Su Chen
Hydrogels have received increasing interest owing to their excellent physicochemical properties and wide applications. In this paper, we report the rapid fabrication of new hydrogels possessing a super water swelling capacity and self-healing ability using a fast, energy-efficient, and convenient method of frontal polymerization (FP). Self-sustained copolymerization of acrylamide (AM), 3-[Dimethyl-[2-(2-methylprop-2-enoyloxy)ethyl]azaniumyl]propane-1-sulfonate (SBMA), and acrylic acid (AA) within 10 min via FP yielded highly transparent and stretchable poly(AM-co-SBMA-co-AA) hydrogels. Thermogravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the successful fabrication of poly(AM-co-SBMA-co-AA) hydrogels with a single copolymer composition without branched polymers. The effect of monomer ratio on FP features as well as porous morphology, swelling behavior, and self-healing performance of the hydrogels were systematically investigated, showing that the properties of the hydrogels could be tuned by adjusting the chemical composition. The resulting hydrogels were superabsorbent and sensitive to pH, exhibiting a high swelling ratio of up to 11,802% in water and 13,588% in an alkaline environment. The rheological data revealed a stable gel network. These hydrogels also had a favorable self-healing ability with a healing efficiency of up to 95%. This work contributes a simple and efficient method for the rapid preparation of superabsorbent and self-healing hydrogels.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
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PubMed
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE
·
2017
·Vol. 135
·期 10
·45935
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IF 1.86
Nigus Mesele Tsegay,Xiang-Yun Du,Kangzhe Ma,Qing Li,Cai-Feng Wang,Su Chen
Infrared laser-ignited horizontal frontal polymerization is applied for the synthesis of unsaturated polyester resin (UPER) by copolymerizing unsaturated polyester with styrene (St), methyl methacrylate (MMA), and 2-dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) monomers. Dependence of frontal velocity and temperature on the initiator and monomer concentration is discussed for St-based UPER. These resins have also been characterized by Fourier transform infrared, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The results reveal St-based resins have superior crosslinked networks. Besides, the thermo-pH responsiveness behaviors of DMAEMA-based resins are demonstrated by swelling measurements under the conditions of different temperatures and pH values. Moreover, by introducing CdSe@ZnS quantum dots and CsPbBr 3 perovskites into St- and MMA-based resins, respectively, we realize the in situ generation of CdSe@ZnS-UPER and CsPbBr 3 -UPER composites with good fluorescence properties and fluorescent stability, which have potential application in optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting diode and perovskite solar cells. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135 , 45935.
研究领域:
材料科学
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高分子化学
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DOI
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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DOI
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
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2025
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IF 13.2
Wei Zhao,Fucheng Li,Hao Li,Cai-Feng Wang,Jing Zhang,Su Chen
The development of hydrogels with energy-saving and versatile manufacturing, shaping and processing capabilities is highly desirable but challenging. Here, we report a hydrogel precursor system consisting of hydroxypropyl acrylate (HPA), N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP), and polycaprolactone (PCL), which allows for frontal polymerization (FP) at significantly lower temperatures for the rapid preparation of robust interpenetrating network (IPN) hydrogels, while maintaining compatibility with a variety of manufacturing platforms. This system achieved a record-low frontal temperature of 45.4 °C, significantly lower than the 87–296 °C range for conventional FP systems. The obtained hydrogels demonstrated favorable water swelling behavior, mechanical properties, and biocompatibility. Notably, the hydrogel system is compatible with diverse three-dimensional (3D) printing techniques including direct ink writing (DIW) and digital light processing (DLP). We also explored the integration of 3D printing with self-healing strategies, where hydrogen bond-based self-healing enabled the recovery of 91.04 % of the initial mechanical strength within 10 h, allowing the fabrication of complex 3D architectures. This finding offers an IPN hydrogel protocol compatible with multiple manufacturing methods including energy-saving FP, and DIW, DLP, and self-healing 3D printing, solving the limit in shaping and processing to obtain hydrogel objects with wanted architectures for various applications. This work also greatly widens the implementing temperature for FP systems, which is meaningful for future material fabrications and applications.
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高影响因子
Polymers
·
2024
·Vol. 16
·期 7
·873
·
IF 4.7
Xiong Yi,Shengfang Li,Pin Wen,Shilin Yan
Traditional polymer curing techniques present challenges such as a slow processing speed, high energy consumption, and considerable initial investment. Frontal polymerization (FP), a novel approach, transforms monomers into fully cured polymers through a self-sustaining exothermic reaction, which enhances speed, efficiency, and safety. This study focuses on acrylamide hydrogels, synthesized via FP, which hold significant potential for biomedical applications and 3D printing. Heat conduction is critical in FP, particularly due to its influence on the temperature distribution and reaction rate mechanisms, which affect the final properties of polymers. Therefore, a comprehensive analysis of heat conduction and chemical reactions during FP is presented through the establishment of mathematical models and numerical methods. Existing research on FP hydrogel synthesis primarily explores chemical modifications, with limited studies on numerical modeling. By utilizing Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) data on the curing kinetics of polymerizable deep eutectic solvents (DES), this paper employs Malek’s model selection method to establish an autocatalytic reaction model for FP synthesis. In addition, the finite element method is used to solve the reaction–diffusion model, examining the temperature evolution and curing degree during synthesis. The results affirm the nth-order autocatalytic model’s accuracy in studying acrylamide monomer curing kinetics. Additionally, factors such as trigger temperature and solution initial temperature were found to influence the FP reaction’s frontal propagation speed. The model’s predictions on acrylamide hydrogel synthesis align with experimental data, filling the gap in numerical modeling for hydrogel FP synthesis and offering insights for future research on numerical models and temperature control in the FP synthesis of high-performance hydrogels.
研究领域:
材料科学
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生物医学工程
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化学工程
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DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
Gels
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2023
·Vol. 9
·期 12
·920
·
IF 4.6
Jinze Wang,Hao Li,Hai-Xia Shen,Wei Zhao,Qing Li,Cai-Feng Wang,Su Chen
Chitosan (CS) is widely used in biomedical hydrogels due to their similarity to extracellular matrix. However, the preparation method of CS-based hydrogel suffers the drawbacks of tedious operation, time-consuming and energy consumption. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a rapid synthesis pathway towards hydrogels. In this work, we used a modified CS as a cross-linking agent and acrylic acid (AA) as monomer to prepare a hydrogel through frontal polymerization (FP), which facilitates a facile and rapid method achieved in several minutes. The occurrence of pure FP was confirmed via the frontal velocity and temperature profile measurement. In addition, the as-prepared hydrogel shows excellent mechanical strength up to 1.76 MPa, and the Young’s modulus (ranging from 0.16 to 0.56 MPa) is comparable to human skin. The degradation mechanism is revealed by the micro-IR images through the distribution of the functional groups, which is attributed to the breakage of the ether bond. Moreover, the hydrogel exhibits excellent degradability, biocompatibility and antibacterial properties, offering great potentials in tissue engineering. We believe this work not only offers a facile and rapid FP method to fabricate a robust degradable hydrogel, but also provides an effective pathway for the investigation of the degradation mechanism at the chemical bond analysis level.Keywords:hydrogels;frontal polymerization;chitosan;mechanical strength;degradation;micro-IR imaging
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PubMed
高影响因子
ChemistrySelect
·
2023
·Vol. 8
·期 29
·e202302046
·
IF 2.1
Xiao-Wei Qu,Qing Li,Shuzhen Yu,Haixia Shen,Su Chen
Graphical Lignin-loaded decomposable polymers were successfully synthesized in this study using dicyclopentadiene as monomers through a rapid and practical frontal polymerization (FP) method. This work has made a facile and accessible FP method available for the construction of eco-friendly, versatile decomposable polymers, which exhibit significant potential in the field of water purification Rapid population growth and water contamination have led to a shortage of freshwater, making it crucial to find sustainable methods for water purification. Solar-powered evaporation is an eco-friendly approach that uses solar energy to facilitate water evaporation and separate it from contaminants. Recent studies have focused on the development of solar absorber systems that incorporate photo-thermal materials into a porous structure to enhance the efficiency of solar-to-thermal conversion and elevate water evaporation capacities. However, there is a lack of studies on simple and quick fabrication methods for solar absorber materials that minimize storage constraints in real-world applications. Frontal polymerization (FP) technology is a promising solution that offers straightforward operation, minimal energy consumption, and rapid reaction for porous polymers. In this study, a decomposable and photo-thermal composite polymer(LI/(P(DCPD- co -DTD))) is synthesized using FMORP, incorporating lignin fillers to improve the light absorption capacity and photothermal performance beneficial for water purification. The water evaporation rate can reach as high as 1.63 kg m −2 h −1 . This composite polymer is expected to promote solar-driven water purification in practical applications.
研究领域:
材料科学
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环境科学
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高影响因子
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