Solar RRL
·
2021
·Vol. 6
·期 2
·2100917
·
IF 8.582
Yunzheng Liang,Yuting Bai,An-Quan Xie,Jian Mao,Liangliang Zhu,Su Chen
Hydrogel-based photothermal materials for enhanced solar water evaporation have drawn increasing attention due to their unique hierarchical nanostructure, reduced latent heat, and high evaporation rate. However, the laborious preparation process and high energy consumption restrict the on-site applicability and immediacy, seriously obstructing practical application of hydrogel evaporators. Herein, a low-cost hydrogel evaporator ($1.85 m −2 ) with high swelling ratio (≈2445%) prepared via solar-initiated frontal polymerization (FP) is demonstrated. Solar-initiated FP based on solar thermal technology not only realizes the field rapid hydrogel polymerization without extra energy input and complicated equipment, but also achieves the homogeneous interconnected macroporous structure to enhance water uptake (≈70 times evaporator weight) and light absorption (≈1% transmittance and ≈2% reflectance). Due to the lower vaporization enthalpy, the evaporator presented an evaporation rate of 2.42 kg m −2 h −1 with a light-to-vapor efficiency of ≈92.8% under 1 sun. More importantly, the high swelling ratio imparts the hydrogel evaporator with 2700% and 900% expansion in volume and surface area, resulting in a dramatically promoted solar evaporation rate compared with non-swelling photothermic materials. This feasible approach realizes the all-process solar thermal utilization, from material synthesis to final application, which would be significant for sustainable freshwater production in remote/off-grid areas.
研究领域:
材料科学
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能源技术
·
环境工程
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DOI
高影响因子
COLLOID AND POLYMER SCIENCE
·
2023
·Vol. 301
·期 5
·445-453
·
IF 2.4
Li Bin,Hao Wenrui,Xu Xiaojia,Liu Jizhen,Fu Dandan,Zhou Mengjing,Hu Zhigang
Choline chloride (ChCl) was used as the hydrogen bond acceptor (HBA) and acrylic acid (AA) and acrylamide (AM) as the hydrogen bond donor (HBD), and the three materials were mixed in a certain molar ratio to obtain deep eutectic solvent (DES). Subsequently, P(IA-co-AA-co-AM) composite hydrogels were prepared by adding itaconic acid (IA) to DES using the frontal polymerization (FP) method. The hydrogels were characterized by Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the influence patterns of IA content on the mechanical properties, swelling properties, and pH responsiveness of the composite hydrogels were investigated. The results showed that the composite hydrogel exhibited a homogeneous porous structure. The elongation at the break of the composite hydrogel gradually increased with the increase of IA content, and the elongation of the FP4 sample reached 167%. The addition of IA increased the number of hydrophilic groups, resulting in a 2.14-fold increase in the equilibrium swelling of the composite hydrogel in distilled water. P(IA-co-AA-co-AM) composite hydrogels exhibit different swelling patterns in acidic and alkaline environments, making them promising for acid–base indicators, biosensors, and other applications. In this study, a simpler and greener method was proposed to prepare P(IA-co-AA-co-AM) composite hydrogels with pH responsiveness.
研究领域:
材料科学
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高分子化学
·
生物医学工程
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DOI
高影响因子
NEW JOURNAL OF CHEMISTRY
·
2023
·Vol. 47
·期 26
·12101-12108
·
IF 3.3
Bin Li,Wenrui Hao,Jizhen Liu,Mengjing Zhou,Xiaojia Xu,Aolin Wu
Deep eutectic solvent (DES) was synthesized from choline chloride (ChCl) and acrylamide (AM), and P(AM-co-MA) hydrogels were prepared by adding different contents of maleic acid (MA) to DES by frontal polymerization. Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to characterize the hydrogels at the microscopic level, and the swelling properties, mechanical properties, self-healing properties and electrical properties of the copolymerized hydrogels were also investigated. The results showed that the equilibrium swelling of the hydrogels was significantly enhanced with the increase of pH due to the addition of MA. The hydrogel with the addition of MA has self-healing properties that pure PAM does not have. In terms of electrical conductivity, the increase of MA makes the internal structure of the hydrogel more loose, which is conducive to the passage of free ions. And there is a significant effect of different temperatures and different crosslinker contents on the electrical conductivity. In summary, we prepared a P(AM-co-MA) hydrogel that can produce significant property changes in response to changes in the external environment, which is expected to expand the application of hydrogels in flexible electronic materials.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
·
生物医学工程
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DOI
高影响因子
Materials Today Communications
·
2024
·
IF 3.7
Tingting Zhang,Ning Xu,Wang Yin,Dongli Liu,Chang Liu,Meidong Lang
Polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD) was attractive in marine, automotive and new energy fields, but limited by its lower rigidity . Herein, poly(dicyclopentadiene- co -tricyclopentadiene) (poly(DCPD- co -TCPD)), was prepared by rapid and energy-efficient frontal polymerization (FP). The flexural properties of copolymers prepared via FP were comparable to those prepared by long-term oven curing. Furthermore, the study explored the cis-trans isomerization of double bond , molecular weight between cross-links, density, swelling degree and monomer conversion to systematically analyze the influence of tricyclopentadiene (TCPD) incorporation. Notably, the selected comonomer TCPD was relatively simple in synthesis, and its incorporation resulted in remarkable enhancement of the thermomechanical properties and acid-base resistance of neat PDCPD. At an 80 wt% TCPD incorporation, the flexural modulus increased significantly from 1865 MPa to 2703 MPa, and the T g elevated from 147 ℃ to 210 ℃. Compared to other widely used thermosets , poly(DCPD- co -TCPD) exhibited significant advantages in terms of being lightweight and heat-resistant. The resulting thermosets demonstrated considerable potential for applications as high-performance thermosets and in composites with adjustable thermomechanical properties .
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
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DOI
高影响因子
JOURNAL OF APPLIED POLYMER SCIENCE
·
2024
·Vol. 141
·期 47
·e56268
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IF 2.7
Zhenjie Yuan,Siqi Huang,Wenduo Chen,Dazhi Jiang
By combination of UV curing and frontal polymerization, interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) epoxy resin and polydicyclopentadiene (PDCPD) were prepared by UV-induced simultaneously frontal polymerization in this paper. Compared with the net DGEBA cured polymer, the tensile strength, elongation at break and impact strength of the IPNs were simultaneously improved. The maximum tensile strength and elongation at break of the IPNs reached 100 MPa and 4.64%, respectively, and the maximum impact strength reached 7.34KJ/m 2 with an improvement of 115.2% over that of the net DGEBA cured polymer. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) results revealed that the IPNs could enhance the thermal stability. Data of the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and TGA testing shows that the IPN shows a single glass transition temperature ( T g ) which is between the T g of DGEBA and DCPD, indicating homogeneous phase and highly cross-linked IPN formed. Morphologies and molecular structure of the IPNs polymer were observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively, whose results also proved the formation of ideal IPNs structures.
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
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
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
RSC Advances
·
2023
·Vol. 13
·期 17
·11530-11536
·
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
·
高分子化学
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
REACTIVE & FUNCTIONAL POLYMERS
·
2026
·
IF 5.4
Yabo Wang,Junyan Yi,Dong Wang,Wenyi Zhou,Dongdong Yao,Decheng Feng,Zhongshi Pei
FTIR-derived BADGE conversion alone poorly predicts tensile strength. • Strength spans 19.1–44.7 MPa within 78–81% BADGE conversion. • Multi-response optimization balances front velocity, strength, and conversion. • UV settings tune ignition but have little effect on steady front velocity. • A thermochemical model verifies self-sustained curing beyond velocity fitting. UV-triggered radical-induced cationic frontal polymerization enables epoxy/oxetane thermosets to continue curing after brief UV exposure. However, formulations that support faster front propagation do not necessarily maximize tensile strength. We combined single-factor screening, central composite design, desirability optimization, and orthogonal UV experiments to examine the relations among formulation, process, and properties. In situ infrared thermography recorded front propagation. A thermochemical finite-element model described the thermal field. Across the formulation space, FTIR-derived BADGE conversion poorly predicted tensile strength. The single-variable model gave R 2 ≈ 0.08, while tensile strength ranged from 19.1 to 44.7 MPa as BADGE conversion ranged from 78% to 81%. The selected formulation yielded a front velocity of 51.6 mm·min −1 , a tensile strength of 37.7 MPa, and a BADGE conversion of 82.3%. All three results were within the prediction intervals. UV wavelength, irradiance, and exposure time affected tensile strength and BADGE conversion. The steady front velocity changed by less than 10%. The model reproduced continued propagation after UV removal and the axial cooling gradient. The thermochemical analysis supported self-sustained propagation. These results establish a composition-resolved multi-response strategy. Composition determines the attainable properties, while UV settings tune ignition. Download: Download high-res image (95KB) Download: Download full-size image
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DOI
高影响因子
Polymers
·
2025
·Vol. 17
·期 5
·680
·
IF 4.9
Haisheng Wu,Yizhuo Gu,Xinyu Liu,Chaobo Xin
Frontal polymerization (FP) technology has attracted significant attention as an efficient, low-energy curing method for thermosetting resins. By enabling self-sustaining polymerization reactions, FP significantly reduces curing time and minimizes external energy dependence, making it ideal for in-orbit manufacturing applications. In contrast to traditional curing methods, which are limited by high energy consumption and low efficiency, FP offers a more efficient and flexible alternative. Nonetheless, the FP process is sensitive to material composition, processing and environmental factors, requiring systematic studies to enhance performance. This work focuses on reaction mechanisms, curing kinetics and processing factors of a self-developed FP epoxy resin system. The revealed curing mechanism and kinetics reveals a high initiation energy barrier and rapid curing characteristics, showing appropriate reaction inertness before initiation and stable reaction without continuous external energy input. The influences of initiator concentration and epoxy resin type on polymerization rate and the properties of cured resin were examined. Additionally, a curing simulation method validated by the experiment were employed to analyze the effects of mold material, resin cross-sectional area, initial temperature and environmental conditions on polymerization behavior. The results provide valuable insights for optimizing FP, advancing the understanding of the curing process and improving resin performance in space-based applications.
研究领域:
材料科学
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化学工程
·
航天技术
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产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
ACS Applied Polymer Materials
·
2025
·
IF 4.7
Siqi Huang,Zhuangpeng Chen,Wenduo Chen,Dazhi Jiang
With the advancement of high-frequency communication, the microelectronics and wireless communication industries require epoxy thermoset materials that feature a low dielectric constant (Dk), low dielectric loss (Df), and superior mechanical properties. In this study, epoxy-based interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) with low Dk, Df, and enhanced toughness were efficiently prepared through simultaneous frontal polymerization by incorporating dicyclopentadiene (DCPD). All synthesized IPNs exhibit no observable phase separations, and their impact strength shows significant improvement compared with the epoxy single network (SN-E). Moreover, both impact and flexural strengths of IPNs prepared by simultaneous frontal polymerization are higher than those of IPNs stepwise cured in an oven, owing to the more uniform interpenetrating structure of the epoxy and DCPD chains. The dielectric constant of prepared IPNs decreases to 2.45, while the dielectric loss reduces to 0.01, both significantly lower than those of SN-E (Dk = 3.68, Df = 0.02). The rapid frontal polymerization of epoxy/DCPD IPNs effectively combines exceptional dielectric properties with outstanding mechanical performance, making them promising candidates for microelectronics and wireless communication systems.
研究领域:
材料科学
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高分子科学
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电气工程
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化学工程
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
REACTIVE & FUNCTIONAL POLYMERS
·
2024
·
IF 4.5
Jiongfeng Sun,Yi Hong,Guofu Qiao
The synthesis and processing of most polymer adhesives rely on energy-inefficient and environmentally burdensome manufacturing approaches. In this paper, a novel synthesis strategy, UV-initiated frontal polymerization (FP) for the fast synthesis of high-strength, self-propagating epoxy adhesives at room temperature, was presented, in which the self-propagating rate reached 71.4 mm min −1 . CuCl 2 was used as a catalyst to decrease the onset temperature of polymerization and ensure sufficient polymerization on the surface of the material to be bonded. Mild steel, glass, ceramic, wood, PMAA, and concrete were successfully bonded within several minutes at room temperature. In the same material system, the adhesive strength with the FP curing approach was greater than that of thermal curing, and the former had a better pore structure , as determined by MIP analysis. This paper provides a promising idea for the in-situ fast synthesis of high-strength epoxy adhesives at room temperature.
研究领域:
材料科学
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高分子化学
·
粘接技术
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2024
·
IF 13.3
Xiang-Yun Du,Xiao-Ming Zhang,Chen Du,Yin-Jian Song,Ji-Dong Liu,Zheng-Bai Zhao,Jiangang Gao
Flexible intelligent gel has garnered great research attention for its potential artificial intelligence applications. Herein, a facile method is provided for fabricating patterned gel materials with self-healing, adhesive, and responsive properties via frontal polymerization within 10 min. The resulting gels are able to self-repair spontaneously after damaged, and exhibit the highest self-healing efficiency (∼99 %) benefiting from the synergistic effect of hydrogen-bond and host–guest assemblies. Moreover, the adhesive gels display satisfactory mechanical properties with great stretchability (524 %), tensile strength (200 kPa) and flexibility. With these features, the gels are served as flexible wearable sensors which can detect a series of movements such as stretch, bend and touch. Furthermore, the dual-component gels are prepared by the metal–ligand interaction (Fe 3+ -carboxyl group) on the one side of the gel films. The gradient structure and swelling ability endow the gel with actuating behaviors. This research explores a convenient approach to construct functional patterned gels towards significant applications in the wearable sensor and actuator fields.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
生物医学工程
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产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）