Aqueous photo-RAFT polymerization under ambient conditions: synthesis of protein-polymer hybrids in open air.

A photoinduced reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (photo-RAFT) polymerization technique in the presence of sodium pyruvate (SP) and pyruvic acid derivatives was developed. Depending on the wavelength of light used, SP acted as a biocompatible photoinitiator or promoter for polymerization, allowing rapid open-to-air polymerization in aqueous media. Under UV irradiation (370 nm), SP decomposes to generate CO and radicals, initiating polymerization.

Degradation of Polylactic Acid/Polypropylene Carbonate Films in Soil and Phosphate Buffer and Their Potential Usefulness in Agriculture and Agrochemistry.

Blends of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) are currently in the phase of intensive study due to their promising properties and environmentally friendly features. Intensive study and further commercialization of PPC-based polymers or their blends, as usual, will soon face the problem of their waste occurring in the environment, including soil. For this reason, it is worth comprehensively studying the degradation rate of these polymers over a long period of time in soil and, for comparison, in phosphate buffer to understand the difference in this process and evaluate the potential application of such materials toward agrochemical and agricultural purposes.

Comparison of Mechano- and PhotoATRP with ZnO Nanocrystals.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) was previously reported as an excellent cocatalyst for mechanically controlled atom transfer radical polymerization (mechanoATRP), but its photocatalytic properties in photoinduced ATRP (photoATRP) have been much less explored. Herein, well-defined ZnO nanocrystals were prepared via microwave-assisted synthesis and applied as a heterogeneous cocatalyst in mechano- and photoATRP. Both techniques yielded polymers with outstanding control over the molecular weight, but ZnO-cocatalyzed photoATRP was much faster than analogous mechanoATRP (conversion of 91% in 1 h vs 54% in 5 h).

Injection-Molded Isotactic Polypropylene Colored with Green Transparent and Opaque Pigments.

Polypropylene (PP) belongs among the most important commodity plastics due to its widespread application. The color of the PP products can be achieved by the addition of pigments, which can dramatically affect its material characteristics. To maintain product consistency (dimensional, mechanical, and optical), knowledge of these implications is of great importance.

Stable Magnetorheological Fluids Containing Bidisperse Fillers with Compact/Mesoporous Silica Coatings.

A drawback of magnetorheological fluids is low kinetic stability, which severely limits their practical utilization. This paper describes the suppression of sedimentation through a combination of bidispersal and coating techniques. A magnetic, sub-micro additive was fabricated and sequentially coated with organosilanes.

Biodegradable Films of PLA/PPC and Curcumin as Packaging Materials and Smart Indicators of Food Spoilage.

Bio-based and biodegradable packaging combined with chemical sensors and indicators has attracted great attention as they can provide protection combined with information on the actual freshness of foodstuffs. In this study, we present an effective, biodegradable, mostly bio-sourced material ideal for sustainable packaging that can also be used as a smart indicator of ammonia (NH) vapor and food spoilage. The developed material comprises a blend of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) loaded with curcumin (CCM), which is fabricated via the scalable techniques of melt extrusion and compression molding.

Comparative Study of PVDF Sheets and Their Sensitivity to Mechanical Vibrations: The Role of Dimensions, Molecular Weight, Stretching and Poling.

This paper is focused on the comparative study of the vibration sensing capabilities of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) sheets. The main parameters such as molecular weight, initial sample thickness, stretching and poling were systematically applied, and their impact on sensing behavior was examined. The mechanical properties of prepared sheets were investigated via tensile testing on the samples with various initial thicknesses.

On the Use of Laser Fragmentation for the Synthesis of Ligand-Free Ultra-Small Iron Nanoparticles in Various Liquid Environments.

Traditionally, the synthesis of nanomaterials in the ultra-small size regime (1-3 nm diameter) has been linked with the employment of excessive amounts of hazardous chemicals, inevitably leading to significant environmentally detrimental effects. In the current work, we demonstrate the potential of laser fragmentation in liquids (LFL) to produce highly pure and stable iron ultra-small nanoparticles. This is carried out by reducing the size of carbonyl iron microparticles dispersed in various polar solvents (water, ethanol, ethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol 400) and liquid nitrogen.

Magnetorheological fluids based on core-shell carbonyl iron particles modified by various organosilanes: synthesis, stability and performance.

Although smart materials, specifically magnetorheological (MR) fluids, have shown remarkable practical importance, their drawbacks such as an aggregation of magnetic fillers, insufficient compatibility with the carrier liquid, low resistance to corrosion and poor sedimentation stability still cause severe limitations for their broader utilization. To address this challenge, our study presents a facile concept for the coating of magnetic particles, leading to their enhanced utility properties and sufficient MR performance. This concentrates on the coating of magnetic carbonyl iron (CI) particles with a thin modifying layer as a surface shell utilizing four organosilanes; tetraethoxysilane, (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane, bis[3(trimethoxysilyl)propyl]amine and vinyltrimethoxysilane.

Effect of Structure of Polymers Grafted from Graphene Oxide on the Compatibility of Particles with a Silicone-Based Environment and the Stimuli-Responsive Capabilities of Their Composites.

This study reports the utilization of controlled radical polymerization as a tool for controlling the stimuli-responsive capabilities of graphene oxide (GO) based hybrid systems. Various polymer brushes with controlled molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution were grafted from the GO surface by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP). The modification of GO with poly(-butyl methacrylate) (PBMA), poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA), poly(trimethylsilyloxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMATMS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was confirmed by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) coupled with online Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Poly(2-oxazoline)-based magnetic hydrogels: Synthesis, performance and cytotoxicity.

Research on the subject of smart biomaterials has become a cornerstone of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Herein, the authors report on developing magnetic hydrogels that combine high biocompatibility and remarkable activity in magnetic fields. We fabricated magnetic hydrogels based on poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (POx) via living ring-opening cationic polymerization with in-situ embedding of the carbonyl iron (CI) particles.

Tailoring Performance, Damping, and Surface Properties of Magnetorheological Elastomers via Particle-Grafting Technology.

A novel concept based on advanced particle-grafting technology to tailor performance, damping, and surface properties of the magnetorheological elastomers (MREs) is introduced. In this work, the carbonyl iron (CI) particles grafted with poly(trimethylsilyloxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMATMS) of two different molecular weights were prepared via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization and the relations between the PHEMATMS chain lengths and the MREs properties were investigated. The results show that the magnetorheological performance and damping capability were remarkably influenced by different interaction between polydimethylsiloxane chains as a matrix and PHEMATMS grafts due to their different length.