Derry, Matthew J.; Mykhaylyk, Oleksandr O.; Ryan, Anthony J.; Armes, Steven P.
Thermoreversible crystallization-driven aggregation of diblock copolymer nanoparticles in mineral oil
A poly(behenyl methacrylate)37 (PBeMA37) macromolecular chain transfer agent is utilized for the reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) dispersion polymerization of benzyl methacrylate (BzMA) directly in mineral oil at 90 °C. Polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) occurs under these conditions, yielding a series of sterically-stabilized PBeMA37-PBzMA …
Adsorption of norfloxacin on a hexagonal mesoporous silica: isotherms, kinetics and adsorbent reuse
Otalvaro, Julián Ortiz; Avena, Marcelo; Brigante, Maximiliano
The adsorption of the antibiotic norfloxacin (NFX) on MCM-41 type mesoporous silica has been studied in batch experiments by performing adsorption kinetics and isotherms under different conditions. Regeneration of the adsorbent and reuse studies were also carried out and are discussed. On the one hand, the adsorption is very fast…
Adding Symmetry: Cylindrically Confined Crystallization of Nylon-6
Yu, Shichen; Lai, Ziwei; Jinnai, Hiroshi; Zeng, Xingming; Ageishi, Masaki; Lotz, Bernard; Cheng, Stephen Z. D.; Zheng, Nan; Zhang, Shuailin; Feng, Xueyan; Cao, Yan
It has been known that twin symmetry occurs in small metal crystals and it could lead to ultrahigh mechanical properties. In this research, we first found out the formation of nanoscale twin crystals in polymers under cylindrical confinement. The nylon-6 nanorods are fabricated by infiltrating the melt into cylindrical nanopores…
A robust self-healing polyurethane elastomer: From H-bonds and stacking interactions to well-defined microphase morphology
Fan, Cheng-Jie; Huang, Zi-Chun; Li, Bei; Xiao, Wen-Xia; Zheng, En; Yang, Ke-Ke; Wang, Yu-Zhong
Self-healing materials have attracted considerable attention because of their improved safety, lifetime, energy efficiency and environmental impact. Supramolecular interactions have been extensively considered in the field of self-healing materials due to their excellent reversibility and sensitive responsiveness to environmental stimuli. However, development of a polymeric material with good…
How cyclic chain topology can reduce the crystallization rate of poly(3-hexylthiophene) and promote the formation of liquid crystalline phases in comparison with linear analogue chains
Maiz, Jon; Liu, Guoming; Ruipérez, Fernando; Delbosc, Nicolas; Coulembier, Olivier; Wang, Dujin; Müller, Alejandro J.
We have studied how cyclic topology affects the crystallization and morphology of π-conjugated poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) molecules by comparing linear and cyclic analogues for the first time, with three different chain lengths. We employ a range of experimental techniques including wide-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS), polarized light optical microscopy (PLOM), differential scanning…
Topochemical polymerization of hierarchically ordered diacetylene monomers within the block copolymer domains
Krishnan, Deepthi; B, Amal Raj R.; Gowd, E. Bhoje
Integration of polymerizable small molecules within block copolymer based supramolecules provides a new strategy to generate functional materials. Herein we report hydrogen-bonding complexes of photopolymerizable 10,12-pentacosadyionic acid (PCDA) and polystyrene-block-poly(4-vinylpyridine) (PS-b-P4VP). We systematically investigate how annealing conditions affect the hierarchical ordering and…
Hierarchical self-assembly of 3D lattices from polydisperse anisometric colloids
Luo, Binbin; Kim, Ahyoung; Smith, John W.; Ou, Zihao; Wu, Zixuan; Kim, Juyeong; Chen, Qian
Anisometric colloids—which have both nanometer and micrometer dimensions—combine features of their two constituent length scales. Here, using optical microscopy and modeling, the authors find that highly polydisperse anisometric colloids self-assemble into 3D, periodic lattices in a manner hardly inaccessible to nano- or micron-scale…
Alginate-coating of artemisinin-loaded cochleates results in better control over gastro-intestinal release for effective oral delivery
Shuddhodana; Judeh, Zaher
Development of new drug delivery systems for effective delivery of poorly water-soluble drugs is important. We report the development of cochleate-based formulation for the oral administration of poorly water-soluble artemisinin (ART). Cochleates offer great potential as vehicles for the oral delivery of ART due to their high drug encapsulation and…
Simultaneously enhancing of wear-resistant and mechanical properties of polyurethane composite based on the selective interaction of fluorinated graphene derivatives
He, Taijun; Wang, Guitu; Wang, Yixing; Liu, Yang; Lai, Wenchuan; Wang, Xu; Feng, Yiyu; Liu, Xiangyang
Simultaneously enhancing of wear-resistant and mechanical properties of the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) is important for its wider application. Herein, fluorinated graphene (FG) was proposed and respectively functionalized by two amine-terminated molecules: aliphatic poly (oxypropylene) diamine (D230) (compatible with soft segment (SS) of TPU), and aromatic phenylamine (PA) (compatible with…
Precise Self-Assembly of Nanoparticles into Ordered Nanoarchitectures Directed by Tobacco Mosaic Virus Coat Protein
Zhang, Jianting; Zhou, Kun; Zhang, Yejun; Du, Mingming; Wang, Qiangbin
Self-assembly guided by biological molecules is a promising approach for fabricating predesigned nanostructures. Protein is one such biomolecule possessing deterministic 3D crystal structure and peptide information, which acts as a good candidate for templating functional nanoparticles (fNPs). However, inadequate coordination efficacy during the establishment of interfacial interactions with fNPs…