New water-soluble copolymers of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine for surface modification

New copolymers of 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine with 2-Deoxy-2-methacrylamido-D-glucose, N-vinylpyrrolidone, and N-vinyl-N-methylacetamide were synthesized and characterized; the obtained copolymers contained 10–50 mol% of phosphorylcholine moieties, and their molecular masses ranged from 1.05 × 10⁵ to 4.40 × 10⁵. Reactivity ratios of the monomers were estimated. Conformational states of the copolymers in aqueous solutions were studied. The synthesized copolymer was grafted onto the surface of carbon fiber biosorbent using γ-radiation.     

Investigating the effect of water-mixing nitrogen atmospheric pressure plasma jet on polyether-ether-ketone and time stability under different conditions

Possessing excellent properties including good biocompatibility, high strength, and stiffness, polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) has significant application values in medical and industrial fields. However, the relatively poor wettability and low adhesion limit its further applications. Atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) has been utilized for adjusting PEEK properties, but better hydrophilization effect and time stability after treatment are still urgently needed. In this paper, we employ a water-mixing nitrogen (N₂ H₂O) APPJ to process PEEK, and surface wettability can be effectively improved (contact angle ~18° within 2 min, distance between sample and nozzle outlet: 10 mm) without inducing obvious microstructure damages. Additionally, after storing for 40 days, the sample treated by N₂ H₂O APPJ also possessed better wettability (~54°) compared with that treated by N₂ APPJ (~65°). On the basis of this low-damage and high-efficient modification method, we perform aging experiments under different conditions (different temperatures 25, −10°C; and low vacuum condition: 50 kPa) to determine a relatively optimum storing condition for this method. The experiment results indicate that low temperature and vacuum are conducive to retaining the plasma-induced wettability (~34°). The treatment method and storing conditions for PEEK presented here may facilitate the application of PEEK in various fields.     

Structure,surface tension,and rheological behaviors of hydrophobically associative polyacrylamides by self-emulsified microemulsion polymerization

Hydrophobically associating copolymers using acrylamide (AM), acrylic acid (AA), and Styrene (St) as comonomers were successfully prepared by self-emulsified microemulsion polymerization, in which low-molecular-weight AM/AA/St copolymers as surfactant and AM as cosurfactant. The structure and chemical composition of AM/AA/St copolymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic (NMR), and differential scanning calorimeter. The content of PSt in the copolymers is determined by ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectra, suggesting that the self-made polymer surfactant can disperse uniformly the St monomers to improve the copolymerization efficiency. Furthermore, the polymerization mechanism of the self-emulsified microemulsion method is explored preliminarily. During the synthesis of the copolymers, the purified copolymer solution is obtained in one step without using a small molecular emulsifier such as sodium dodecyl sulfate, in order to avoid the complicated post-treatment process of the small molecular emulsifier. The copolymers revealed good hydrophobic association properties and low surface tension.     

亲水性PET共混材料的制备及性能研究

以机械共混法制备亲水性聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）共混材料，并通过接触角测定仪、差示扫描量热仪(DSC)和电子万能材料试验机等对共混材料的亲水性能、热性能和力学性能等进行研究与分析。结果表明，亲水处理剂聚乙二醇（PEG）、聚丙烯酸钠（PAAS）、聚乙烯吡咯烷酮（PVP）均能改善PET的亲水性能，影响PET的结晶性能，但亲水处理剂对PET的力学性能影响较小，其中PET/PEG共混材料的亲水性最优；随着PEG含量的增加，PET/PEG共混材料的亲水性先逐渐增强，当PEG含量高于5 %后，共混材料的亲水性变化很小；且PET的结晶度随着PEG的加入呈现先增大后减小的趋势。     

Novel hydrophilic N-halamine polymer with enhanced antibacterial activity synthesized by inverse emulsion polymerization

N-halamine-based antibacterial agents have high efficiency and rechargeable antibacterial properties. However, their applications are limited due to their complex synthetic process and fuzzy antibacterial mechanism. In this study, a novel N-halamine antibacterial polymer was synthesized by inverse emulsion polymerization and characterized by Fourier transform infrared, nuclear magnetic resonance, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Due to the difficulty of purification, most of the subjects studied previously were hydrophobic polymers, while little research on hydrophilic polymers. In this experiment, this difficulty was overcome by controlling the dosage of sodium hypochlorite and methods of dialysis. Because of the complex cell structure of Gram-negative bacteria, it is difficult for N-halamines to release the oxidizing chlorine into the cell. However, the hydrophilic N-halamines can solve this problem, which showed a stronger antibacterial effect on Gram-negative Escherichia coli synthesized in this study. In addition, the particle size and hydrophilic property of the polymer were changed by changing the amount of initiator, and the differences in their antibacterial properties were studied. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47419.     

Bactericidal effect of cationic hydrogels prepared from hydrophilic polymers

This study investigated whether hydrogels comprising hydrophilic cationic polymers have similar bactericidal effects. Bacteria were seeded on hydrogels and agar and their viability was assessed with time. Cationic hydrogels displayed bactericidal effects upon long-term bacterial contact. Furthermore, we assessed the areal density of cationic monomer unit of the cationic hydrogels, water content, and the initial elastic modulus. We examined correlations between each factor and bacterial death ratios; consequently, the bacterial death ratios were strongly correlated with the areal density of cationic hydrogel monomers. Elastic energy (W_el) generated at the cytomembrane ion-binding region and the cationic hydrogel and the cytomembrane interfacial energy (W_f) were estimated; consequently, W_el exceeded W_f at higher contact areas. The cationic hydrogel may extract cytomembranes with a reasonable adsorption area. Therefore, cationic hydrogels may be used as probes for ultrasonic echo to sterilize medical equipment.     

Preparation of organic–inorganic hybridized dual-functional antifog/antireflection coatings on plastic substrates

Dual-functional antifog/antireflection coatings with a special bi-layer structure for plastic substrates were prepared. The superhydrophilic top layer was a crosslinked network of dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate (DPHA), hydrophilic agent (synthesized from Tween 20, isophorone diisocyanate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate), and organically modified silica. The high-refractive-index bottom layer was composed of TiO₂ nanoparticles and DPHA. The two layers were chemically bonded through a UV-curing process. By tuning the thicknesses of the two layers, a series of coatings were prepared. These coatings were highly transparent and able to reduce reflectance. In addition, they adhered well to the substrate, and demonstrated superb antifogging capability on steam tests. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48822.     

Poly(ether-block-amide) membrane with deformability and adjustable surface hydrophilicity for water purification

Freshwater resources are currently insufficient, and another form of freshwater resources, namely, ice, is very interesting except for the issue of how to use new materials for effective purification during the processing procedure. In this article, a new membrane material with multisize pore structure in the cross-section and intact thin skin layer on the upper and lower surfaces was successfully prepared by adding porogen, filler and setting heating environment during the phase separation process. The membrane exhibits excellent axial deformability, and its elongation at break can reach to 160% strain. Meanwhile, they all show elastic deformation behavior in the range from −60 to 100°C. Even if high content of hydrophobic filler is compounded into these membranes, that is, 5.7 wt% carbon tube content, water contact angle of membrane's surface is only 72.5°, demonstrating obvious hydrophilicity. In addition, in the water purification process, the adsorption rate constant reached ideal value of 0.26 s⁻¹, and the equilibrium adsorption capacity was about 2.8 g/g, showing fast and efficient water purification ability. In the mode of external heating source or the membrane's heat dissipation, these prepared membranes can melt the ice to obtain purified water and exhibit a controllable purification ability in this process.     

Synthesis of high solid content waterborne polyurethanes with controllable bimodal particle size distribution

A series of waterborne polyurethane dispersions were synthesized by one‐pot reaction and step‐wise reaction, respectively. The effects of synthetic methods and DMPA content on the particle size distribution (PSD), solid contents and viscosity were studied by laser particle size analyzer, Brookfield viscometer and TEM analysis. High solid content and low viscosity waterborne polyurethanes (WPUs) with controllable bimodal PSD were prepared by one‐pot reaction using 2,2‐dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) as the only self‐emulsifier. Meanwhile, 40% solid content WPUs with unimodal PSD were obtained by step‐wise reaction at the same formula. With the increment of DMPA content, the ratio of large particles to small particles decreased and two peaks of the particle size finally became one peak by one‐pot reaction while the PSD remained unimodal by step‐wise reaction. The reason leading to the difference of PSD between one‐pot reaction and step‐wise reaction was analyzed and the relationships among PSD, viscosity and solid content were discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40420.     

β‐Cyclodextrin modified cationic acrylamide polymers for flocculating waste drilling fluids

In this article, the P(AM/A‐β‐CD/DMDAAC) is used as flocculant. The synthesis and characterization of the cationic polyacrylamide flocculant modified by β‐cyclodextrin have been studied in the early article. This article stresses its excellent flocculated performance and mechanism. In the flocculated process, the bridging flocculation played a dominant role. Through the flocculation experiments, it can be seen that the flocculating rate of the P(AM/A‐β‐CD/DMDAAC) on four solutions can go up to 93.4%, 89.7%, 85.1%, and 96.7%, respectively. As can be seen from experiment data, the flocculated property of P(AM/A‐β‐CD/DMDAAC) is superior to polyacrylamide and poly (dimethyl diallyl ammonium chloride). © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40197.