Material encapsulation in poly(methyl methacrylate) shell: A review

Material encapsulation is a relatively new technique for coating a micro/nanosize particle or droplet with polymeric or inorganic shell. Encapsulation technology has many applications in various fields including drug delivery, cosmetic, agriculture, thermal energy storage, textile, and self-healing polymers. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is widely used as shell material in encapsulation due to its high chemical stability, biocompatibility, nontoxicity, and good mechanical properties. The main approach for micro/nanoencapsulation of materials using PMMA as shell comprises emulsion-based techniques such as emulsion polymerization and solvent evaporation from oil-in-water emulsion. In the present review, we first focus on the encapsulation techniques of liquid materials with PMMA shell by analyzing the effective processing parameters influencing the preparation of PMMA micro/nanocapsules. We then describe the morphology of PMMA capsules in emulsion systems according to thermodynamic relations. The techniques to investigation of mechanical properties of capsule shell and the release mechanisms of core material from PMMA capsules were also investigated. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48039.     

Hydrocarbon-based electrode ionomer for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The electrode ionomer is a key factor that significantly affects the catalyst layer morphology and fuel cell performance. Herein, sulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone)-based electrode ionomers with polymers of various molecular weights and alcohol/water mixtures were prepared, and those comprising the alcohol/water mixture showed a higher performance than the ones prepared using higher boiling solvents, such as dimethylacetamide; this is owing to the formation of the uniformly dispersed ionomer catalyst layer. The relation between ionomer molecular weight for the same polymer structure and the sulfonation degree was investigated. Because the chain length of polymer varies with molecular weight and chain entanglement degree, its molecular weight affects the electrode morphology. As the ionomer covered the catalyst, the agglomerates formed were of different morphologies according to their molecular weight, which could be deduced indirectly through dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy. Additionally, the fuel cell performance was confirmed in the current-voltage curve.     

Investigation on sulphonated zinc oxide nanorod incorporated sulphonated poly (1,4-phenylene ether ether sulfone) nanocomposite membranes for improved performance of microbial fuel cell

Hydrothermally prepared zinc oxide nanorods are sulphonated (S–ZnO NR) and incorporated into 15% Sulphonated Poly (1,4-Phenylene Ether Ether Sulfone) (SPEES) to improve the hydrophilicity, water uptake and ion transfer capacity. Water uptake and ion transfer capacity increased to 34.6 ± 0.6% and 2.0 ± 0.05 meq g^?1 from 29.8 ± 0.3% and 1.4 ± 0.04 meq g^?1 by adding 7.5 wt% S–ZnO NR to SPEES. Morphological studies show the prepared S–ZnO NR is well dispersed in the polymer matrix. SPEES +7.5 wt% S–ZnO NR membrane exhibits optimum performance after three-weeks of continual operation in a fabricated microbial fuel cell (MFC) to produce a maximum power density of 142 ± 1.2 mW m^?2 with a reduced biofilm compared to plain SPEES (59 ± 0.8 mW m^?2), unsulphonated filler incorporated SPEES (SPEES + 7.5 wt% ZnO, 68 ± 1.1 mW m^?2) and Nafion (130 ± 1.5 mW m^?2) thereby suggesting its suitability as a sustainable and improved cation exchange membrane (CEM) for MFCs.     

Combination of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and nonlinear methods to analyze the copolymerization of phosphonic acid derivatives

We demonstrate in this study that the combination of modern inline monitoring methods [here: inline nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)] with simulations gains more exact and profound kinetic results than previously used methods like linearization without that combination. The ¹H-NMR spectroscopic data (more than 100 data points) are used to construct the copolymerization diagram. The reactivity ratios are obtained applying the van Herks nonlinear least square method. The examination of the radical copolymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) with (2-{[2-(ethoxycarbonyl)prop-2-en-1-yl]oxy}ethyl) phosphonic acid (ECPPA) as important adhesive monomer used in dentistry yields reactivity ratios of r_HEMA = 1.83; r_ECPPA = 0.42. The copolymerization diagram reflects nonideal, non-azeotropic copolymerization. The sequence distribution of the obtained by Monte Carlo simulation indicates the generation of statistical copolymers. As an important finding, it is demonstrated that the repeating units responsible for etching and adhesion are arranged over the whole polymer chain, which is necessary to achieve proper functionality. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 48256.     

A highly transparent and thermally stable copolymer of 1‐adamantyl methacrylate and styrene

Thermal and optical properties of copolymers of 1‐adamantyl methacrylate (AdMA) and styrene (St) prepared by free radical polymerization in the bulk are investigated. The copolymer forms an azeotrope when the composition is AdMA/St = 55/45 mol%. The glass transition temperature and decomposition temperature of the azeotropic copolymer are 170 and ca 340 °C, respectively. The refractive index increases nonlinearly with St content from 1.522 to 1.591. The light scattering loss at 633 nm is 28.1 dB km^?1, which is less than half of that of polystyrene. The total optical loss including molecular vibrational absorption, which is evaluated using a copolymer‐based optical fiber, is 292–645 dB km^?1 at 500–700 nm. These values correspond to transmittances of 86–93% for a 1 m optical path length. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry     

Synthesis and Interfacial Tension Behavior of Heavy Alkyl Benzene Sulfonates

Heavy alkyl benzene sulfonates (HABS) were synthesized, and their interfacial tensions were measured and compared with those of petroleum sulfonates ORS-41. Effects of their coupling with lignosulfonate were also studied. The results showed that HABS exhibited good interfacial activities and the system of HABS blending with LS displayed better interfacial activities than ORS-41 and therefore reduced the prime cost. Their best proportions of synergism were from 3:1 to 4:1. HABS might be a more promising alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) flooding agent.     

二氧化碳加氢直接合成二甲醚催化剂的研究——沉淀次序对复合催化剂结构和性能的影响

以草酸乙醇溶液为沉淀剂,采用不同的沉淀次序(并流、反加和正加)制备了CuO-ZnO-Al2O3/HZSM-5复合型催化剂,对CO2加氢直接合成二甲醚反应的催化活性顺序为:并流法催化剂>反加法催化剂>正加法催化剂。3种复合催化剂的还原温度由低到高的顺序为:并流法催化剂<反加法催化剂<正加法催化剂。在沉淀过程中,反加法和正加法均形成类胶体沉淀,相应催化剂的比表面积也较大。IR研究发现,催化剂在1101cm-1处表现Cu/Zn/Al氧化物与HZSM-5分子筛之间相互作用的IR吸收峰强度与其催化活性间存在对应关系。XRD结果表明,并流法得到的催化剂前驱体中有铜锌同形取代现象,有利于催化剂活性的发挥。     

分子筛绿色化合成技术的开发

对现有分子筛合成废液中氨氮及还原性物质的来源进行分析，确定降低排放废水中氨氮浓度及COD的方案。对现有ZRP-5分子筛制备流程进行优化，增加母液及赶胺水回用工序；建立母液浓缩装置，将钛硅分子筛及Β分子筛的合成母液及重排母液应用于ZSM-5分子筛的合成，实现废液的梯级利用。上述措施既解决了因分子筛生产废液的排放造成的环境污染，亦因废物资源化降低了ZSM-5分子筛的生产成本。     

Physico-chemical characterization of hybrid polymers obtained by 2-hydroxyethyl(methacrylate) and alkoxides of zirconium

Hybrid monolithic materials were prepared through polymerisation of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) mixed with zirconium alkoxides (Zr(OBuⁿ)₄, Zr(OPrⁿ)₄ and Zr(OEt)₄), modified by acetylacetonate groups. The molar ratio HEMA/Zr varied between 1 and 4. Thermo-Gravimetry coupled with Mass Spectroscopy (TG-MS) analyses, ¹³C MAS NMR and Dynamical Mechanical Thermal Analysys (DMTA) indicated the polymeric chains were interconnected by the inorganic component.The presence of zirconium alkoxides modified substantially the poly-HEMA properties. Glass transition temperature of hybrid materials derived from butoxy and propoxy was found in the range 50-80 °C, depending on the composition. The typical swelling of p-HEMA in the water, was suppressed by the presence of zirconium compounds. After immersion in distilled water, hybrid polymers showed an initial slight weight increase, followed by a small mass loss, which increases proportionally to the length of alkoxyl group (ethoxide(propoxide(butoxide) and reaches a constant value after about 40 days. The hybrids remained always rigid and transparent. Flexural modulus and strength of about 400-900 and 4-8 MPa were measured.     

以齐聚副产物制备耐高温泡沫剂

以齐聚副产物为原料在实验室分别以AlCl3、AlCl3络合物和杂多酸为催化剂合成并经磺化制备了用于提高石油采收率的耐高温泡沫剂，试验结果说明烷基碳数为16的异构烷基苯磺酸盐常温发泡性能最佳，烷基碳数大于20的正构烷基苯磺酸盐高温发泡性能最佳，后者特别适合高温蒸汽驱油。加入适当的非离子助剂及无机盐能够提高磺酸盐的水溶性，改善发泡剂溶液的稳定性。