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Polymers
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Functional Polymers: Interaction, Surface, Processing and Applications II
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Functional Polymers: Interaction, Surface, Processing and Applications II

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Smart and Functional Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 5 August 2024 | Viewed by 4447

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Chi-Jung Chang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Chemical Engineering, Feng Chia University, 100, Wenhwa Road, Seatwen, Taichung 40724, Taiwan
Interests: polymers and nanomaterials for optoelectronic and biomedical applications; semiconductor nanomaterial-based photocatalysts and gas sensor; organic molecule/polymer-based chemical sensor and biosensor; materials for environmental protection/energy applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue will focus on the interaction between polymers and other compounds, surface modification and/or functionalization of polymers, processing parameters, and application of functional polymers, including polymers, polymeric blends, composites, and hybrids. The effective approaches for the characterization of polymeric materials are very important to investigate their interaction and surface properties. Appropriate surface modification may help enhance the performance of polymers. The use of suitable processing approaches and the optimization of processing parameters may help manipulate the nanostructures, mesostructures, textures, and performance of polymeric nanomaterials, films, membranes, parts, and devices. The surface, chemical, physical, electrical, mechanical, optical, and thermal properties of the functional polymers can be tuned to facilitate their application in various fields. This Special Issue will cover review and research papers on the interaction, surface, and processing of functional polymers for the environmental/energy/biomedical applications. 

Prof. Dr. Chi-Jung Chang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • chemical/gas/bio sensing
  • oil–water separation
  • heavy metal removal
  • photocatalyst
  • interaction with biomolecule
  • solar steam generation
  • smart textile
  • functional textile
  • microwave absorption
  • photothermal effect
  • piezoelectric effect
  • stimuli-responsive polymers
  • processing parameter property correlation
  • composition–property relation

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 9463 KiB  
Article
An Eco-Friendly Manner to Prepare Superwetting Melamine Sponges with Switchable Wettability for the Separation of Oil/Water Mixtures and Emulsions
by Guyita Berako Belachew, Chien-Chieh Hu, Yan-Yu Chang, Chih-Feng Wang, Wei-Song Hung, Jem-Kun Chen and Juin-Yih Lai
Polymers 2024, 16(5), 693; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16050693 - 03 Mar 2024
Viewed by 919
Abstract
Oil/water separation processes have garnered significant global attention due to the quick growth in industrial development, recurring chemical leakages, and oil spills. Hence, there is a significant demand for the development of inexpensive superwetting materials in an eco-friendly manner to separate oil/water mixtures [...] Read more.
Oil/water separation processes have garnered significant global attention due to the quick growth in industrial development, recurring chemical leakages, and oil spills. Hence, there is a significant demand for the development of inexpensive superwetting materials in an eco-friendly manner to separate oil/water mixtures and emulsions. In this study, a superwetting melamine sponge (SMS) with switchable wettabilities was prepared by modifying melamine sponge (MS) with sodium dodecanoate. The as-prepared SMS exhibited superhydrophobicity, superoleophilicity, underwater superoleophobicity, and underoil superhydrophobicity. The SMS can be utilized in treating both light and heavy oil/water mixtures through the prewetting process. It demonstrated fast permeation fluxes (reaching 108,600 L m−2 h−1 for a light oil/water mixture and 147,700 L m−2 h−1 for a heavy oil/water mixture) and exhibited good separation efficiency (exceeding 99.56%). The compressed SMS was employed in separating surfactant-stabilized water-in-oil emulsions (SWOEs), as well as surfactant-stabilized oil-in-water emulsions (SOWEs), giving high permeation fluxes (reaching 7210 and 5054 L m−2 h−1, respectively). The oil purity for SWOEs’ filtrates surpassed 99.98 wt% and the separation efficiencies of SOWEs exceeded 98.84%. Owing to their remarkable capability for separating oil/water mixtures and emulsions, eco-friendly fabrication method, and feasibility for large-scale production, our SMS has a promising potential for practical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers: Interaction, Surface, Processing and Applications II)
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18 pages, 1257 KiB  
Article
A Facile Surface Modification Scheme for Medical-Grade Titanium and Polypropylene Using a Novel Mussel-Inspired Biomimetic Polymer with Cationic Quaternary Ammonium Functionalities for Antibacterial Application
by Chi-Hui Cheng, Xiang-Zhen Zeng, Wen-Yuan Chiu and Jui-Che Lin
Polymers 2024, 16(4), 503; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16040503 - 12 Feb 2024
Viewed by 752
Abstract
Medical device-associated infection remains a critical problem in the healthcare setting. Different clinical- or device-related methods have been attempted to reduce the infection rate. Among these approaches, creating a surface with bactericidal cationic functionality has been proposed. To do so, a sophisticated multi-step [...] Read more.
Medical device-associated infection remains a critical problem in the healthcare setting. Different clinical- or device-related methods have been attempted to reduce the infection rate. Among these approaches, creating a surface with bactericidal cationic functionality has been proposed. To do so, a sophisticated multi-step chemical procedure would be needed. Instead, a simple immersion approach was utilized in this investigation to render the titanium and polypropylene surface with the quaternary ammonium functionality by using a mussel-inspired novel lab-synthesized biomimetic catechol-terminated polymer, PQA-C8. The chemical oxidants, CuSO4/H2O2, as well as dopamine, were added into the novel PQA-C8 polymer immersion solution for one-step surface modification. Additionally, a two-step immersion scheme, in which the polypropylene substrate was first immersed in the dopamine solution and then in the PQA-C8 solution, was also attempted. Surface analysis results indicated the surface characteristics of the modified substrates were affected by the immersion solution formulation as well as the procedure utilized. The antibacterial assay has shown the titanium substrates modified by the one-step dopamine + PQA-C8 mixtures with the oxidants added and the polypropylene modified by the two-step scheme exhibited bacterial reduction percentages greater than 90% against both Gram-positive S. aureus and Gram-negative E. coli and these antibacterial substrates were non-cytotoxic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers: Interaction, Surface, Processing and Applications II)
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17 pages, 11402 KiB  
Article
Single-Component Hydrophilic Terpolymer Thin Film Systems for Imparting Surface Chemical Versatility on Various Substrates
by Yun Hee Ko, Hai Ha Tran Nguyen, Christopher R. Branstetter, Soeun Park, Jin-Kyun Lee, Jaesung Yang, Jangwook P. Jung and Myungwoong Kim
Polymers 2024, 16(1), 44; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16010044 - 21 Dec 2023
Viewed by 841
Abstract
We demonstrate a single-component hydrophilic photocrosslinkable copolymer system that incorporates all critical functionalities into one chain. This design allows for the creation of uniform functional organic coatings on a variety of substrates. The copolymers were composed of a poly(ethylene oxide)-containing monomer, a monomer [...] Read more.
We demonstrate a single-component hydrophilic photocrosslinkable copolymer system that incorporates all critical functionalities into one chain. This design allows for the creation of uniform functional organic coatings on a variety of substrates. The copolymers were composed of a poly(ethylene oxide)-containing monomer, a monomer that can release a primary amine upon UV light, and a monomer with reactive epoxide or cyclic dithiocarbonate with a primary amine. These copolymers are easily incorporated into the solution-casting process using polar solvents. Furthermore, the resulting coating can be readily stabilized through UV light-induced crosslinking, providing an advantage for controlling the surface properties of various substrates. The photocrosslinking capability further enables us to photolithographically define stable polymer domains in a desirable region. The resulting copolymer coatings were chemically versatile in immobilizing complex molecules by (i) post-crosslinking functionalization with the reactive groups on the surface and (ii) the formation of a composite coating by mixing varying amounts of a protein of interest, i.e., fish skin gelatin, which can form a uniform dual crosslinked network. The number of functionalization sites in a thin film could be controlled by tuning the composition of the copolymers. In photocrosslinking and subsequent functionalizations, we assessed the reactivity of the epoxide and cyclic dithiocarbonate with the generated primary amine. Moreover, the orthogonality of the possible reactions of the presented reactive functionalities in the crosslinked thin films with complex molecules is assessed. The resulting copolymer coatings were further utilized to define a hydrophobic surface or an active surface for the adhesion of biological objects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers: Interaction, Surface, Processing and Applications II)
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17 pages, 2469 KiB  
Article
Interpenetration Networked Polyimide–Epoxy Copolymer under Kinetic and Thermodynamic Control for Anticorrosion Coating
by Dong-Sen Chen, Chun-Hua Chen, Wha-Tzong Whang and Chun-Wei Su
Polymers 2023, 15(1), 243; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15010243 - 03 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1521
Abstract
Epoxy (EP) was copolymerized with polyamic acid (PAA, precursor of polyimide (PI)) with termanil monomers of (1) 4,4′-Oxydianiline (ODA) and (2) pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) individually to form (PI-O-EP) and (PI-P-EP) copolymers. The FTIR spectrum of PI-O-EP copolymerization intermediates shows that some amide-EP linkages [...] Read more.
Epoxy (EP) was copolymerized with polyamic acid (PAA, precursor of polyimide (PI)) with termanil monomers of (1) 4,4′-Oxydianiline (ODA) and (2) pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) individually to form (PI-O-EP) and (PI-P-EP) copolymers. The FTIR spectrum of PI-O-EP copolymerization intermediates shows that some amide-EP linkages were formed at low temperature and were broken at higher temperature; in additoin, the released amide was available for subsequent imidization to form PI. The curing and imidization of the amide groups on PAA were determined by reaction temperature (kinetic vs. thermodynamic control). In PI-P-EP, the released amide group was very short-lived (fast imidization) and was not observed on FTIR spectra. Formation and breakage of the amide-EP linkages is the key step for EP homopolymerization and formation of the interpenetration network. PI contributed in improving thermal durability and mechanical strength without compromising EP’s adhesion strength. Microphase separations were minimal at PI content less than 10 wt%. The copolymerization reaction in this study followed the “kinetic vs. thermodynamic control” principle. The copolymer has high potential for application in the field of higher-temperature anticorrosion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymers: Interaction, Surface, Processing and Applications II)
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