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Polymers
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Applications of Polymers in Energy and Environmental Sciences II
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Applications of Polymers in Energy and Environmental Sciences II

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 10993

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sheng-Hsiung Chang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Center for Membrane Technology and Center for Nanotechnology, Department of Physics, Chung Yuan Christian University, Taoyuan 32023, Taiwan
Interests: perovskite optoelectronic devices; light–materials interactions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Hsin-Ming Cheng

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Organic Electronics Research Center and Department of Electronic Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, New Taipei City 24301, Taiwan
Interests: optoelectronic sensors; porous materials; perovskite solar cells; dye-sensitized solar cells; material characterization techniques
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymers can be designed with functions that are useful for various applications in energy conversions/manipulations and environmental sensing/protections, which rely on the advanced developments of solar cells, light-emitting diodes, photodetectors, high-speed communications, gas sensors, gas purifiers, photocatalysis, and supercapacitors. The manipulations of molecular structures, nanostructures, mesostructures, and microstructures can dominate the surface, chemical, electrical, electronic, optical, and excitonic properties of functional polymers. In addition, it is predicted that the effects from nanocomposite structures, heterostructures, and nanoplasmonic structures provide additional pathways to realize the desired polymer-based functional devices. Therefore, this Special Issue will cover research and review papers on polymer-based functional devices as follows:

  1. Solar cells;
  2. Light-emitting diodes;
  3. Photodetectors;
  4. Gas sensors;
  5. Gas purifiers;
  6. Photocatalysis devices;
  7. Supercapacitors;
  8. Nanocomposite structures, heterostructures, or nanoplasmonic-structure-enhanced, polymer-based functional devices for energy conversions/manipulations and environmental sensing/protections.

Dr. Sheng Hsiung Chang
Dr. Hsin-Ming Cheng
Guest Editors

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

  • polymer
  • solar cells
  • light-emitting diodes
  • sensors
  • light–materials interactions
  • energy transfers
  • perovskite
  • metal–organic frameworks
  • plasmonic-enhanced photocatalysis

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 4067 KiB  
Article
Heteroatom-Enhanced Porous Carbon Materials Based on Polybenzoxazine for Supercapacitor Electrodes and CO2 Capture
by Thirukumaran Periyasamy, Shakila Parveen Asrafali and Seong-Cheol Kim
Polymers 2023, 15(6), 1564; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15061564 - 21 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1269
Abstract
Through a solution method utilizing benzoxazine chemistry, heteroatoms containing porous carbons (HCPCs) were synthesized from melamine, eugenol and formaldehyde, followed by carbonization in a nitrogen atmosphere and chemical activation with KOH at three different activation temperatures, 700, 800 and 900 °C. The introduction [...] Read more.
Through a solution method utilizing benzoxazine chemistry, heteroatoms containing porous carbons (HCPCs) were synthesized from melamine, eugenol and formaldehyde, followed by carbonization in a nitrogen atmosphere and chemical activation with KOH at three different activation temperatures, 700, 800 and 900 °C. The introduction of melamine and eugenol to the monomer produced structurally bonded nitrogen and oxygen in porous carbons. Changing the calcination temperature can alter the doping level of heteroatoms and the particle size. These carbon materials exhibit large pore size distributions, tunable pore structure, high nitrogen and oxygen contents and high surface areas, which make them suitable for use as electrode materials in supercapacitors. As a result of activating at 800 °C, the sample HCPC-800 exhibits a high specific surface area of 984 m2/g, high oxygen and nitrogen content (3.64–6.26 wt.% and 10.61–13.65 wt.%), hierarchical pore structure, high degree of graphitization and good electrical conductivity. An outstanding rate capability is also demonstrated, as well as incredible longevity, retaining the capacitance up to 83% even after 5000 cycles in a solution containing 1 M H2SO4. Moreover, the activated porous carbon containing nitrogen exhibits a CO2 adsorption capacity of 3.6 and 3.5 mmol/g at 25 °C and 0 °C, respectively, which corresponds to equilibrium pressures of 1 bar. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Polymers in Energy and Environmental Sciences II)
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12 pages, 8293 KiB  
Article
Ag/Cu-Chitosan Composite Improves Laundry Hygiene and Reduces Silver Emission in Washing Machines
by Mengdan Qiang, Jianrong Wu, Hongtao Zhang and Xiaobei Zhan
Polymers 2023, 15(3), 695; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15030695 - 30 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1201
Abstract
Textiles can be contaminated with pathogens during household laundering, potentially leading to human sickness. In this work, chitosan (CTS) was used as a substrate to prepare Ag/Cu-CTS composite, which was applied in laundering and showed a remarkable antibacterial effect on Escherichia coli and [...] Read more.
Textiles can be contaminated with pathogens during household laundering, potentially leading to human sickness. In this work, chitosan (CTS) was used as a substrate to prepare Ag/Cu-CTS composite, which was applied in laundering and showed a remarkable antibacterial effect on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The mechanical strength of Ag/Cu-CTS composite beads was higher than 400 MPa. The Ag/Cu-CTS composite were further characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. This composite had a strong inhibitory effect on several laundry pathogens, such as Acinetobacter sp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Candida albicans. Using a standard laundering program and 15 g of Ag/Cu-CTS composite beads, the antibacterial rates reached 99.9%, and no silver emission was detected, thereby satisfying the Chinese requirement for washing machines. After 160 runs of laundering tests, this composite still has an excellent antibacterial effect. For the first time, chitosan is successfully applied as an antibacterial material on household electric appliances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Polymers in Energy and Environmental Sciences II)
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11 pages, 2462 KiB  
Article
Improving the Performance of Polymer Solar Cells with Benzo[ghi]perylenetriimide-Based Small-Molecules as Interfacial Layers
by Yang-Yen Yu, Hung-Cheng Chen, Kai-Yu Shih, Yan-Cheng Peng, Bing-Huang Jiang, Chao-I Liu, Ming-Wei Hsu, Chi-Ching Kuo and Chih-Ping Chen
Polymers 2022, 14(20), 4466; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14204466 - 21 Oct 2022
Viewed by 1309
Abstract
In this study, we prepared three benzo[ghi]perylenetriimide (BPTI) conjugated molecules as electron-transporting surface-modifying layers for polymer solar cells (PSCs). These three BPTI derivatives differed in the nature of their terminal functionalities, featuring butylamine (C3NH2), propylammonium iodide (C [...] Read more.
In this study, we prepared three benzo[ghi]perylenetriimide (BPTI) conjugated molecules as electron-transporting surface-modifying layers for polymer solar cells (PSCs). These three BPTI derivatives differed in the nature of their terminal functionalities, featuring butylamine (C3NH2), propylammonium iodide (C3NH3I), and butyldimethylamine (C3DMA) units, respectively. We evaluated the optoelectronic properties of PTB7-Th: PC71BM blends modified with these interfacial layers, as well as the performance of resulting PSCs. We used UV–Vis spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, surface energy analysis, ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy, and photoelectric flow measurements to examine the phenomena behind the changes in the optoelectronic behavior of these blend films. The presence of a BPTI derivative changed the energy band alignment at the ZnO–active layer interface, leading to the ZnO film behaving more efficiently as an electron-extraction electrode. Modifying the ZnO surface with the BPTI-C3NH3I derivative resulted in a best power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 10.2 ± 0.53% for the PTB7-Th:PC71BM PSC (cf. PCE of the control device of 9.1 ± 0.13%). In addition, modification of a PM6:Y6:PCBM PSC with the BPTI-C3NH3I derivative increased its PCE from 15.6 ± 0.25% to 16.5 ± 0.18%. Thus, BPTI derivatives appear to have potential as IFLs when developing high-performance PSCs, and might also be applicable in other optoelectronic devices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Polymers in Energy and Environmental Sciences II)
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11 pages, 5720 KiB  
Article
Robust Impact Effect and Super-Lyophobic Reduced Galinstan on Polymers Applied for Energy Harvester
by Husheng Chen, Shilong Hu, Yuan Jin, Aibing Zhang, Licheng Hua, Jianke Du and Guangyong Li
Polymers 2022, 14(17), 3633; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14173633 - 02 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1349
Abstract
In this paper, we present a novel reduced Galinstan-based microfluidic energy harvester, which can converse kinetic energy to electricity from an arbitrary vibration source. Firstly, the wetting behaviors of reduced Galinstan are performed, which shows a robust impact effect on polymer substrates. Moreover, [...] Read more.
In this paper, we present a novel reduced Galinstan-based microfluidic energy harvester, which can converse kinetic energy to electricity from an arbitrary vibration source. Firstly, the wetting behaviors of reduced Galinstan are performed, which shows a robust impact effect on polymer substrates. Moreover, the electric circuit model of the reduced Galinstan-based energy harvester is made and discussed by the use of the EDLCs (electrical double layer capacitors). After modeling, the microfluidic energy harvester with coplanar microfluidic channels is designed and fabricated. Finally, the performance of the microfluidic energy harvester is investigated, which can harvest multi-direction vibration energy. The experiment results demonstrate that the novel reduced Galinstan-based microfluidic energy harvester is suitably and uniquely applied in a complex vibration environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Polymers in Energy and Environmental Sciences II)
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Review

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28 pages, 5658 KiB  
Review
Polypyrrole Nanomaterials: Structure, Preparation and Application
by Lu Hao, Changyi Dong, Lifeng Zhang, Kaiming Zhu and Demei Yu
Polymers 2022, 14(23), 5139; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14235139 - 25 Nov 2022
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 4786
Abstract
In the past decade, nanostructured polypyrrole (PPy) has been widely studied because of its many specific properties, which have obvious advantages over bulk-structured PPy. This review outlines the main structures, preparation methods, physicochemical properties, potential applications, and future prospects of PPy nanomaterials. The [...] Read more.
In the past decade, nanostructured polypyrrole (PPy) has been widely studied because of its many specific properties, which have obvious advantages over bulk-structured PPy. This review outlines the main structures, preparation methods, physicochemical properties, potential applications, and future prospects of PPy nanomaterials. The preparation approaches include the soft micellar template method, hard physical template method and templateless method. Due to their excellent electrical conductivity, biocompatibility, environmental stability and reversible redox properties, PPy nanomaterials have potential applications in the fields of energy storage, biomedicine, sensors, adsorption and impurity removal, electromagnetic shielding, and corrosion resistant. Finally, the current difficulties and future opportunities in this research area are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications of Polymers in Energy and Environmental Sciences II)
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