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Polymers
Special Issues
Thermodynamics of Polymer/Solvent Systems
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Thermodynamics of Polymer/Solvent Systems

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2019) | Viewed by 7196

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Matteo Minelli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna, Via Terracini, 28, 40131 Bologna, Italy
Interests: glassy polymers; diffusion; membranes for gas separation; transport properties; thermodynamic modelling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I would like to warmly invite you to submit your original work or review article to the Special Issue titled “Thermodynamics of Polymer/Solvent Systems”.

The analysis of the thermodynamic behavior of polymer phases in the presence of low-molecular-weight solutes is of crucial relevance for the design of polymeric materials and processing conditions in a large variety of applications, from gas/oil piping to drug delivery or paint formulation. Furthermore, the ability to describe and predict the thermodynamic behavior of polymer–solute phases is also relevant for the design of membranes for fluid–mixture separation, for the development of barrier materials for packaging, or for sensor applications.

This Special Issue aims to collect research on the investigation of the behavior of polymer–solute mixtures and the analysis of their thermodynamic properties, spanning over wide ranges of temperature, pressure, and composition. Topics of interest may cover both the case of polymer solutions (i.e., solvent-rich systems) and that of penetrant sorption (i.e., polymer-rich systems).

Original experimental works on the characterization of phase equilibria of solutes with both innovative or conventional polymers are of interest, as well as the modeling analysis based on macroscopic, atomistic, mesoscopic, or even multiscale approaches.

I am looking forward to receiving your work for this Special Issue.

Prof. Matteo Minelli
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

  • Polymers
  • Solvent
  • Solubility
  • Phase equilibria
  • Polymer solutions
  • Phase behavior
  • Gas
  • Vapor
  • Liquid sorption
  • Plasticization
  • Equation of state
  • Modeling

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 5735 KiB  
Article
Computer Simulation of Anisotropic Polymeric Materials Using Polymerization-Induced Phase Separation under Combined Temperature and Concentration Gradients
by Shima Ghaffari, Philip K. Chan and Mehrab Mehrvar
Polymers 2019, 11(6), 1076; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11061076 - 21 Jun 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3538
Abstract
In this study, the self-condensation polymerization of a tri-functional monomer in a monomer-solvent mixture and the phase separation of the system were simultaneously modeled and simulated. Nonlinear Cahn–Hilliard and Flory–Huggins free energy theories incorporated with the kinetics of the polymerization reaction were utilized [...] Read more.
In this study, the self-condensation polymerization of a tri-functional monomer in a monomer-solvent mixture and the phase separation of the system were simultaneously modeled and simulated. Nonlinear Cahn–Hilliard and Flory–Huggins free energy theories incorporated with the kinetics of the polymerization reaction were utilized to develop the model. Linear temperature and concentration gradients singly and in combination were applied to the system. Eight cases which faced different ranges of initial concentration and/or temperature gradients in different directions, were studied. Various anisotropic structural morphologies were achieved. The numerical results were in good agreement with published data. The size analysis and structural characterization of the phase-separated system were also carried out using digital imaging software. The results showed that the phase separation occurred earlier in the section with a higher initial concentration and/or temperature, and, at a given time, the average equivalent diameter of the droplets <dave> was larger in this region. While smaller droplets formed later in the lower concentration/temperature regions, at the higher concentration/temperature side, the droplets went through phase separation longer, allowing them to reach the late stage of the phase separation where particles coarsened. In the intermediate stage of phase separation, <dave> was found proportional to t * α , where α was in the range between 1 3 and 1 2 for the cases studied and was consistent with published results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamics of Polymer/Solvent Systems)
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14 pages, 3756 KiB  
Article
A Protein-Based Material from a New Approach Using Whole Defatted Larvae, and Its Interaction with Moisture
by Nazanin Alipour, Björn Vinnerås, Fabrice Gouanvé, Eliane Espuche and Mikael S. Hedenqvist
Polymers 2019, 11(2), 287; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11020287 - 08 Feb 2019
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2924
Abstract
A protein-based material created from a new approach using whole defatted larvae of the Black Soldier fly is presented. The larvae turn organic waste into their own biomass with high content of protein and lipids, which can be used as animal feed or [...] Read more.
A protein-based material created from a new approach using whole defatted larvae of the Black Soldier fly is presented. The larvae turn organic waste into their own biomass with high content of protein and lipids, which can be used as animal feed or for material production. After removing the larva lipid and adding a plasticizer, the ground material was compression molded into plates/films. The lipid, rich in saturated fatty acids, can be used in applications such as lubricants. The amino acids present in the greatest amounts were the essential amino acids aspartic acid/asparagine and glutamic acid/glutamine. Infrared spectroscopy revealed that the protein material had a high amount of strongly hydrogen-bonded β-sheets, indicative of a highly aggregated protein. To assess the moisture–protein material interactions, the moisture uptake was investigated. The moisture uptake followed a BET type III moisture sorption isotherm, which could be fitted to the Guggenheim, Anderson and de Boer (GAB) equation. GAB, in combination with cluster size analysis, revealed that the water clustered in the material already at a low moisture content and the cluster increased in size with increasing relative humidity. The clustering also led to a peak in moisture diffusivity at an intermediate moisture uptake. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermodynamics of Polymer/Solvent Systems)
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