scholarly journals Combining Chemistry, Materials Science, Inspiration from Nature, and Serendipity to Develop Stimuli‐Responsive Polymeric Materials

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 100-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart J. Rowan ◽  
Christoph Weder
Author(s):  
Elayne M. Thomas ◽  
Phong H. Nguyen ◽  
Seamus D. Jones ◽  
Michael L. Chabinyc ◽  
Rachel A. Segalman

Polymers that simultaneously transport electrons and ions are paramount to drive the technological advances necessary for next-generation electrochemical devices, including energy storage devices and bioelectronics. However, efforts to describe the motion of ions or electrons separately within polymeric systems become inaccurate when both species are present. Herein, we highlight the basic transport equations necessary to rationalize mixed transport and the multiscale materials properties that influence their transport coefficients. Potential figures of merit that enable a suitable performance benchmark in mixed conducting systems independent of end application are discussed. Practical design and implementation of mixed conducting polymers require an understanding of the evolving nature of structure and transport with ionic and electronic carrier density to capture the dynamic disorder inherent in polymeric materials. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Materials Science, Volume 51 is July 2021. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


2013 ◽  
Vol 538 ◽  
pp. 181-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xin De Tang ◽  
Ye Chen ◽  
Fa Qi Yu ◽  
Mei Shan Pei

Organic/inorganic hybrid materials based upon stimuli-responsive copolymers have attracted an inceasing attention. Compared with the polymeric materials, these hybrid materials can form aggregates in aqueous solution with much more stable shape-persistance due to the inorganic structure, which facilitate the mass delivery and long-term life. A novel hybrid material based on a new reactive block copolymer, poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly{3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate-co-N-isopropylacrylamide-co-6-[4-(4-methoxyphenylazo)phenoxy]hexyl methacrylate} [PEO-P(TMSPMA-NIPAM-AzoMA)] was synthesized via atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). The vesicles were obtained by self-assembly of the resulting block copolymer in a selective solvent, and then the PTMSPMA block was subjected to hydrolysis and polycondensation reaction to fix vesicle wall in the presence of triethylamine as a catalyst. The photo- and thermo- dual-responsive properties of the vesicles were investigated.


2018 ◽  
Vol 53 ◽  
pp. 209-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinuo Tan ◽  
Kei Saito ◽  
Milton TW Hearn

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dinesh K. Patel ◽  
Yu-Ri Seo ◽  
Ki-Taek Lim

Stimuli-responsive materials, also known as smart materials, can change their structure and, consequently, original behavior in response to external or internal stimuli. This is due to the change in the interactions between the various functional groups. Graphene, which is a single layer of carbon atoms with a hexagonal morphology and has excellent physiochemical properties with a high surface area, is frequently used in materials science for various applications. Numerous surface functionalizations are possible for the graphene structure with different functional groups, which can be used to alter the properties of native materials. Graphene-based hybrids exhibit significant improvements in their native properties. Since functionalized graphene contains several reactive groups, the behavior of such hybrid materials can be easily tuned by changing the external conditions, which is very useful in biomedical applications. Enhanced cell proliferation and differentiation of stem cells was reported on the surfaces of graphene-based hybrids with negligible cytotoxicity. In addition, pH or light-induced drug delivery with a controlled release rate was observed for such nanohybrids. Besides, notable improvements in antimicrobial activity were observed for nanohybrids, which demonstrated their potential for biomedical applications. This review describes the physiochemical properties of graphene and graphene-based hybrid materials for stimuli-responsive drug delivery, tissue engineering, and antimicrobial applications.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishnu Baba Sundaresan ◽  
Andrew Morgan ◽  
Matt Castellucci

Self-healing materials science has seen significant advances in the last decade. Recent efforts have demonstrated healing in polymeric materials through chemical reaction, thermal treatment, and ultraviolet irradiation. The existing technology for healing polymeric materials through the aforementioned mechanisms produces an irreversible change in the material and makes it unsuitable for subsequent healing cycles. To overcome these disadvantages, we demonstrate a new composite self-healing material made from an ionomer (Surlyn) and carbon fiber that can sustain damage from medium-velocity impact and heal from the energy of the impact. Furthermore, the carbon fiber embedded in the polymer matrix results in resistive heating of the polymer matrix locally, melts the ionomer matrix around the damage, and heals the material at the damaged location. This paper presents methods to melt-process Surlyn with carbon fiber and demonstrates healing in the material through medium-velocity impact tests, resistive heating, and imaging through electron and optical microscopy. A new metric for quantifying self-healing in the sample, called width-heal ratio, is developed, and we report that the Surlyn-carbon fiber-based material under an optimal rate of heating and at the correct temperature has a width-heal ratio of >0.9, thereby demonstrating complete recovery from the damage.


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