A novel method to fabricate shape controllable alginate/pNIPAAm complex microgels is reported. Monodisperse alginate/pNIPAAm droplets are created via microfluidics and cross-linked in different concentrations of hot glycerol/barium acetate water solutions. By changing the initial droplet size and glycerol concentration of the collecting solution, the resultant microgel shape and surface details...

We employ effective interaction potentials between spherical polyelectrolyte microgels in order to investigate theoretically the structure, thermodynamics, and phase behavior of ionic microgel solutions. Combining a genetic algorithm with accurate free energy calculations we are able to perform an unrestricted search of candidate crystal structures. Hexagonal, body-centered orthogonal, and trig...

Photocatalytic self-cleaning textile fibers have been created using coaxial electrospinning. This is accomplished by electrospinning cellulose acetate as the core phase and a dispersion of nanocrystalline TiO2, a well-known photocatalyst, in the sheath phase. A simple deacetylation step after the initial electrospinning yields self-cleaning textile fibers. Self-cleaning activity is exhibited at...

Core-shell microgels containing sensors/dyes in a matrix were fabricated by two-stage free radical precipitation polymerization method for ratiometric sensing/imaging. The microgels composing of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAm) shell exhibits a low critical solution temperature (LCST), underwent an entropically driven transition from a swollen state to a deswollen state, which exhibit a hyd...

A new hybrid methodology that fully integrates the processing capabilities of the twin screw extrusion process (conveying solids, melting, dispersive and distributive mixing, pressurization, temperature profiling, devolatilization) with electrospinning is described. The hybrid process is especially suited to the dispersion of nanoparticles into polymeric binders and the generation of nanopartic...

The present work focused on the preparation and morphological characterization of chitosan-based nanofiber membranes, aiming at applications in medical and pharmacological areas. Membranes with nanofiber diameters ranging from 50 – 300 nm were prepared from polymer solutions through the electrospinning process. To stabilize the process, it was necessary to use poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), which ...

Electrospinning is a very simple and versatile process by which polymer nanofibers with diameters ranging from a few nanometers to several micrometers (usually between 50 and 500 nm) can be produced using an electrostatically driven jet of polymer solution (or polymer melt). Significant progress has been made in this process throughout the past few years and the resultant nanostructures have be...

A core/sheath structured mesoporous silica nanofibre was prepared by coaxial electrospinning combined with the solvent evaporation induced surfactant assembly process. The characterization has given convincing evidence for the continuous highly ordered mesoporous structures, and its catalyst application was tested.

We study ionic microgel suspensions composed of swollen particles for various single-particle stiffnesses. We measure the osmotic pressure π of these suspensions and show that it is dominated by the contribution of free ions in solution. As this ionic osmotic pressure depends on the volume fraction of the suspension ϕ, we can determine ϕ from π, even at volume fractions so high that the microge...

Probiotic microorganisms are incorporated into a wide variety of foods, supplements, and pharmaceuticals to promote human health and wellness. However, maintaining bacterial cell viability during storage and gastrointestinal transit remains a challenge. Encapsulation of bifidobacteria within food-grade hydrogel particles potentially mitigates their sensitivity to environmental stresses. In this...