The amphiphilic star-like copolymer polyethylenimine-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) (PEI-b-PCL) was utilized to transfer the pre-synthesized citrate-capped noble metal nanoparticles (NMNPs) from an aqueous layer to an organic layer without any additional reagents. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were utilized to study the assembly of the polymers coated on ...

A diverse and entirely new class of monomer and polymer technology based on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) reagents has been developed. POSS reagents are unique in that they are physically large (approx. 15 Å diameter and 1000 amu) and are composed of a robust silicon–oxygen framework that can be easily functionalized with a variety of organic substituents. Appropriate functionaliz...

Styrene and polystyrene are two important organic compounds with a wide range of applications. The key difference between styrene and polystyrene is that it is the polymerization of styrene that forms polystyrene, a synthetic thermoplastic elastomer. Styrene is chemically called vinyl benzene and is among one of the oldest known vinyl compounds in the world. This aromaticcompound was first isol...

Multifunctional materials inspired by biological structures have attracted great interest, e.g. for wearable/ flexible "skin" and smart coatings. A current challenge in this area is to develop an artificial material which mimics biological skin by simultaneously displaying color change on damage as well as self healing of the damaged region. Here we report, for the first time, the development o...

Crude glycerol (CG), a by-product of biodiesel production, is an organic carbon-rich substrate with potential as feedstock for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production. PHA is a biodegradable thermoplastic synthesized by microorganisms as an intracellular granule. In this study we investigated PHA production on CG using mixed microbial consortia (MMC) and determined that the enriched MMC produced ...

Polymeric nanofibers have emerged as exclusive one-dimensional nanomaterials. Various polymeric and nanocomposite been processed using the thermoplastic, conducting, thermoset matrices. This review aims to highlight worth of electrospinning technology for processing polymer/nanocarbon nanofibers. In this regard, design, morphology, physical properties, applications were explored. The electrospu...

A cycloolefin polymer chip supporting the concatenation of isoelectric focusing (IEF) and reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) is demonstrated for high throughput two dimensional peptide separations. A unique benefit of the mixed-mode platform is the ability of IEF to act as a highly concentrating electrokinetic separation mode for effective isolation of sample components prior to RPLC. ...

Background: Inspired by structural hierarchies and the related excellent mechanical properties of biological materials, we created a smoothly graded micro- to nanoporous structure from a thermoplastic polymer. Results: The viscoelastic properties for the different pore sizes were investigated in the glassy regime by dynamic flat-punch indentation. Interestingly, the storage modulus was observed...

Blends of poly(hydroxy ester ether) (PHEE), a recently developed bisphenol A ether-based synthetic biodegradable thermoplastic polymer, with a soybean protein isolate and two hydrolyzed wheat glutens were studied. Blends of the proteins with PHEE were produced from 20 to 70% by weight of protein content. Young’s moduli of the protein/PHEE blends fall in the range of 0.8–1.5 GPa with tensile str...

High dry friction requires intimate contact between two surfaces and is generally obtained using soft materials with an elastic modulus less than 10 MPa. We demonstrate that high-friction properties similar to rubberlike materials can also be obtained using microfiber arrays constructed from a stiff thermoplastic (polypropylene, 1 GPa). The fiber arrays have a smaller true area of contact than ...