Low-cost Polymer Research Articles

Lac-extract doped polyaniline nano-ribbons as fluorescence sensor and molecular switch for detection of aqueous AsO43− and Fe3+ contaminants

Detection of contaminants dissolved in water is an essential step for water quality monitoring and can guide us from consuming unhealthy water. Herein, we demonstrate the development of a novel low-cost polymer by doping polyaniline nanoribbons with lac-extract (LAC-PANI) and report its excellent fluorescence sensing properties against aqueous AsO43− and Fe3+ ions, both of which AsO43− and Fe3+can pose health hazard for humans with the former being extremely toxic. When excited with radiation of 320 nm, the sensor showed contrasting fluorescence response against AsO43− and Fe3+ ions as the luminescence intensity showed sharp quenching upon exposure to Fe3+ but against AsO43− it showed a sharp rise in intensity. When other cations and oxoanions were concurrently tested with Fe3+ and AsO43− respectively, the sensor showed high specificity only to these two ions. Furthermore, a reversible and distinct fluorescence turn on–off-on switching response was observed upon sequential addition of AsO43−, Fe3+ and AsO43− ions which points to the utility of the sensor as a NOT-AND compound molecular logic gate for simultaneous detection of two electronically divergent analyte classes. Thus, the LAC-PANI sensor developed in this work shows enormous potential for next generation fluorescence sensor useful for water quality monitoring.

Biodegradable composite polymer as advanced gel electrolyte for quasi-solid-state lithium-metal battery

The development of low-cost and eco-friendly gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) with a wide window, ideal compatibility, and structural stability is an effective measure to achieve safe high-energy-density lithium-metal batteries. Herein, a biodegradable composite polyacrylonitrile/poly-L-lactic acid nanofiber membrane (PAL) is synthesized and used as a robust skeleton for GPEs. The 3D nanofiber membrane (PAL-3-C12) prepared with an adjusted weight ratio of polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and spinning solution concentration delivers decent thermal stability, biodegradability, and liquid electrolyte absorbability. The “passivation effect” of PAN upon lithium metal is effectively alleviated by hydrogen bonds formed in the PAL chains. These advantages enable PAL GPEs to work stably to 5.17 ​V while maintaining high ionic conductivity as well as excellent corrosion resistance and dielectric properties. The interfacial compatibility of optimized GPEs promotes the stable operation of a Li||PAL-3-C12 GPEs||Li symmetric battery for 1000 ​h at 0.15 ​mA ​cm−2/0.15 ​mA ​h cm−2, and the LiFePO4 full cell retains capacity retention of 97.63% after 140 cycles at 1C.

Preview the Products on Display at Display Week 2022

Preview the Products on Display at Display Week 2022

Variable Direct Electromechanical Properties of As-Electrospun Polystyrene Microfiber Mats with Different Electrospinning Conditions.

As-electrospun microfiber mats comprising atactic polystyrene (aPS), a low-cost commodity polymer, have demonstrated beneficial electromechanical properties. However, the variability of the electromechanical properties of fiber mats produced using different electrospinning conditions has not been investigated. Therefore, herein, the direct electromechanical properties of aPS fiber mats produced using different deposition times (tdep) and electrospinning voltages (VES) are investigated. The resulting apparent piezoelectric d constant (dapp) of the fiber mats demonstrates a specific peak value for tdep as high as ~1600 pC N−1 under 1-kPa pressure application after ~0.2-kPa pre-pressure application, although the dapp of the fiber mats produced with some conditions is nearly zero pC·N−1. Furthermore, the peak position of dapp with tdep is fundamentally determined with σEff0/YD(h-hpre) [σEff0: effective surface charge density, YD(h-hpre): secant modulus of elasticity]. Charge distribution models for fiber mats with different tdep are established. The models explain the characteristics of the significant changes in YD(h-hpre) and σEff0 with tdep. These findings provide significant directions for the production of fiber mats with improved direct electromechanical properties.

Water Evaporation Reduction Using Sunlight Splitting Technology

The imbalance between precipitation and water evaporation has caused crop yield reduction, drought, and desertification. Furthermore, most parts of the world are short of water, including China. We proposed a low-cost polymer multilayer film to reduce water evaporation by only passing through several sunlight wavelengths necessary for photosynthesis. A series of experiments were conducted to characterize the influence of partial sunlight on the reduction of water evaporation. Evaporation containers and evaporation pans were placed in open-air (CK), under a glass shed (GS), and under a glass-shed covered with multilayer films (GMF). Our results showed a significant reduction in water evaporation under GMF. Cumulative soil surface evaporation of CK, GS and GMF over 45 days was 80.53 mm, 68.12 mm, and 56.79 mm, respectively. Under GMF, cumulative water evaporation from soil and pan surfaces decreased by 29% and 26%. The slope (β1≠0) of simple linear regression showed a significant relationship between evaporation time and cumulative water evaporation (p = 0.000 < α = 0.05 shown in the ANOVA table). The correlation coefficient was more than 0.91 in all treatments, suggesting a strong positive linear relationship. This study may contribute to future drought resistance and agrivoltaic sustainability development.

Sage seed gum as a novel source for polysaccharide-based antibacterial nanofibers: Physical, chemical, and rheological characterization

In this study, the sage seed gum (SSG) was electrospun as a polysaccharide polymer blended with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to construct nanofibrous mats for antibacterial applications. The rheological properties of the PVA/SSG solutions were investigated before electrospinning. Oscillatory, shear, and steady shear tests demonstrated that the PVA/SSG solutions had a viscous behavior, exhibiting a higher consistency coefficient ( k) and a lower flow behavior index ( n) at the higher PVA incorporation levels. The morphological studies by SEM images revealed that the PVA/SSG nanofibers were produced without bead defects within the diameter range of 130–300 nm. The in vitro degradation tests showed that the PVA/SSG nanofibers (at different SSG contents) were degraded by approx. 60–70% of their initial weight after one day of the degradation test. The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus microbial species and biodegradation tests also verified that the produced nanofibers could be implemented for antibacterial applications. The SSG polymer in the form of nanofibers can be, therefore, used as a natural and low-cost polymer for special antibacterial applications such as wound healing.

Synthesis of a Low-Cost Thiophene-Indoloquinoxaline Polymer Donor and Its Application to Polymer Solar Cells.

A simple wide-bandgap conjugated polymer based on indoloquinoxaline unit (PIQ) has been newly designed and synthesized via cheap and commercially available starting materials. The basic physicochemical properties of the PIQ have been investigated. PIQ possesses a broad and strong absorption band in the wavelength range of 400~660 nm with a bandgap of 1.80 eV and lower-lying highest occupied molecular orbital energy level of −5.58 eV. Polymer solar cells based on PIQ and popular acceptor Y6 blend display a preliminarily optimized power conversion efficiency of 6.4%. The results demonstrate indoloquinoxaline is a promising building unit for designing polymer donor materials for polymer solar cells.

Low-cost polymer acceptors with noncovalently fused-ring backbones for efficient all-polymer solar cells

Low-cost polymer acceptors with noncovalently fused-ring backbones for efficient all-polymer solar cells

Ultrasensitive Graphene-Based Nanobiosensor for Rapid Detection of Hemoglobin in Undiluted Biofluids.

Detection of hemoglobin (Hb), a critical part of the biological system that is responsible for oxygen transportation, is of great significance on clinical diagnosis of various diseases. Particularly, time-efficient Hb detection under nanomole levels has drawn much attention in recent years. Herein, we present a graphene field effect transistor (GFET)-based aptameric nanobiosensor for rapid detection of Hb in undiluted biofluids including serum and urine and for the first time use polyethylenimine (PEI), a kind of comparatively low-cost polymer consisting of numerous amino groups, which can be directly linked with the anchor molecule without any pretreatment as the graphene surface passivation agent. Experimental results indicate the PEI-modified graphene aptameric nanobiosensor can respond to the Hb concentration change in a few minutes (6-8 min) with estimated detection limits of 10.6 fM in 1× PBS, 14.2 fM in undiluted serum, and 11.9 fM in undiluted urine, respectively. Further, considering the potential use of our sensor for implantable and wearable applications, we also examine the sensing performance of the sensor fabricated on an ultrathin flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. The Hb detection results are almost invariable even after 100 cycles of cyclic extension by 120% or 100 cycles of bending with a radius of 1 mm. Hence, our sensor holds great potential for accurate monitoring of nanomole levels of Hb in clinical applications.

Fabrication of a novel polymer inclusion membrane from recycled polyvinyl chloride for the real-time extraction of arsenic (V) from water samples in a continuous process

In this work, the integration of recycled polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material as a base polymer and benzalkonium chloride (BAC) as an extractant to develop low-cost Polymer Inclusion Membranes (PIM) for the extraction of Arsenic (V) from water. Notably, the production of 1 m2 of PIM may cost approximately 0.0016$. It was found that 10% of recycled PVC can be easily substituted with the base polymer without much efficiency variation. The extraction efficiency of As(V) for PVC/BAC/Dioctyl phthalate (DOP) and PVC+recycled PVC (RPVC)/BAC/DOP membranes were around only 57.8 ± 1% and 56.2 ± 1%, respectively. To overcome such a less efficient barrier, we have designed a device that increased the final extraction capability of 100 mgL-1 concentration of As(V) to ~91 ± 1% over 100 h working at the consistent operating conditions be used for wastewater treatment-based industries. Thus, the developed PIM membrane permits the transport of As(V) at higher concentrations for different natural waters spiked with 100 ppm As(V). Herein, we did not observe any matrix effect on As(V) transport efficiency with different waters except seawater, which contains a high level of ions. Furthermore, the effect of biofilm growth on the surface of PIMs has been inspected for a period of beyond 10 days. Therefore, the novel low-cost PIM device can be used in metal and alloy-based industries to extract As(V) from contaminated wastewater efficiently.

Side-chain engineering with chalcogen-containing heterocycles on non-fullerene acceptors for efficient organic solar cells

In recent years, the emergence of Y-series non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) has received extensive attention in the field of organic solar cells (OSCs). Among various structural features, the side chains play a key role in fine-tuning the molecular properties of Y-series NFAs that can affect the device performance. Herein, three Y-series NFAs named BTP-Fu, BTP-Th and BTP-Se with furan, thiophene, and selenophene-based conjugated side chains, respectively, were synthesized and systematically compared. The results demonstrate that different chalcogen-heterocycle substitutions lead to altered opto-electronic properties and molecular packing of the NFAs. Combined with the low-cost donor polymer PTQ10, the BTP-Th-based solar cells obtained a decent device performance of 16.8%, which is higher than that of the BTP-Fu-based ones (4.8%) and that of the BTP-Se-based ones (15.3%). The best performance of the BTP-Th based devices can be attributed to the higher energy levels of BTP-Th, the suitable blend-film morphology, and balanced charge mobility. In addition to the deep energy levels of BTP-Fu, the extremely low electron mobility and the severe trap-assisted charge recombination combined leads to the poor performance of the BTP-Fu-based devices. These results reveal that the different substitutions on the β-position of the thieno[3,2-b]thiophene units in Y-series NFAs can cause a dramatic change in molecular properties and photovoltaic performance, which provides new insights into the molecular design toward highly efficient NFAs.

Wind speed measurement with a low-cost polymer optical fiber anemometer based on Fresnel reflection

This study designed and experimentally verified a simple and low-cost anemometer based on Fresnel reflection using Polymer Optical Fiber (POF). The system was developed especially for wind speed measurement in harsh environmental conditions such as high electromagnetic interference. System verification was performed using a controlled wind source and a high-standard anemometer. In measurements made under normal temperature conditions, the dynamic range of the anemometer is between 3 m/s and 15 m/s. Experiments were carried out with two propellers of different diameters to evaluate the propeller diameter effect. According to the results obtained from the wind speed measurement experiments, it was observed that the mean error value for all measurements was 0.16, and the mean percentage relative error value was 1.85%.

Recent Advances in Development of Waste-Based Polymer Materials: A Review.

Limited petroleum sources, suitable law regulations, and higher awareness within society has caused sustainable development of manufacturing and recycling of polymer blends and composites to be gaining increasing attention. This work aims to report recent advances in the manufacturing of environmentally friendly and low-cost polymer materials based on post-production and post-consumer wastes. Sustainable development of three groups of materials: wood polymer composites, polyurethane foams, and rubber recycling products were comprehensively described. Special attention was focused on examples of industrially applicable technologies developed in Poland over the last five years. Moreover, current trends and limitations in the future “green” development of waste-based polymer materials were also discussed.

Electrochemical Biosensor for Sensitive Detection of Hepatitis B in Human Plasma.

In this work, we report the construction of a novel electrochemical device for molecular diagnosis of hepatitis B virus in the blood plasma of infected patients, using graphite electrodes functionalized with poly(4-aminophenol) and sensitized with a specific DNA probe. The recognition of genomic DNA was evaluated by electrochemical techniques (DPV and EIS) and scanning electron microscopy. The genosensor was efficient in detecting genomic DNA with a linear range from 1.176 to 4.825μgmL-1 and detection limit of 35.69ngmL-1 (4.63IUml-1 or 25.93 copies.ml-1), which is better than the 10.00IUml-1 limit of reference method, real-time PCR, used in point of care. EIS analysis shows that the genosensor resistance increased exponentially with the concentration of the genomic DNA target. This novel platform has advantages to its applicability in real samples, such as good sensitivity, selectivity, low sample volume, and fast assay time (36min), thus interesting for application in the diagnosis of hepatitis B virus in blood plasma. Also, the ease of synthesis of the low-cost polymer by electrosynthesis directly on the electrode surface allows the translation of the platform to portable devices.

Artificial Intelligence-Controlled Microfluidic Device for Fluid Automation and Bubble Removal of Immunoassay Operated by a Smartphone.

There have been tremendous innovations in microfluidic clinical diagnostics to facilitate novel point-of-care testing (POCT) over the past decades. However, the automatic operation of microfluidic devices that minimize user intervention still lacks reliability and repeatability because microfluidic errors such as bubbles and incomplete filling pose a major bottleneck in commercializing the microfluidic devices for clinical testing. In this work, for the first time, various states of microfluid were recognized to control immunodiagnostics by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The developed AI-controlled microfluidic platform was operated via an Android smartphone, along with a low-cost polymer device to effectuate enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). To overcome the limited machine-learning capability of smartphones, the region-of-interest (ROI) cascading and conditional activation algorithms were utilized herein. The developed microfluidic chip was incorporated with a bubble trap to remove any bubbles detected by AI, which helps in preventing false signals during immunoassay, as well as controlling the reagents' movement with an on-chip micropump and valve. Subsequently, the developed immunosensing platform was tested for conducting real ELISA using a single microplate from the 96-well to detect the Human Cardiac Troponin I (cTnI) biomarker, with a detection limit as low as 0.98 pg/mL. As a result, the developed platform can be envisaged as an AI-based revolution in microfluidics for point-of-care clinical diagnosis.

Poly(arylene pyridine)s: New alternative materials for high temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells

Developing high-performance and low-cost high temperature polymer exchange membranes (HT-PEMs) is a huge challenge to fuel cells. Here, two poly(arylene pyridine)s (PTAP and PBAP) are synthesized through a simple one-step Friedel–Crafts polymerization of 4-acetylpyridine and para-terphenyl/biphenyl. Both PTAP and PBAP exhibit superior organic solubility and excellent thermal stability. Owing to pyridine groups, PBAP and PTAP membranes display excellent phosphoric acid (PA) absorption capability. The PTAP membrane achieves a PA uptake of 220% after immersing in 85 wt% PA solution at 100 °C, and a high conductivity of 0.102 S cm−1 at 180 °C. Specially, PBAP and PTAP also possess remarkable chemical stability. After 450 h Fenton test, the PTAP membrane still exhibits a high PA uptake of 200% and high conductivity of 0.086 S cm−1. A single H2-O2 cell based on the PTAP/220% membrane shows a peak power density of 743 mW cm−2 at 180 °C without any back pressure, which also displays excellent durability under 200 mA cm−2 and 400 mA cm−2 at 160 °C. Thus, this work develops a facile, cost effective and up-scalable synthetic route of alternative HT-PEM under mild conditions, comparing with the state-of-the-art polybenzimidazole (PBI) membrane.

A well-designed polystyrene/polycarbonate membrane for highly saline water desalination using DCMD process

A novel porous polycarbonate (PC) membrane was fabricated using ethanol as non-solvent deploying immersion-precipitation process. To further increase surface hydrophobicity, polystyrene (PS) microbeads were sprayed on PC support using an air-assisted electrospraying process. Due to the micro/nano roughness of the PS layer, the formed dual-layer PS/PC membrane possessed outstanding wetting resistance over the neat PC membrane. The water contact angle (WCA) of the neat PC and PS/PC membranes was measured as 95.2 and 155.1°, respectively. Liquid entry pressure of water represented a considerable enhancement of 84.6% compared to the neat membrane. Direct contact membrane distillation (DCMD) evaluation was performed using the fabricated and commercially available polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membranes. Using concentrated saline water as feed (150 g/L), only PS reinforced PC (PS/PC) membrane showed nonwetting capability with stable DCMD performance during continuous long-term DCMD evaluation. Superhydrophobicity of PS/PC not only diminished pore wetting but also increased permeate flux considerably (45.9%↑) to produce high-quality permeate flux (˂4.6 μS/cm). Considering these attributes, using the low-cost PC polymer along with the high-productive air-assisted electrospraying process is a facile route to fabricate decent membranes for the membrane distillation (MD) process.

Applications of Metal-Organic Framework Materials

Metal-organic framework (MOFs) is a new group of porous crystal materials with ultra-high porosity. Its extraordinary surface area, fine and adjustable void surface characteristics and potential industrial-scale scalability make it an attractive target for further research. By searching for the data, we have integrated and summarized the important applications of MOF materials in many fields, such as catalysis, and its enclosed single metal or bimetallic ions provide efficient and synergistic catalytic ability; In adsorption, the special ionic liquid absorbent overcomes the shortcomings of other materials, greatly improves the chemical stability, reduces the corrosivity, and makes the process more environment-friendly and controllable. However, there are still many challenges, and the high cost and complicated preparation process are urgent problems to be solved at present. We need to have a deeper understanding of the growth mechanism of MOF films, improve their quality and thermoelectric stability, and combine them into low-cost polymer films through more reliable theoretical models to eliminate the defects of MOF materials as much as possible. We will continue to pay attention to the development of MOF materials, summarize the advantages of MOF materials, find out the shortcomings, and propose solutions to provide ideas and references for future research.

Cost-Efficiency balanced polymer acceptors based on lowly fused Dithienopyrrolo[3, 2b]benzothiadiazole for 16.04% efficiency All-Polymer solar cells

All-polymer solar cells (All-PSCs) attracted increasing attention due to the outstanding thermal stability and mechanical properties. The current prevailing polymer acceptors for most efficient All-PSCs are polymerized high-performance small molecule acceptor of Y6, i.e. the dithienothiopheno[3,2-b]-pyrrolobenzothiadiazole (BTTP) based polymers. However, the BTTP-based polymers often show relatively shallow highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level and high figure of merit (FOM), which limit the rational selection of paring donor polymers. Herein, we presented two low-cost polymer acceptors, namely as BTP-T2F and BTP-2T2F, based on lowly fused dithienopyrrolo[3,2b]benzothiadiazole (BTP, removing two thiophene cycles from BTTP). The BTP-based polymers exhibited deeper HOMO levels around −5.90 eV, which could match variable donor polymers with low-lying HOMO levels, such as low-cost PTQ10. Additionally, the synthesis was significantly simplified compared to BTTP-based polymers. A power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 14.32% was achieved in binary blend device containing PTQ10:BTP-2T2F. By adding a miscibility-enhancing PBDTCl-TPD as a third component, the top PCE of 16.04% was obtained in ternary blend All-PSCs. Combining the high device performance and low estimated cost, extraordinary cost-efficiency balance was realized within these BTP-based polymer acceptors.

Nature-Derived and Synthetic Additives to poly(ɛ-Caprolactone) Nanofibrous Systems for Biomedicine; an Updated Overview.

As a low cost, biocompatible, and bioresorbable synthetic polymer, poly (ɛ-caprolactone) (PCL) is widely used for different biomedical applications including drug delivery, wound dressing, and tissue engineering. An extensive range of in vitro and in vivo tests has proven the favourable applicability of PCL in biomedicine, bringing about the FDA approval for a plethora of PCL made medical or drug delivery systems. This popular polymer, widely researched since the 1970s, can be readily processed through various techniques such as 3D printing and electrospinning to create biomimetic and customized medical products. However, low mechanical strength, insufficient number of cellular recognition sites, poor bioactivity, and hydrophobicity are main shortcomings of PCL limiting its broader use for biomedical applications. To maintain and benefit from the high potential of PCL, yet addressing its physicochemical and biological challenges, blending with nature-derived (bio)polymers and incorporation of nanofillers have been extensively investigated. Here, we discuss novel additives that have been meant for enhancement of PCL nanofiber properties and thus for further extension of the PCL nanofiber application domain. The most recent researches (since 2017) have been covered and an updated overview about hybrid PCL nanofibers is presented with focus on those including nature-derived additives, e.g., polysaccharides and proteins, and synthetic additives, e.g., inorganic and carbon nanomaterials.