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Three series of polyesters based on monomer combinations of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL), ethylene brassylate (EB), and l-Lactide (LLA) with the alkyl substituted lactone ε-decalactone (ε-DL) were synthesized at different molar ratios. Copolymers were obtained via ring opening polymerization (ROP) employing TBD (1,5,7-triazabicyclo-[4.4.0]-dec-5-ene), an organic catalyst which can be handled under normal conditions, avoiding the use of glove box equipment. The molar monomer composition of resulting copolymers differed from theoretical values due to lower ε-DL reactivity; their Mn and Mw values were up to 14 kDa and 22.8 kDa, respectively, and distributions were (Ɖ) ≤ 2.57. The thermal stability of these materials suffered due to variations in their ε-DL molar content. Thermal transitions such as melting (Tm) and crystallization (Tc) showed a decreasing tendency as ε-DL molar content increased, while glass transition (Tg) exhibited minor changes. It is worth mentioning that changes in monomer composition in these polyesters have a strong impact on their thermal performance, as well as in their crystallization degree. Consequently, variations in their chemical structure may have an effect on hydrolyic degradation rates. It should be noted that, in future research, some of these copolymers will be exposed to hydrolytic degradation experiments, including characterizations of their mechanical properties, to determine their adequacy in potential use in the development of soft medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyaniline (PANI) composites have gained momentum as supercapacitive materials due to their high energy density and power density. However, some drawbacks in their performance remain, such as the low stability after hundreds of charge-discharge cycles and limitations in the synthesis scalability. Herein, we report for the first time PANI-Graphitic oxidized carbon nitride composites as potential supercapacitor material. The biomimetic polymerization of aniline assisted by hematin, supported by phosphorous and oxygen-modified carbon nitrides (g-POCN and g-OCN, respectively), achieved up to 89% yield. The obtained PAI/g-POCN and PANI/g-OCN show enhanced electrochemical properties, such as conductivity of up to 0.0375 S/cm, specific capacitances (Cs) of up to 294 F/g (at high current densities, 5 A/g) and a stable operation after 500 charge-discharge cycles (at 3 A/g). In contrast, the biomimetic synthesis of Free PANI, assisted by stabilized hematin in cosolvents, exhibited lower performance properties (65%). Due to their structural differences, the electrochemical properties of Free PANI (conductivity of 0.0045 S/cm and Cs of up to 82 F/g at 5 A/g) were lower than those of nanostructured PANI/g-POCN and g-OCN supports, which provide stability and improve the properties of biomimetically synthesized PANI. This work reveals the biomimetic synthesis of PANI, assisted by hematin supported by modified carbon nitrides, as a promising strategy to produce nanostructured supercapacitors with high performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present investigation involves the coordinative chain transfer polymerization (CCTP) of biobased terpenes in order to obtain sustainable polymers from myrcene (My) and farnesene (Fa), using the ternary Ziegler–Natta catalyst system comprising [NdV3]/[Al(i-Bu)2H]/[Me2SiCl2] and Al(i-Bu)2H, which acts as cocatalyst and chain transfer agent (CTA). The polymers were produced with a yield above 85% according to the monomeric consumption at the end of the reaction, and the kinetic examination revealed that the catalyst system proceeded with a reversible chain transfer mechanism in the presence of 15–30 equiv. of CTA. The resulting polyterpenes showed narrow molecular weight distributions (Mw/Mn = 1.4–2.5) and a high percent of 1,4-cis microstructure in the presence of 1 equiv. of Me2SiCl2, having control of the molecular weight distribution in Ziegler–Natta catalytic systems that maintain a high generation of 1,4-cis microstructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest in the Coordinative Chain Transfer Polymerization (CCTP) of a family of naturally occurring hydrocarbon monomers, namely terpenes, for the production of high-performance rubbers is increasing year by year. In this work, the synthesis of poly(β-myrcene) via CCTP is introduced, using neodymium versatate (NdV3), diisobutylaluminum hydrade (DIBAH) as the catalytic system and dimethyldichlorosilane (Me2SiCl2) as the activator. A bimodal distribution in the GPC signal reveals the presence of two populations at low conversions, attributable to dormants (arising from reversible chain transfer reactions) and dead chains (arising from termination and irreversible chain transfer reactions); a unimodal distribution is generated at medium and high conversions, corresponding to the dominant species, the dormant chains. Additionally, a mathematical kinetic model was developed based on the Method of Moments to study a set of selected experiments: ([β-myrcene]0:[NdV3]0:[DIBAH]0:[Me2SiCl2]0 = 660:1:2:1, 885:1:2:1, and 533:1:2:1). In order to estimate the kinetic rate constant of the systems, a minimization of the sum of squared errors (SSE) between the model predicted values and the experimental measurements was carried out, resulting in an excellent fit. A set of the Arrhenius parameters were estimated for the ratio [β-myrcene]0:[NdV3]0:[DIBAH]0:[Me2SiCl2]0 = 660:1:2:1 in a temperature range between 50 to 70 °C. While the end-group functionality (EGF) was predominantly preserved as the ratio [β-myrcene]0:[NdV3]0 was decreased, higher catalytic activity was obtained with a high ratio. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Packaging materials play an essential role in the preservation and marketing of food and other products. To improve their conservation capacity, antimicrobial agents that inhibit bacterial growth are used. Biopolymers such as starch and chitosan are a sustainable alternative for the generation of films for packaging that can also serve as a support for preservatives and antimicrobial agents. These substances can replace packaging of synthetic origin and maintain good functional properties to ensure the quality of food products. Films based on a mixture of corn starch and chitosan were developed by the casting method and the effect of incorporating cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) at different concentrations (0 to 10% w/w) was studied. The effect of the incorporation of CNC on the rheological, mechanical, thermal and barrier properties, as well as the antimicrobial activity of nanocomposite films, was evaluated. A significant modification of the functional and antimicrobial properties of the starch–chitosan films was observed with an increase in the concentration of nanomaterials. The films with CNC in a range of 0.5 to 5% presented the best performance. In line with the physicochemical characteristics which are desired in antimicrobial materials, this study can serve as a guide for the development this type of packaging for food use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overuse of fossil-based resources to produce thermoplastic materials and rubbers is dramatically affecting the environment, reflected in its clearest way as global warming. As a way of reducing this, multiple efforts are being undertaken including the use of more sustainable alternatives, for instance, those of natural origin as the main feedstock alternative, therefore having a lower carbon footprint. Contributing to this goal, the synthesis of bio-based rubbers based on β-myrcene and trans-β-farnesene was addressed in this work. Polymyrcene (PM) and polyfarnesene (PF) were synthesized via coordination polymerization using a neodymium-based catalytic system, and their properties were compared to the conventional polybutadiene (PB) and polyisoprene (PI) also obtained via coordination polymerization. Moreover, different average molecular weights were also tested to elucidate the influence over the materials' properties. The crosslinking of the rubbers was carried out via conventional and efficient vulcanization routes, comparing the final properties of the crosslinking network of bio-based PM and PF with the conventional fossil-based PB and PI. Though the mechanical properties of the crosslinked rubbers improved as a function of molecular weight, the chemical structure of PM and PF (with 2 and 3 unsaturated double bonds, respectively) produced a crosslinking network with lower mechanical properties than those obtained by PB and PI (with 1 unsaturated double bond). The current work contributes to the understanding of improvements (in terms of crosslinking parameters) that are required to produce competitive rubber with good sustainability/performance balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing concern for environmental problems has motivated the use of materials obtained from bio-based resources such as cellulose nanocrystals which have a promising application acting as fillers or reinforcements of polymeric materials. In this context, in this article, plasma-induced polymerization is proposed as a strategy to modify nanocrystals at different plasma power intensities using ε-caprolactone and δ-decalactone to improve their compatibility with polymeric matrices. The characterization was carried out using techniques such as FTIR, TGA, XRD, XPS, and AFM, with which a successful functionalization was demonstrated without altering the inherent properties of the nanocrystals. The preparation of ABS nanocomposites was carried out with the modified nanoparticles and the evaluation of the mechanical properties indicates an increase in Young's modulus and yield stress under certain concentrations of modified cellulose nanocrystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a process to prepare fully bio-based elastomer nanocomposites based on polyfarnesene and cellulose nanocrystals (CNC). To improve the compatibility of cellulose with the hydrophobic matrix of polyfarnesene, the surface of CNC was modified via plasma-induced polymerization, at different powers of the plasma generator, using a trans-β-farnesene monomer in the plasma reactor. The characteristic features of plasma surface-modified CNC have been corroborated by spectroscopic (XPS) and microscopic (AFM) analyses. Moreover, the cellulose nanocrystals modified at 150 W have been selected to reinforce polyfarnesene-based nanocomposites, synthesized via an in-situ coordination polymerization using a neodymium-based catalytic system. The effect of the different loading content of nanocrystals on the polymerization behavior, as well as on the rheological aspects, was evaluated. The increase in the storage modulus with the incorporation of superficially modified nanocrystals was demonstrated by rheological measurements and these materials exhibited better properties than those containing pristine cellulose nanocrystals. Moreover, we elucidate that the viscoelastic moduli of the elastomer nanocomposites are aligned with power–law model systems with characteristic relaxation time scales similar to commercial nanocomposites, also implying tunable mechanical properties. In this foreground, our findings have important implications in the development of fully bio-based nanocomposites in close competition with the commercial stock, thereby producing alternatives in favor of sustainable materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]