The cover depicts polymeric scaffolds made of polycaprolactone and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) functionalized with a fluorescent molecule that monitors the scaffold's degradation for potential tissue engineering applications. The graphic was created under the direction and editing of Dr. Lilith Caballero Aguilar and in collaboration with STUDIO TULUM graphic design sole trader- in kind contribution. DOI: 10.1002/app.54759

The modern bioactive wound dressing of electrospinning.

• Production of hydrophobic starch/beeswax (BW) films was scaled by continuous casting, with a productivity at least 50-fold larger than typical bench casting.
• BW was evenly distributed in the starch film matrix without using surfactants, which granted an over doubled water contact angle at lowest BW content and notable moisture barrier properties.
• Incorporation of BW to starch films reduced their environmental impact.

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) was an eco-friendly and biodegradable material. However, its molecular chain was inflexible and showed limited toughness. In this work, PLA was modified with epoxy-terminated hyperbranched polymer (EHBP) by melt blending to improve the toughness of PLA. The results showed that epoxy groups within EHBP reacted with carboxyl and hydroxyl groups of PLA, forming chemical micro-crosslinking. In addition, intermolecular hydrogen bonds were formed between hydroxyl groups on EHBP and PLA, and the combined action of the two ultimately improved the toughness and strength of PLA. Chemical micro-crosslinking was validated via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gel content analysis. By observing the microscopic morphology of the impact fracture of the blends, it was found that the interface adhesion of the blends increased with the addition of EHBP, enhancing the corresponding mechanical properties. The best interface adhesion was achieved when 2.5 phr EHBP was added to PLA. At this point, compared with neat PLA, the maximum tensile strength, impact strength, elongation at break, and flexural modulus of PLA/EHBP increased by 17.4%, 54.5%, 107.1%, and 25.8% respectively, achieving the goal of simultaneously enhancing the toughness and strength of PLA. The simultaneous improvement in the strength and toughness of PLA expands its potential application value.

This manuscript introduces the ability of the vacuum radiation strategy as a green process that can replace conventional chemical vulcanization methods, resulting in natural rubber (NR)/poly(isoprene-b-styrene-b-isoprene) (SIS) films with high mechanical and barrier performance. The proposed method is an interesting, fast reaction time and energy-saving method because the samples packed in vacuum condition before the irradiation have produced vulcanized NR/SIS blend films. Moreover, this approach is greener than the conventional sulfur vulcanization method because it does not contain vulcanization agents.

Improvement of the migration resistance against phthalate plasticizer in PVC/GO composites due to the sheet structure of GO.

Flexible nanofiltration membrane for cation selective filtration based on non-covalent action.

The level of polyethylene crosslinking can be determined via different properties.

Synthesis of antibacterial co-polymer and its various antibacterial applications.

CNR-mediated co-continuous PP/PBS/CNR blends with permanent antistatic performance, enhanced mechanical properties and good colorability.

Reduced migration of PVC plasticizer filled with rice husk ash or wollastonite according to optical interferometry, IR spectroscopy, SEM.

This concept is to modify the semi-aromatic PA thin-film composite membrane by adding glycine and lysine into the PA selective layer, resulting in increasing the hydrophilic properties and reducing the thickness of the modified membrane. Also, it could improve permeability without sacrificing the selectivity of the membrane.

Solution casting processing was used to incorporate 0.1 wt% of graphene nanoplatelets (GNP) or 0.1 wt% of multilayers graphene oxide (mGO) into TPU matrix. The results have shown that GNP with less functional groups than mGO, is mainly disperse in the soft segment, while mGO acting as nucleating agent mainly interacts with the hard segments. According to the shape-memory thermomechanical cycle, analyzed in terms of stress and strain, higher strains are observed for all nanocomposites when compared to neat TPU. Among the graphene nanoparticles, GNP presented higher strains, mostly due the lubricating effect of graphene, as mGO, presents greater stiffness which can be explained by the higher polarity inherent to the functional groups that present better affinity with the TPU, which anchors the polymeric chains.

The CMC/PTh/AHC hydrogel shows excellent electro-responsive and self-healing performances which can be utilized as an actuator or artificial muscle using electrical stimulus.

Flexible ammonia sensor.

Polymers bearing leachable and non-leachable antimicrobial agents.

The colorless, transparent, and recyclable thermoset PCU fabricated in this work exhibits excellent mechanics with tensile strength of 59.2 ± 3.7 MPa, and shows solid-state plasticity and good shape memory performance, with shape fixity and recovery ratios above 90%. The PCU can achieve arbitrary shape manipulations by the combination of solid-state plasticity and shape memory property.

Flourescent molecules were grafted to polycaprolactone and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) to fabricate scaffolds for contactless degradation monitoring.

The excellent retarding effect of retarder Poly-AAMD is realized by inhibiting the formation and growth of CSH and Ca(OH)₂ crystals depends on the adsorption deposition and calcium complexation.

Antimicrobial activity of PVDF/TiO₂ membranes: (a) results after contaminated water passed through the membrane used to detect bacteria, (b) photocatalytic membrane and (c) results after contaminated water passed through the photocatalytic membrane.

By introducing thermoplastic polyurethane as a toughening phase into DA reaction in-situ polymerization through solution blending, a uniform interlocking polymer network DFB-TPU can be formed. Due to the reversible covalent chemistry of DA reactions, new functionalities such as self-healing, shape memory and recyclability are introduced.

The schemaic grafting and moisture crosslinking of EVM-GMA-g-APTES/MAH and its mechanical properties.

Schematic drawing of the fracture of an individual PEKK spherulite. The fracture at the core of the spherulite is anisotropic and determined by the initial nucleation growth direction.

DIH-HEA treated cattail fiber composites.

A core-shell structured cationic waterborne polyurethane (WPU) emulsions with high solid content were generated by mixing, neutralizing and emulsifying of prepolymer A without hydrophilic groups and prepolymer B with hydrophilic groups.