Crosslinking of poly(vinyl alcohol) using functionalized gold nanoparticles

We report on the preparation of a new class of polymer hydrogels obtained through the chemical crosslinking reaction of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and functionalized gold nanoparticles. Carboxylic group functionalized gold nanoparticles were synthesized, dispersed in a PVA matrix and allow to react with the hydroxyl groups of PVA at high temperature. FT-IR and swelling experiments carried out on the cross-linked samples confirmed that the crosslinking reaction took place. This is the first time, to our knowledge, that functionalized nanoparticles are used as chemical crosslinking agents.     

Preparation and Characterization of PVA Hidrogels Nanofibers

Summary: Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a biomaterial that has interesting features for applications in soft tissue replacement due to its similarities in the mechanical properties of such tissues. This paper describes the preparation and characterization of PVA fibers obtained by electrospinning and crosslinked with potassium persulfate as thermoinitiator. These PVA fibers were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Optical Microscopy (OM) to analyze the morphology of the spun samples. Finally, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were performed and the results showed that the biomaterial was partially cross-linked, which indicates a potential use for dermal regeneration applications. The morphology of the fibers indicated that structural changes occurred in the biomaterial after thermal crosslinking.     

Pervaporation separation of water-acetic acid mixtures through poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes crosslinked with glutaraldehyde

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes crosslinked with glutaraldehyde (GA) were prepared by a solution method for the pervaporation separation of acetic acid-water mixtures. In the solution method, dry PVA films were crosslinked by immersion for 2 days at 40°C in reaction solutions which contained different contents of GA, acetone and a catalyst, HCl. In order to fabricate the crosslinked PVA membranes which were stable in aqueous solutions, acetone was used as reaction medium in stead of aqueous inorganic salt solutions which have been commonly used in reaction solution for PVA crosslinking reaction. The crosslinking reaction between the hydroxyl group of PVA and the aldehyde group of GA was characterized by IR spectroscopy. Swelling measurements were carried out in both water and acetic acid to investigate the swelling behavior of the membranes. The swelling behaviour of a membrane fabricated at different GA content in a reaction solution was dependent on crosslinking density and chemical functional groups created as a result of the reaction between PVA and GA, such as the acetal group, ether linkage and unreacted pendent aldehydes in PVA. The pervaporation separation of acetic acid-water mixtures was performed over a range of 70–90 wt% acetic acid in the feed at temperatures varying from 35 to 50°C to examine the separation performances of the PVA membranes. Permeation behaviour through the membranes was analyzed by using pervaporation activation energies which had been calculated from the Arrhenius plots of permeation rates.     

Poly(vinyl alcohol)/GO-MMT nanocomposites: Preparation,structure and properties

A facile, efficient and environment friendly method is established to prepare poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) based graphene oxide-montmorillonite(GO-MMT) nanocomposites in aqueous media. GO-MMT nanohybrid is obtained by the combination of GO and MMT in water without any reducing or stabilizing agents. The formation of GO-MMT nanohybrid is due to the hydrogen bonding and crosslinking effects. The sodium ions within MMT sheets act as crosslinkers between GO sheets and MMT platelets. The resultant nanocomposites are characterized by means of X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), differential scanning calorimetry(DSC), thermogravimetric analysis(TGA) and mechanical testing. Compared to that of pure PVA, PVA nanocomposites show enhanced thermal stabilities and mechanical properties, which results from strong interfacial adhesion of the nanoadditives in PVA matrix. The further increase in the tensile strength and modulus results from strong interaction between PVA chains and layered GO-MMT as well as good mechanical properties of GO-MMT hybrid, compared to PVA/GO and PVA/MMT nanocompsoites.     

Multilayer poly(vinyl alcohol)-adsorbed coating on poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidic chips for biopolymer separation

A poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) microfluidic chip surface was modified by multilayer-adsorbed and heat-immobilized poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) after oxygen plasma treatment. The reflection absorption infrared spectrum (RAIRS) showed that 88% hydrolyzed PVA adsorbed more strongly than 100% hydrolyzed one on the oxygen plasma-pretreated PDMS surface, and they all had little adsorption on original PDMS surface. Repeating the coating procedure three times was found to produce the most robust and effective coating. PVA coating converted the original PDMS surface from a hydrophobic one into a hydrophilic surface, and suppressed electroosmotic flow (EOF) in the range of pH 3-11. More than 1,000,000 plates/m and baseline resolution were obtained for separation of fluorescently labeled basic proteins (lysozyme, ribonuclease B). Fluorescently labeled acidic proteins (bovine serum albumin, beta-lactoglobulin) and fragments of dsDNA phiX174 RF/HaeIII were also separated satisfactorily in the three-layer 88% PVA-coated PDMS microchip. Good separation of basic proteins was obtained for about 70 consecutive runs.     

功能化PVA-g-PSt微球对牛血清蛋白的吸附研究

由大分子单体法制得了聚醋酸乙烯酯接枝聚苯乙烯(PVAc-g-PSt)微球,使该微球在碱性条件下醇解形成了聚乙烯醇接枝聚苯乙烯(PVA-g-PSt)微球.经X射线光电子能谱对PVA-g-PSt微球表层组成的表征,发现微球具有以PVA为壳、PSt为核的核壳结构.进而利用汽巴蓝F3GA(CB)与PVA-g-PSt微球进行亲核反应,制得了CB功能化的PVA-g-PSt微球,由元素分析定量出了固定在微球表面的CB含量.用透射电子显微镜对微球的粒径与形态进行了表征,发现微球表面在CB功能化后变得相对粗糙,粒径大小基本保持不变,但形态更加规整.比较了3种不同微球对蛋白质的吸附,考察了吸附动力学和影响吸附的因素,发现起始牛血清蛋白(BSA)浓度、pH值、离子强度对微球吸附BSA有明显的影响,并利用Zeta电位探讨了微球与蛋白质间的相互作用机理.最后用硫氰酸钠(NaSCN)进行解吸,计算解吸率最高可达到95.7%,该CB功能化微球可以重复利用,吸附率仅减少5.3%.     

聚乙烯醇/聚乙烯基吡咯烷酮共混体系的结晶行为

用DSC、WAXD和SAXS研究了聚乙烯醇(PVAl)/聚乙烯基吡咯烷酮(PVP)共混体系的结晶行为.PVAl的结晶度随PVP含量增加而减少,并存在结晶度为零的组成(PVAl)的重量分数约为50％.与纯PVAl相比,共混物的温度区间T_m-T_g减小,表明PVP对PVAl的结晶起抑制作用.共混物中PVAl的结晶速度下降,具体表现为PVAl过冷区随PVP含量增加而扩大,动力学速度常数减小,球晶增长速度下降.纯PVAl和共混体系的等温结晶速率均遵循Avrami方程.退火样品的长周期、片晶厚度和过渡层厚度大于相同组成未退火样品.两者长周期随PVP含量增长加显著增大,片晶厚度增长次之,过渡层厚度变化不大.     

The effect of an anionic surfactant on the rheology and stability of high volume fraction O/W emulsion stabilized by PVA

The effect of the addition of an anionic surfactant (sodium dodecyl benzene sulphonate) on the rheology and storage stability of concentrated O/W emulsions stabilized by poly (vinyl alcohol) is reported. It was found that the surfactant markedly reduced the magnitudes of the storage modulii of the emulsions. This could be attributed to a reduction in the interfacial tension resulting from the formation of polyelectrolyte type complexes between the PVA and NaDBS at the O/W interface. The results were compared to the equation (given by Princen) relating concentrated emulsion rheology to the interfacial tension and droplet size. Reasonable agreement was found, though there was a small difference in the constants in the equation given by Princen and those found here. The agreement suggested that the emulsions were deforming above a critical volume fraction and that the rheological properties were dominated by the dilation of the interface during shear. Microelectrophoresis measurements showed that the addition of the surfactant conferred a charge onto the PVA stabilized droplets as a result of the formation of the polyelectrolyte complex. The NaDBS was found to reduce the long-term stability of the emulsions compared to emulsions containing PVA alone.     

Immobilization of cellulase in nanofibrous PVA membranes by electrospinning

Electrospinning is a nanofiber-forming process by which either polymer solution or melt is charged to high voltages. With high specific surface area and porous structure, electrospun fibrous membranes are excellent candidates for immobilization of enzymes. In this paper, immobilization of cellulase in nanofibrous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes was studied by electrospinning. PVA and cellulase were dissolved together in an acetic acid buffer (pH 4.6) and electrospun into nanofibers with diameter of around 200 nm. The nanofibrous membranes were crosslinked by glutaraldehyde vapor and examined catalytic efficiency for biotransformations. The activity of immobilized cellulase in PVA nanofibers was over 65% of that of the free enzyme. Nanofibers were superior to casting films from the same solution for immobilization of cellulase. The activity of immobilized cellulase descended with ascending in enzyme loading efficiency and crosslinking time, which retained 36% its initial activity after six cycles of reuse.     

Adsorption versus covalent, statistically oriented and covalent, site-specific IgG immobilization on poly(vinyl alcohol)-based surfaces

Plain poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) surfaces, PVA surfaces tailored with additives (chitosan, chitosan-oligo) and PVA surfaces crosslinked with homo- or hetero-bifunctional amino-linkers (ethylenediamine, hexamethylenediamine, adipic acid dihydrazide, 3-aminophenylboronic acid) were evaluated for their ability to immobilize IgG. Immobilization strategies tested were adsorption as well as covalent, statistically oriented and covalent, site-specific binding of antibodies. The PVA surfaces were optimized with respect to the type of PVA, to PVA concentration and to glass substrate type. The resulting hydrogel surface of choice consists of 4% PVA coated onto adhesive glass. Comparison of modified and unmodified PVA surfaces revealed six surfaces which showed significantly higher loading capacity than plain PVA:PVA surfaces tailored with 2% chitosan resulted in twice greater fluorescence, whereas PVA surfaces oxidized using HIO₄ with and without further crosslinking using adipic acid dihydrazide revealed 2.6-2.8 times greater fluorescence. Yet the greatest fluorescence compared with plain PVA (up to 3.5 times as much) was achieved on PVA surfaces coupled with 3-aminophenylboronic acid activated by means of either 1% or 2.5% glutaraldehyde. Meanwhile, fluorescence signals were similar for statistically oriented IgG and IgG bound site-specifically using IgG activated with sodium meta-periodate.     

Manipulating the degradation rate of PVA nanoparticles by a novel chemical‐free method

The high water solubility of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is one of the challenging problems in its application. In order to rectify this problem, PVA needs to be crosslinked. Freeze‐thawing in solid state as a novel physical crosslinking method was employed for enhancement the stability of PVA nanoparticles in aqueous solutions during this study. PVA nanoparticles were successfully prepared by electrospraying and electrospray conditions were optimized in the view points of polymer concentration and solvent system. The morphology of nanoparticles was tailored from collapsed particles and mixture of particles/fibers to spherical particle by manipulating of polymer solution concentration and solvent system. After preparation of PVA nanoparticles in optimum condition, they were frozen at ?20°C and subsequently thawed at 25°C for different cycles of 1, 2, and 3. Field‐emission scanning electron microscope (FE‐SEM), Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), and biodegradation were used to evaluate the effect of freeze‐thawing on properties of PVA nanoparticles. FE‐SEM showed the spherical morphology of the PVA nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 200 to 300 nm. The FTIR spectroscopy indicated that the crystallinity of PVA nanoparticles increases after freeze‐thawing process. Moreover, by increasing the number of cycles, degree of crystallinity of nanoparticles increases. The XRD and DSC analysis of PVA nanoparticles again demonstrated the increasing of crystallinity of nanoparticles after freeze‐thawing process. The biodegradation behavior of PVA nanoparticles after freeze‐thawing exhibited the decreasing of degradation rate by increasing the number of cycles. Our overall results present a solvent‐less and safe method for crosslinking of PVA nanoparticles in solid state, which make it suitable for biomedical applications.     

Coating of powder-blasted channels for high-performance microchip electrophoresis

Channels in microfluidic glass chips manufactured with the alternative powder blasting technology were permanently coated with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in order to improve the performance in microchip electrophoresis. The performance of coated and uncoated powder-blasted (pb) devices as well as coated and uncoated wet chemical etched (wc) chips was compared in electrophoretic separations of fluorescently labeled test compounds. The limited electrophoretic resolution obtained in pb-chips could significantly be improved by coating the channels with PVA. The resolution of test compounds in such coated pb-devices was even higher than in uncoated wc-chips. PVA-coated pb-chips could also successfully be applied in chiral separations. While in an uncoated pb-chip using a cyclodextrins buffer only one broad signal was obtained, two well-resolved signals were obtained in a coated device.     

Preparation and pervaporation performance of surface crosslinked PVA/PES composite membrane

This study describes the facile preparation of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/polyethersulfone (PES) composite membranes by interfacial reaction technique, aiming at acquiring the improved structural and operational stability of the resulting membranes. The effect of interfacial crosslinking agent and hydrophilicity of support layer on the interfacial adhesive strength and pervaporation performance of composite membranes were investigated. The optimal recipe for PVA/PES composite membrane preparation was as follows: PES support layer was treated with 0.1 wt.% borax aqueous solution, fully dried and then immersed into 2 wt.% PVA aqueous solution. The resulting PVA active layer was 1–1.5 μm thick after twice dip-coating. The as-prepared PVA/PES composite membrane exhibited high separation factor of over 438, high permeation flux of 427 g m⁻² h⁻¹ for 80 wt.% EG in the feed at 70 °C and desirable structural stability. It could be derived that adoption of interfacial reaction would be an effective method for preparing the composite membranes suitable for large-scale dehydration of ethylene glycol/water mixture.     

The negative biodegradation of poly(vinyl alcohol) modified by aldehydes

Due to the wide application of PVA acetals, the biodegradation of PVA modified by formaldehyde, n-butyraldehyde, glyoxaldehyde and glutaraldehyde was conducted in an intensive biodegradation environment. Spectrophotometric analysis and weight loss were used to determine the biodegradation of PVA, and the changes of the mechanical properties of PVA acetals were also studied.An obvious decrease in biodegradation levels of all the modified samples was found, and a decrease in biodegradation level with increasing degree of acetals of PVA. The biodegradation of poly(vinyl formal) is better than poly(vinyl butyral) with the same degree of acetals whereas the biodegradation levels of poly(vinyl glyoxal) are lower than poly(vinyl glutaral) which has the same degree of crosslinking. The difference between the FT-IR of the samples before and after biodegradation indicated scission of residual PVA chain during the process.     

Development of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)-Based Polymers as Proton Exchange Membranes and Challenges in Fuel Cell Application: A Review

Abstract

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a biodegradable, water-soluble membrane that has low methanol permeation and reactive chemical functionalities. Modification of these features makes PVA an attractive proton exchange membrane (PEM) alternative to Nafion^TM. However, the pristine PVA membrane is a poorer proton conductor than the Nafion^TM membrane due to the absence of negatively charged ions. Hence, modification of PVA matrixes whilst complying with the requirements of projected applications has been examined extensively. Generally, three modification methods of PVA membranes have been highlighted in previous reports, and these are (1) grafting copolymerization, (2) physical and chemical crosslinking, and (3) blending of polymers. The use of each modification method in different applications is reviewed in this study. Although the three modification methods can improve PVA membranes, the mixed method of modification provides another attractive approach. This review covers recent studies on PVA-based PEM in different fuel cell applications, including (1) proton-exchange membrane fuel cells and (2) direct-methanol fuel cells. The challenges involved in the use of PVA-based PEM are also presented, and several approaches are proposed for further study.     

Morphology assessment of chemically modified cryostructured poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel

The morphology of hydrogels based on poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in their frozen hydrated state, modified with biologically active di- and multifunctional molecules was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with cryo-attachment. The porosity of samples was found to be more regular and ordered in the case of samples containing difunctional, and especially multifunctional carboxylic acids as compared to the neat PVA hydrogel. The morphology is dependent not only from the hydrogel composition but also the number of freezing-thawing cycles. Resulted highly porous and oriented structure has significant influence on materials properties, such as compressive stress and crosslinking density.     

Preparation of poly(vinyl pivalate) microspheres by dispersion polymerization in an ionic liquid and saponification for the preparation of poly(vinyl alcohol) with high syndiotacticity

We report here a successful free-radical dispersion polymerization of vinyl pivalate (VPi) in an ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([bmim][TFSI]) using poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) as a stabilizer. Morphological analysis by FE-SEM revealed that poly(vinyl pivalate) (PVPi) obtained from dispersion polymerizations were in the form of spherical particles. Micron-sized, PVPi particles with a number-average molecular weight (M_n) of 166,400 g/mol could be obtained using 5% stabilizer (w/w to monomer) at 65 °C for 20 h. The effects of varying concentration of stabilizer, initiator and monomer upon polymer yield, molecular weight, and morphology of PVPi were also investigated. Analogous polymerizations in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and bulk served as references. In addition, the preparation of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) by saponification of the resultant PVPi was described.     

层状纳米纤维素膜/PVA复合水凝胶的制备与力学性能研究

采用叠层复合与物理相分离的方法制备了层状纳米细菌纤维素(BC)膜/聚乙烯醇( PVA)复合水凝胶.研究了聚乙烯醇的质量百分数、BC膜的复合层数以及制备条件对复合水凝胶力学性能的影响;通过扫描电镜( SEM)观察比较了复合水凝胶中BC膜层与PVA界面结合情况.结果表明,复合水凝胶的力学性能与PVA的质量百分数和BC膜含水...     

尿素/乙醇胺复配增塑聚乙烯醇性能的研究

采用尿素/乙醇胺为复合增塑剂,利用流延法制备了增塑改性的PVA膜.通过FTIR法研究了尿素/乙醇胺复合体系与PVA的相互作用,采用XRD、DSC考察了增塑改性PVA膜的结晶性能和热性能.研究结果表明,乙醇胺作为尿素的良溶剂,能有效抑制尿素从PVA基体中析出.由尿素、乙醇胺组成的复合增塑剂能破坏PVA分子中的氢键作用、降低PVA的结晶度和熔点,对PVA的增塑作用显著.增塑改性后的PVA膜在水中的溶胀率(DS)下降,溶失率(S)增加.力学性能测试表明增塑改性后的PVA膜拉伸强度(TS)降低,断裂伸长率(E%)提高.含30phr尿素/乙醇胺的PVA膜的拉伸强度、断裂伸长率分别为23.89MPa和542.88%.     

An investigation on the dispersion of montmorillonite (MMT) primary particles in PP matrix

A novel path of preparing PP/o-MMT nanocomposites, which pay attention to the breaking up of MMT original agglomerates and dispersing of its primary particles, rather than the intercalation or exfoliation degree of o-MMT, was reported. The method of predispersing the o-MMT particles into a polar poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) matrix and then melt blending the pre-treated PVA/o-MMT hybrids with PP was studied. 3-Isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzene-isocyanate (TMI) was used as a modifier of PVA to improve the compatibility between PVA and PP matrix. Pre-disperse o-MMT with TMI modified PVA was proved to be an effective way to get a composite with fine o-MMT particles dispersion. But the method, which is pre-dispersing o-MMT with non modified PVA and then using TMI to modify such PVA/o-MMT hybrid, would largely reduce the reaction degree between TMI and PVA because of the relatively lower reaction temperature. Although the latter method also can obtain finer dispersion composites than that with using PP-g-MAH as compatibilizer, the relatively higher degradation degree of PP matrix in this method will limit the use of this nanocomposite.