Green and Functional Aerogels by Macromolecular and Textural Engineering of Chitosan Microspheres

Tremendous interest was recently devoted to the preparation of porous and functional materials through sustainable route, including primarily the use of renewable biopolymers instead of petroleum‐sourced synthetic chemicals. Among the biopolymers available in enormous quantity, chitosan – obtained by deacetylation of chitin – stands as the sole nitrogen‐containing cationic amino‐sugar carbohydrate. This distinctively provides chitosan derivatives with plenty of opportunities in materials science. Particularly, its pH switchable solubility allowed the preparation of three‐dimensional entangled nanofibrillated self‐standing microspheres. These porous hydrogels behave as nano‐reactors to confine exogenous nanoobjects within the polysaccharide network, including sol‐gel metal alkoxide species, organometallic derivatives and isotropic and oriented nanoparticles. Besides, the interfacial interplay of chitosan with lamellar clay and graphene oxide allowed the penetration of the biopolymer inside of the galleries, which result in a complete delamination of the layered nanomaterials. The preserved gelation memory of chitosan in these formulations provides a way to access porous microspheres entangling exfoliated nanometric sheets. CO₂ supercritical drying of functional hydrogel beads enabled efficient removal of water and other liquid solvents without wall collapsing, allowing large‐scale preparation of millimetric hydrocolloidal microspheres with an open macroporous network. These functionalized lightweight biopolymer aerogels find applications in heterogeneous catalysis, sensing, adsorption, insulation and for the design of other sophisticated porous nanostructures. Beyond their tailorable molecular and textural‐engineering, the possibility for macroscopic shaping of these intriguing nanostructures opens many new opportunities, especially in additive‐manufacturing for soft and hybrid robotics.     

Polystyrene Microspheres in Tissue-Simulating Phantoms Can Collisionally Quench Fluorescence

Tissue-simulating phantoms that replicate intrinsic optical properties in a controlled manner are useful for quantitative studies of photon transport in turbid biological media. In such phantoms, polystyrene microspheres are often used to simulate tissue optical scattering. Here, we report that using polystyrene microspheres in fluorescent tissue-simulating phantoms can reduce fluorophore quantum yield via collisional quenching. Fluorescence lifetime spectroscopy was employed to characterize quenching in phantoms consisting of a fluorescein dye and polystyrene microspheres (scattering coefficients _s 100-600cm^–1). For this range of tissue-simulating phantoms, analysis using the Stern-Volmer equation revealed that collisional quenching by polystyrene microspheres accounted for a decrease in fluorescence intensity of 6-17% relative to the intrinsic intensity value when no microspheres (quenchers) were present. The intensity decrease from quenching is independent of additional, anticipated losses arising from optical scattering associated with the microspheres. These results suggest that quantitative fluorescence measurements in studies employing such phantoms may be influenced by collisional quenching.     

Facile preparation of monodisperse hollow cross‐linked chitosan microspheres

We have successfully prepared biocompatible and biodegradable hollow microspheres using carboxyl‐functionalized polystyrene particles as core template and the chitosan cross‐linked with glutaraldehyde as the shell. The monodisperse carboxyl‐functionalized polystyrene particles were made by emulsifier‐free emulsion polymerization. The structure, morphology, and constitution of the carboxyl‐functionalized polystyrene particles were characterized by FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The structure, morphology, and formation process of the hollow cross‐linked chitosan microspheres were characterized by FTIR, SEM, and TEM. The results revealed that the latex particles were removed by exposed to solvent and the microspheres exhibited the hollow structure. This work confirmed that the hollow microspheres were accomplished by fabricating on the basis of chemical cross‐linking on the surface of the carboxyl‐functionalized polystyrene particles and then removing off the cores of particles. Moreover, with the increase of carboxyl‐functionalization degree at the surface of latexes and the increase of cross‐linking period, the thicker and firmer monodisperse hollow microspheres were obtained. In addition, a water‐soluble drug, salicylic acid, encapsulated in the microcapsules slowly released at pH 1.2. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 228–237, 2008     

Facile method to prepare monodispersed Ag/polystyrene composite microspheres and their properties

This article presents a facile method to prepare silver/polystyrene composite microspheres. In this approach, monodispersed polystyrene (PS) particles were synthesized with carboxyl acid groups on the surfaces of the PS particles via dispersion polymerization at first. With the addition of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ to the PS dispersion, [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ was absorbed to the surfaces of the PS particles, and then by heating the system, [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ complex ions were reduced to silver to form the Ag/PS composite microspheres. In the synthesis of PS dispersion, PVP was used as dispersant to stabilize the PS particles, it also acted as reducing agent in the reduction of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ complex ions to silver, so no additional reducing agent was needed. The resulting composite microspheres were characterized by TEM, SEM, XPS, and XRD. The catalytic properties and surface‐enhance Raman scattering (SERS) was studied as well. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4547–4554, 2009     

New tetrafunctional monomer 1,3‐di(2‐hydroxy‐3‐methacryloyloxypropoxy)benzene in the synthesis of porous microspheres

Synthesis and properties of the new aromatic tetrafunctional methacrylate monomer 1,3‐di(2‐hydroxy‐3‐methacryloyloxypropoxy)benzene are presented. This monomer was applied for the synthesis of porous microspheres. It was copolymerized with trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate in the presence of pore‐forming diluents, decan‐1‐ol and chlorobenzene. Influence of diluents composition on their porous structures was studied. Thermal resistance and tendency to swell in different organic diluents for a chosen sample were also determined. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3190–3201, 2009     

离子交换法制备廉价而高效的可见光驱动CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3微球光催化剂

Ag2CO3是一种典型的银基半导体,可在可见光照射下降解各种有机染料,但制备成本高,光腐蚀严重,稳定性差,难以循环利用等,因而限制了它的实际应用.针对这些问题,目前多数的改进措施是构建异质结,有效的分离光生电子与空穴来提高Ag2CO3的光催化性能.比如典型的异质结光催化剂有TiO2/Ag2CO3,Ag2CO3/ZnO,Ag2O/Ag2CO3和AgX/Ag2CO3等.也有在表面化学沉积,光化学还原Ag等贵金属形成等离子体等方式提高其光催化性能,但是很少通过特殊形貌控制以提高Ag2CO3的光催化性能.最近的研究表明,由于多尺度微球结构催化剂具有高效的光捕能力,同时具有比表面积大、易沉降,良好的物质传输能力和表面的渗透性,因而在液相光催化反应中具有明显的优势.因此,我们期望制备出一个多尺度微球结构Ag2CO3光催化剂.CaMg(CO3)2是一种具有微球结构的半导体,它与Ag2CO3有相同的阴离子结构,但是两者在水溶液中的溶解度相差较大,利用这个特性理论上可以将两个不同的半导体结合在一起,得到一种新型的复合微球.本文以CaMg(CO3)2微球为硬模板,通过简单的离子交换成功制备了粒径约为10μm的CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3微球.利用X射线衍射、N2物理吸附、扫描电镜、傅里叶变换红外光谱和紫外-可见漫反射吸收光谱、光电流等手段对在不同反应时间与温度下制得的CaMg(CO3)2与Ag2CO3的复合物进行了表征.结果表明,在40°C下Ag+与Ca2+、Mg2+离子交换4 h后,得到了一种多尺度CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3复合微球.此时,微球中Ag2CO3的含量约为2.56%.结果表明,这种具有多尺度结构的复合微球能够增强可见光的吸收.电化学阻抗测试和光电流测试表明,CaMg(CO3)2核的存在可以降低光生载流子的迁移阻力,进而促进光生电子与空穴的分离.在光降解酸性橙II的测试中,核壳结构的CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3复合微球表现出了更高的催化活性,而且具有更好的循环使用性能.同时,相对于纯Ag2CO3光催化剂来说,CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3复合微球制备的成本大幅度降低.ESR测试证明了·OH为CaMg(CO3)2@Ag2CO3复合微球光催化过程中的主要活性物质.     

粉煤灰基氧氟沙星分子印迹聚合物的制备及其应用

以工业废料粉煤灰微球为基质,氧氟沙星 (OFL) 为模板分子,采用表面印迹法制备印迹材料MIP。通过紫外光谱法结合理论分析选择实验条件,并对该印迹材料结构、吸附行为进行研究。结果表明,该印迹材料对氧氟沙星具有良好的特异识别性和优良的亲和性。与以硅胶为载体制备的印迹聚合物相比,该材料吸附容量更高和印迹效果更好。将其作为固相萃取填料对鸡产品进行分离富集,与C18柱相比,分离富集效果更好。结合UPLC,对实际样品中氧氟沙星进行分析,回收率为82.0%-96.7%,相对标准偏差低于5.5%,可用于鸡产品中氧氟沙星分离分析。     

大粒径介孔氧化硅微球的优化合成及表征

以非离子型嵌段共聚物为模板剂、正硅酸乙酯为硅源,制备了一种比表面积为712m2·g-1、孔径6.93nm、孔容1.06cm3·g-1、粒径10μm的介孔SBA-15微球,采用扫描电镜考察了各种合成条件对介孔氧化硅微球形貌的影响,对SBA-15介孔微球的合成条件优化和形成机理进行了研究和探讨。结果表明:介孔氧化硅微球的生长可以看作一个由微小溶胶粒子发生渐进聚沉、成长为较大溶胶粒子的过程;共表面活性剂和无机盐的引入对介孔微球的形成具有辅助作用;合成体系的酸度和晶化阶段之前的陈化条件是介孔微球形成的关键所在。在共聚物的盐酸溶液(1mol·L-1)中,不添加共表面活性剂和无机盐,仅控制陈化条件于35℃静置24h,100℃水热处理24h,可得到大粒径的介孔SBA-15微球。