Microfluidic fabrication of polysiloxane/dimethyl methylphosphonate flame‐retardant microcapsule and its application in silicone foams

A novel and versatile route for fabricating flame‐retardant microcapsules via microfluidics technology is reported. The flame‐retardant microcapsules were prepared with a dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP) core and an ultraviolet‐curable (UV‐curable) polysiloxane shell. Furthermore, a UV‐curable polysiloxane was synthesized. The synthesis mechanism of UV‐curable polysiloxane and the curing mechanism of flame‐retardant microcapsules were analyzed. To verify that DMMP was encapsulated in the microcapsules, X‐ray fluorescence was used before and after microencapsulation. The resulting microcapsules were well monodispersed and exhibited a good spherical shape with a smooth surface. In addition, the size of the microcapsules decreased dramatically with an increasing flow‐rate ratio of the middle‐/inner‐phase or outer‐phase flow rate. The thermal stability of the microcapsules was worse than shell materials but superior to DMMP. Silicone foams (SiFs) with microcapsules prepared using a dehydrogenation method achieved a relatively higher limiting oxygen‐index value than the pure SiF, which indicated that the microcapsules could enhance the flame retardation of SiFs effectively. Because of the polysiloxane shell, the microcapsules had good compatibility with SiFs, and the influence of microcapsules on the mechanical properties of SiFs was unremarkable.     

Fundamental investigation on effect of microencapsulated water on expansion behavior of microcapsules

The microcapsules containing water were prepared with the suspension polymerization method, and the fundamental investigation was performed to make the effect of microencapsulated water on expansion behavior of microcapsules clear. In the experiment, only the volume of water added into styrene monomer was changed to make the effect of microencapsulated water volume clear, and three kinds of water contents were measured: namely, the initial water content for the microcapsules just after preparation, the middle water content for the microcapsules dried at 44°C for 24 hours, and the final water content for the microcapsules dried at 110°C for 1 hours. With increasing the added water volume, the initial water content increased; the middle water content decreased after increasing halfway through, and the final water content gradually decreased. Also, with increasing the added water volume, the drying rate of the microcapsules increased and the expansion ratio decreased. The water volume required to expand the microcapsules, in other words, the critical shell thickness required to prevent evaporation of water and to contribute to expansion of microcapsules is discussed.     

Single Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules Fabricated By Glutaraldehyde‐Mediated Covalent Layer‐By‐Layer Assembly

Summary: Single polyelectrolyte component microcapsules and multilayers, exemplified by poly(allylamine hydrochloride) (PAH), have been prepared using a method of glutaraldehyde (GA)‐mediated covalent layer‐by‐layer (LbL) assembly. The GA cross‐linking of the adsorbed PAH results in surfaces covered by reactive aldehyde groups, which can then react with PAH to result in another layer of covalently linked PAH. The repeated assembly of single polyelectrolyte in an LbL manner can be thus achieved. The PAH multilayers can grow linearly along with the layer number, and their thickness can be controlled at the nanometer scale, as verified by UV‐vis absorption spectrometry and ellipsometry. Single polyelectrolyte microcapsules are obtained after removal of the template cores at low pH. The morphology and integrity are confirmed by scanning force microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Schematic illustration of the preparation of a single polyelectrolyte component microcapsule by GA‐mediated covalent LbL assembly.     

Formation of hollow silica spheres from molecular silica sols

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Preparation and release properties of flufiprole-loaded microcapsules with core status of solid particles,solution droplets and oil suspending agent

Our main goal was to evaluate release mechanism of microcapsules with different core status. First, flufiprole microcapsules were directly encapsulated with chitosan (CS) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) through layer-by-layer (LbL) self-assembly. The changes of process parameters on the microcapsules characteristics (zeta potential, and morphology) were investigated. Also the release trends of flufiprole were determined and fitted with mathematical models. It was revealed that releases of three types of microcapsules were all very similar, but microcapsule with solid particles and oil suspending agent reached their peak values at 36–42, 42–48?h respectively, microcapsule with solution droplets cannot reach a maximum value. In the stage of initial burst release, Higuchi model performed better with oil suspending agent and solid particles, which was in agreement with the Fick's law. Core status being solution, release curves of the pesticide corresponded to zero-order which was in agreement with dissolution mechanism. In the stage of slow release, the values of R² for solution and solid particles were all above 0.98, betokened the release phenomenon were in line with the first-order. On the other hand, release of oil suspending agent conformed to Higuchi model.     

海藻酸盐微胶囊及纳米Fe_3O_4的可控制备及应用的研究——介绍一个综合探究实验

介绍一个综合探究实验——制备海藻酸钙微胶囊和纳米Fe_3O_4,研究其吸附水中有机物和金属离子的效果。本实验与前沿接轨,能充分激发学生的学习兴趣,变被动学习为主动,有利于提升学生的综合探究能力。     

Raman imaging and photodegradation study of phthalocyanine containing microcapsules and coated particles

We present the results of using Raman molecular imaging and atomic force microscopy (AFM) investigation of the composition, stability, and photodegradation of polyelectrolyte multilayer microcapsules and coated microparticles containing copper–phthalocyanine and iron–phthalocyanine. The influence of laser light on degradation of these phthalocyanine dyes embedded in the walls of polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules and shells of microparticles was studied by both AFM and Raman molecular imaging, but only the latter technique gave information on dynamics of photodegradation. Raman peak assignment was performed according to theoretical calculations. The degradation rate of phthalocyanine dyes is estimated from Raman signal measurements and a model is proposed to account for the degradation rate. Practical applications of our approach are outlined. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Solute Permeability of Certain Polymeric Films Applied on Aspirin Crystals to Form Microcapsules

A study was carried out to investigate the solute permeability of various polymer films applied on aspirin crystal to form microcapsules. The coating materials were an acrylate methacrylate (AMA), poly 3‐hydroxybutyrate‐hydroxyvalerate (Biopol^®) and poly (lactic‐glycolic) acid (PLGA). Organic solutions of the polymers were applied on the aspirin crystals (core) by a spray coating technique in a Wurster column. The microcapsule surfaces were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), while permeability studies were carried out on single microcapsules serving as micro dialysis cells. The amount of drug (m) permeating through the applied films in time (t) was analysed on the basis of Fickian diffusion. The SEM revealed numerous surface pores of size range 2.4 to 24 μm for the AMA films, while the PLGA and Biopol films, on the other hand, exhibited very few surface pores of size range 2.2 to 18 μm. However, the AMA films were more spongy than the PLGA and Biopol. The AMA films displayed a retarded release while the PLGA or Biopol films displayed a burst release, attributable to the differences in the film's porous structure. The Permeability coefficient (P) depended on the core weight of the single microcapsules, decreasing with increase in core weight. Thus, for an ensemble of the microcapsules the permeability coefficients of the films of the component microcapsules will have a distribution of P values even though the coating material is the same. This finding is important in the simulation of drug release from coated multiparticulate systems.     

Encapsulation of a Single Metal Nanoparticle with Tunable Size in a Monodisperse Polymer Microcapsule

A versatile approach to fabricate monodisperse poly[styrene‐co‐(divinyl benzene)] (PS‐co‐DVB) microcapsules that contain a single gold nanoparticle (AuNP) has been demonstrated. Using the PS‐co‐DVB microcapsule as a microreactor, aqueous HAuCl₄ and NaBH₄ solutions are subsequently infiltrated. The size of the resulting AuNP inside of the PS‐co‐DVB microcapsules is easily tunable by controlling the repeated infiltration cycles of aqueous HAuCl₄ and NaBH₄. PS‐co‐DVB microcapsules that contain a single silver and palladium nanoparticle are also obtained by following a similar protocol.

     

MGO-MicroLMs/PS微胶囊润滑复合材料制备及摩擦学性能

以改性氧化石墨烯(MGO)/聚苯乙烯为复合壁材,硬脂酸丁酯为润滑芯材,通过种子微悬浮聚合法制备了改性氧化石墨烯微胶囊润滑材料(MGO-Micro LMs),以MGO-Micro LMs为润滑添加剂,经本体浇铸成型制备MGOMicro LMs/PS复合材料.采用IR和SEM表征了化学组成和微观形貌,以微机控制电子万能试验拉伸机和高速往复摩擦磨损试验仪评价了断裂行为和摩擦学性能,以Mico-XAM非接触式三维表面轮廓仪观察磨痕表面形貌并计算磨损率.结果表明:MGO-Micro LMs在聚苯乙烯基体中具有良好的分散性和相容性,同时对聚苯乙烯基体材料具有增韧效果;MGO-Micro LMs可以提高聚苯乙烯基体材料摩擦磨损性能,具有润滑和减摩作用,MGO-Micro LMs润滑机理为边界润滑.