Hydrolytic degradation of polyester–polyether block copolymer based on polycaprolactone/poly(ethylene glycol)/polylactide

Polyester–polyether block copolymers based on polycaprolactone/poly(ethylene glycol)/polylactide (PCEL) with various compositions were synthesized by direct copolymerization of ϵ‐caprolactone, L ‐lactide and PEG (6000) in the presence of stannous octoate at 130 °C for 56 hr. The degradation behavior of the copolymers was investigated in a pH 7.4 phosphate buffer solution at 37 ±1 °C. Various techniques such as weight, gel permeation chromatography, ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance, differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffractometry were used to monitor the changes in water absorption, weight loss, molar mass, molar mass distribution, thermal properties and compositions. The results show that the hydrophilicity of copolymer was enhanced with increasing poly(ethylene oxide) content, which led to the PEG sequences fast release and an increase in weight loss of the copolymer. Bimodal chromatograms were detected in the degradation, which were attributed to the degradation mechanism of the partial crystalline polymer proceeding predominantly in amorphous zones. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Preparation and properties of polysulfone/TiO2 composite ultrafiltration membranes

The influence of inorganic filler TiO₂ nanoparticles on the morphology and properties of polysulfone (PS) ultrafiltration membranes was investigated. PS/TiO₂ composite membranes were prepared by a phase‐inversion method. TiO₂ nanoparticles modified by sodium dodecyl sulfate were uniformly dispersed in an 18 wt % PS casting solution. The addition of TiO₂ resulted in an increase in the pore density and porosity of the membrane skin layer. The pore size distribution changed from the log‐normal distribution to the bimodal distribution because of the presence of TiO₂ nanoparticles, and some large pores were observed when the concentration of the filler was over 3 wt %. The skin layer was gradually thickened; meanwhile, the morphology sublayer changed from macrovoids to spongelike pores, in comparison with PS membranes without the filler. The addition of TiO₂ also induced increases in the hydrophilicity, mechanical strength, and thermal stability. The ultrafiltration experiments showed when the concentration of TiO₂ was less than 2 wt %, the permeability and rejection of the membrane was enhanced and then decreased drastically with a higher filler concentration (>3%). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 879–887, 2006     

Control on shape, porosity and surface hydrophilicity of hematite particles by using polymers

The shape, porosity, and surface hydrophilicity of hematite particles formed from a forced hydrolysis reaction of acidic FeCl₃ solution were controlled by using a trace of polymers (0.001 and 0.003 wt%). The spherical particles were produced on the systems with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyaspartic acid (PAS). In the case of polyacryl amide (PAAm), slightly small spherical particles were precipitated at 0.003 wt%. However, polyacrylic acid (PAAc) and poly-γ-glutamic acid (PGA) gave ellipsoidal particles. This morphological change on hematite particles depended on the order of functional groups of polymers as –OH<–CONH₂<–COOH<–COOH and ⟩C=O, corresponding to the order in extent of polymer molecules for complexation to Fe³⁺ ions and adsorption onto particle surface. Accompanying this order, the hematite particles produced were changed from less porous to microporous. On the other hand, only the system with 0.003 wt% of PAAm produced mesoporous hematite particles. Choosing the kinds of polymers also controlled the ultramicroporosity and surface hydrophilicity of the particles.     

Synthesis of Highly Hydrophilic Polyaniline Nanowires and Sub‐Micro/Nanostructured Dendrites on Poly(propylene) Film Surfaces

Summary: Polyaniline (PANI) nanowires and sub‐micro/nanostructured dendrites are synthesized and immobilized on PP‐g‐PAA film surfaces via routine oxidative polymerization of aniline under different conditions, where grafting poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) served as a template and dopant, and SDS as a surfactant. The immobilized PANI enhances the surface hydrophilicity of the poly(propylene) (PP) films, and a superhydrophilic surface is obtained in this way. The mechanism of forming different morphologies of PANI and of correspondingly obtaining a superhydrophilic surface are briefly discussed.

FESEM image shows the PANI sub‐micro/nanostructured dendrites immobilized on the surfaces of PP films. The modified surface is highly hydrophilic with a water contact angle of 3°.     

Recent advances on “ordered water monolayer that does not completely wet water” at room temperature

The molecular scales behavior of interfacial water at the solid/liquid interfaces is of a fundamental significance in a diverse set of technical and scientific contexts,ranging from the efficiency of oil mining to the activity of biological molecules.Recently,it has become recognized that,both the physical interactions and the surface morphology have significant impact on the behavior of interfacial water,including the water structures as well as the wetting properties of the surface.In this review,we summarize some of recent advances in the atom-level pictures of the interfacial water,which exhibits the ordered character on various solid surfaces at room or cryogenic temperature.Special focus has been devoted to the wetting phenomenon of"ordered water monolayer that does not completely wet water"and the underlying mechanism on model and some real solid surfaces at room temperature.The possible applications of this phenomenon are also discussed.     

Synthesis and characterization of azoxystrobin hydrophilic molecularly imprinted microspheres

Abstract

In this research, hydrophilic molecularly imprinted microspheres (HMIPs) for azoxystrobin were successfully synthesized through precipitation polymerization. The adsorption capacities of HMIPs for azoxystrobin in water medium were higher than ordinary molecularly imprinted microspheres (MIPs), and HMIPs exhibited good hydrophilic properties. HMIPs and non-imprinted microspheres (HNIPs) were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, laser particle size analyzer and TGA. Comparing with HNIPs, azoxystrobin had a significant influence on morphologys and sizes of HMIPs. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm illustrated each binding site of HMIPs had the same adsorption capacity. The Lagergran pseudo-second-order kinetic model indicated the adsorption process between azoxystrobin and HMIPs was chemical adsorption. BET test illustrated HMIPs had bigger specific surface areas than HNIPs. Selective adsorption indicated that HMIPs had highly specific recognition of azoxystrobin. HMIPs successfully exhibited high selectivity and high hydrophilicity in water medium.     

Switchable‐hydrophilicity solvent liquid‐liquid microextraction versus dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction prior to HPLC‐UV for the determination and isolation of piperine from Piper nigrum L

Switchable‐hydrophilicity solvent liquid‐liquid microextraction and dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction were compared for the extraction of piperine from Piper nigrum L. prior to its analysis by using high‐performance liquid chromatography with UV detection. Under optimum conditions, limits of detection and quantitation were found as 0.2–0.6 and 0.7–2.0 μg/mg with the two methods, respectively. Calibration graphs showed good linearity with coefficients of determination (R²) higher than 0.9962 and percentage relative standard deviations lower than 6.8%. Both methods were efficiently used for the extraction of piperine from black and white pepper samples from different origins and percentage relative recoveries ranged between 90.0 and 106.0%. The results showed that switchable‐hydrophilicity solvent liquid‐liquid microextraction is a better alternative to dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction for the routine analysis of piperine in food samples. A novel scaled‐up dispersive liquid‐liquid microextraction method was also proposed for the isolation of piperine providing a yield of 102.9 ± 4.9% and purity higher than 98.0% as revealed by NMR spectroscopy.     

Modification effects of amphiphilic comb-like polysiloxane containing polyether side chains on the PVDF membranes prepared via phase inversion process

Amphiphilic comb-like polysiloxane (ACPS) containing polyether side chains was used as the modification reagent in the preparation of hydrophilic porous poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes via a phase inversion process. The effects of ACPS on morphology, crystallinity, mechanical properties, reservation of ACPS in the phase inversion process, chemical structure, hydrophilicity and filterability performance of porous PVDF membranes were discussed. It was found that the addition of ACPS would result in the delayed demixing which yields “sponge-like” sublayers and longer crystallization time during the membrane formation process. It was revealed that O/F ratios of the bulk membrane were almost the same as those of the corresponding casting solutions which obviously indicated the high reservation of ACPS in the membrane formation process. The fact that the O/F ratios in the membrane surface layers were much higher than those in the bulk membrane proved the enrichment of ACPS on the surface. The filterability experiments and water contact angle testing proved the hydrophilicity of the blend membranes. Through a schematic model, the mechanism relating the membrane structure and performance was interpreted. From the observed results, it can be concluded that ACPS acts as a potential candidate material for preparing PVDF membranes with extraordinary hydrophilicity and filterability. __________ Translated from Acta Polymerica Sinica, 2007, 12: 1168–1175     

Electrical Double Layer on Liquid Bi–Ga Alloys in Aqueous Solutions

Double-layer characteristics of a liquid bismuth–gallium electrode are studied in aqueous electrolyte solutions. Based on the results obtained it is shown that Bi in an alloy with Ga is a surface-active component and forced out to the electrode surface layer. For electrode charges q –5 C/cm², the double layer characteristics of Bi–Ga electrodes approach those of a bismuth electrode. Thus, with respect to its electrochemical properties, a Bi–Ga electrode containing 0.25 at. % Bi simulates a liquid bismuth electrode. The corrected electrochemical work function is determined for bismuth. The close values of the difference of zero-charge potentials on mercury and bismuth in water and the difference of corrected electrochemical work functions for these metals points to the very low hydrophilicity of the Bi–Ga electrode, which approaches the value for mercury at negative electrode potentials. Taking into account that the Bi–Ga electrode displays no semimetallic properties, the similarity of the electric double layer (EDL) parameters for the Bi–Ga alloy and solid pure Bi indicates that the semimetallic properties of bismuth make no contribution to the EDL characteristics of the alloy in the studied range of negative charges q –5 C/cm².