All in one: The preparation of polyester/silica hybrid nanocomposites via three different metal-free click reactions

Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Materials: Tailoring Carbon Dioxide-Based Polycarbonate with POSS-SH Crosslinking

A novel functional polycarbonate (PAGC), characterized by the presence of double bonds within its side chain, was successfully synthesized through a ternary copolymerization of propylene oxide (PO), allyl glycidyl ether (AGE), and carbon dioxide (CO2). Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes octamercaptopropyl (POSS-SH) was employed as a crosslinking agent, contributing to the formation of organic-inorganic hybrid materials. This incorporation was facilitated through thiol-ene click reactions, enabling effective interactions between the POSS molecules and the double bonds in the side chains of the polycarbonate. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed a homogeneous distribution of silicon (Si) and sulfur (S) in the polycarbonate matrix. The thiol-ene click reaction between POSS-SH and the polycarbonate led to a micro-crosslinked structure. This enhancement significantly increased the tensile strength of the polycarbonate to 42 MPa, a notable improvement over traditional poly (propylene carbonate) (PPC). Moreover, the cross-linked structure exhibited enhanced solvent resistance, expanding the potential applications of these polycarbonates in various plastic materials.

Metal-Free Click Modification of Triple Bond-Containing Polyester with Azide-Functionalized Vegetable Oil: Plasticization and Tunable Solvent Adsorption

Pressure from environmental nongovernmental organizations and the public has accelerated research on the development of innovative and renewable polymers and additives. Recently, biobased "green" plasticizers that can be covalently attached to replace toxic and migratory phthalate-based plasticizers have gained a lot of attention from researchers. In this work, we prepared an azide-functionalized soybean oil derivative (AzSBO) and investigated whether it can be used as a plasticizer. We covalently attached AzSBO to an electron-deficient triple-bond-containing polyester via a metal-free azide-alkyne click reaction. The thermal, mechanical, and solvent absorption behaviors of different amounts of azidated oil-containing polyesters were determined. Moreover, the plasticization efficiency of AzSBO was compared with the commercial plasticizers bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and epoxidized soybean oil. At relatively lower AzSBO ratios, the degree of cross-linking was higher and thus the plasticization was less pronounced but the solvent resistance was significantly improved. As the ratio of AzSBO was increased, the glass transition temperature of the pristine polymer decreased up to 31 °C from 57 °C. Furthermore, the incorporation of AzSBO also improved the thermal properties and 20% AzSBO addition led to a 60 °C increase in the maximum weight loss temperature.

Self-Assembly of Au-Fe3O4 Hybrid Nanoparticles Using a Sol-Gel Pechini Method

The Pechini method has been used as a synthetic route for obtaining self-assembling magnetic and plasmonic nanoparticles in hybrid silica nanostructures. This manuscript evaluates the influence of shaking conditions, reaction time, and pH on the size and morphology of the nanostructures produced. The characterization of the nanomaterials was carried out by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to evaluate the coating and size of the nanomaterials, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) transmission spectra to evaluate the presence of the different coatings, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) curves to determine the amount of coating. The results obtained show that the best conditions to obtain core–satellite nanostructures with homogeneous silica shells and controlled sizes (<200 nm) include the use of slightly alkaline media, the ultrasound activation of silica condensation, and reaction times of around 2 h. These findings represent an important framework to establish a new general approach for the click chemistry assembling of inorganic nanostructures.

Practical phosphorylation of polymers: an easy access to fully alcohol soluble synthetically and industrially important polymers

A simple method for the phosphorylation of synthetically and industrially important polymers is introduced to the polymer community.