Showing papers in "Progress in Polymer Science in 2009"

TL;DR: In this paper, a review discusses the various attempts reported on solving this problem from the point of view of the chemistry and the structure of these polymers highlighting the drawbacks and advantages of each method and proposes that based on considerations of structure-property relations, it is possible to obtain chitin fibers with improved strength by making use of their nanostructures and/or mesophase properties of chitins.

TL;DR: A detailed discussion on the mechanism of electrical conduction in PANI and the factors those influence the conductivity of PANI is also included in this paper, where the problems of effective utilization and the methods adopted to overcome these problems are also provided.

TL;DR: The thermal stability and flame retardancy of polyurethanes is reviewed in this article, where a detailed description of TGA, TGA-MS and TGAFTIR methods for studying the decomposition mechanism and kinetics is also provided.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an overview of the development of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), including polymer synthesis, membrane casting, physicochemical characterizations and fuel cell technologies.

TL;DR: An overview of the developments made in the area of biodegradable composites, in terms of market, processing methods, matrix reinforcement systems, morphology, properties and product development is presented in this article.

TL;DR: Ionic liquids (ILs) are continuing as important media in which to effect various kinds of polymerizations, and it is particularly noteworthy that ionic polymerization are being developed in IL solvents and that atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) catalysts are being attached to ILs to make them more easily recoverable in living polymerizations as mentioned in this paper.

TL;DR: In the recent years, bio-based products have raised great interest since sustainable development policies tend to expand with the decreasing reserve of fossil fuel and the growing concern for the environment.

TL;DR: In this paper, a review of recent developments in the synthesis of functional polymers with controlled architecture and site-specific functionality via applying controlled radical polymerization (CRP) techniques is reviewed.

TL;DR: In this article, a review of the thermal processing of starch-based polymers is presented, including both fundamental science such as microstructure, phase transition and rheology, as well as processing techniques, conditions and formulations.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a review of the recent developments in this field, and focus on two categories of PNIPAAm-based copolymer micelles as smart drug delivery systems.

TL;DR: In this article, a review of the recent research efforts on polymer adhesion with a special focus on adhesion mechanisms is presented, including mechanical coupling, chemical bonding, and thermodynamic adhesion.

TL;DR: In this article, the degradation and durability of polymers are reviewed in the presence of nanoparticles/nanocomposites under different environmental conditions, and the nanoparticulates have been incorporated into polymer as " nano-additives" for both purposes: degradation and stabilization.

TL;DR: A review of the literature on crosslinking of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) can be found in this paper, where Glutaraldehyde is a more effective crosslink agent than formaldehyde or glycidyl acrylate, which in turn gives a less swollen product than that obtained by increasing the crystallinity by heating.

TL;DR: A comprehensive review of the current understanding on (i) polymorphic crystallization and phase transition of biodegradable polyesters, (ii) isomorphic crystallization of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and (iii) poly(butylene adipate) random copolyesters, where the effects of comonomer composition and crystallization conditions are highlighted.

TL;DR: The ordering of block copolymers in thin films is reviewed in this paper, starting from fundamental principles and extending to recent promising developments as templates for nanolithography which may find important applications in the semiconductor industry.

TL;DR: In this article, an overview of the natural gas treatment is presented Following which, the prevalent mechanisms for the transport of the gas molecules through glassy polyimide membranes are briefly discussed The recent developments in polyimides molecular design and modification for the separation of carbon dioxide from natural gas are examined.

TL;DR: Polysaccharide-based microgels/nanogels have high water content, functionality, biocompatibility, tunable size from submicrons to tens of nanometers, large surface area for multivalent bioconjugation, and interior network for the incorporation of therapeutics.

TL;DR: A review of surface graft polymerization can be found in this paper, focusing on various initiating methods, controlled/living grafting, self-initiated grafting (grafting without the addition of photoinitiators), graft polymerizations with monomer pairs able to form charge transfer (CT) complexes, grafting in liquid, vapor and bulk phase, and the substrates used for grafting.

TL;DR: A review of dynamic covalent polymers can be found in this paper, where the main body of the review is presented in four sections: (i) utilization of dynamic Covalent bonds in reactive polymer blends, (ii) ring-chain equilibrium based on dynamic covariant bonds, (iii) reorganizable polymers and polymeric systems with dynamic cixent bonds, and (iv) dynamic smart polymer materials.

TL;DR: The research activities in the last decade indicate that ATRP has become an essential tool for the design and synthesis of advanced, noble and novel biomaterials.

TL;DR: Ionic liquids have emerged as a new class of solvents for practical applications due to their unique combination of low volatility, chemical stability, high conductivity, wide electrochemical window, ability to dissolve organic and inorganic solutes and gases, and tunable solvent properties.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors provide a comprehensive overview on the current state-of-the-art technologies for polyimides membranes in pervaporation, from polymer synthesis, modification to membrane formation.

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors summarized the advances in understanding and synthetic scope of CMRP since its discovery and discussed the cobalt-carbon bond formation by dual contribution of reversible termination and degenerative chain transfer, as well as the impact of additives able to coordinate the metal.

TL;DR: The development of methods to obtain well-defined polymer-quantum dot hybrid materials with tunable optical properties is an active field of research as mentioned in this paper, and many of these applications require a combination of the QDs with polymers.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors deal with the technology available for melt as well as solid state polycondensation of lactic acid (LA), the selection of catalysts, different synthetic methods, the effects of operating parameters on the MW of the product, and various properties of PLAs such as their physical, thermophysical, mechanical, electrical properties, degradation behavior and the dependence of these on the molecular weight.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide a quantitative experimental basis for any future theory development of the relatively new waterborne polyurethane dispersions and hybrid PU/POSS nanocomposites, and their structural dynamics, phase behavior, molecular relaxation, and rheological properties, increasing our level of understanding of the behavior of this important class of polymeric materials and other similar water soluble polymers.

TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of photo-initiated reactions onto properties of polymeric membranes will largely depend on the nature of the membrane's barrier (i.e., porous vs. non-porous, uncharged vs. charged, or involving affinity interactions).

TL;DR: Field-flow fractionation (FFF) is a family of analytical techniques developed specifically for separating and characterizing macromolecules, supramolecular assemblies, colloids and particles.

TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the literature on the crystallization and morphology of biodegradable block copolymers with at least one crystallizable component is presented, focusing on double crystalline diblock copolymer.