Colloid and Polymer Science最新文献

Silicon anodes in sulfide-based all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) suffer from severe chemo-mechanical instability, leading to interfacial debonding, cracking, and rapid capacity decay. Although polymer binders can mitigate these issues, most systems rely on high binder contents (> 10 wt%), which compromises energy density and limits practical application. Herein, we show that binder performance can be improved at low binder loading by tuning the polarity of the binder. A series of poly(ethylhexyl methacrylate-co-acrylic acid) (PEMA) copolymers with controlled compositions are synthesized to establish the relationship between polarity and electrode stability. A non-monotonic dependence is observed, with PEMA110 copolymer (EHMA/AA = 1/10) achieving the optimal balance between interfacial adhesion and mechanical rigidity. PEMA110 delivers high modulus (~ 3.0 GPa) and peel force (2.14 N) of the electrode at binder loading of 4 wt%, effectively suppressing electrode delamination and crack propagation. Consequently, the silicon anode achieves 80.27% capacity retention after 100 cycles in a half-cell, significantly outperforming conventional PAA (48.68%). These results demonstrate that moderate polarity maximizes adhesion-mechanics synergy, providing a practical binder design strategy for stabilizing micro-silicon anodes under realistic low binder loading in sulfide ASSBs.

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Bimetallic nanocrystals have gained immense significance due to their unique chemical and synergistic properties and are widely used for catalysis and water treatment. Monometallic (silver and cerium oxide) and bimetallic silver@cerium oxide (Ag@Ce₂O₃) nanoparticles were prepared by using chemical reduction and seed growth methods, respectively, with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a capping agent and sodium borohydride as a reducing agent in polyol synthesis. Optical properties and growth kinetics were established with UV-visible spectroscopy. The prepared Ag@Ce₂O₃ displayed surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peaks at 403 nm, 294 nm, and 229 nm, respectively, for metallic Ag⁰, Ce₂O₃, and PVA, indicating successful nanoparticles formation. Morphology, elemental composition, crystal size, and capping action of PVA were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and FTIR spectroscopy. The sizes of the silver, cerium oxide, and Ag@Ce₂O₃, respectively, ca. 10 nm, 5 nm, and 40 nm, are controlled by the concentration of reducing agent. XRD patterns reveal the formation of face-centered cubic metallic silver (space group = 250:(::Fmstackrel{-}{3}m)) as well as the trigonal crystal structure of cerium oxide (Ce₂O₃, space group 150: P321) in the Ag@Ce₂O₃ nanoparticles, while electronic interactions between the chemisorbed hydroxyl groups of the PVA and Ag@Ce₂O₃ surface are confirmed from the FT-IR data. The synthesized nanoparticles served as a potential catalyst in the oxidative degradation of organic azo dye (tetrazine). The Ag@Ce₂O₃ exhibits 98% of degradation efficiency with in 60 min towards the model pollutant tetrazine synthetic azo dye under sodium borohydride (cocatalyst).

The ionomer-to-carbon ratio (I/C ratio) and carbon support govern the internal structure of carbon/ionomer suspensions. However, their composition-dependent evolution is often interpreted using individual observables. In this study, Ketjen/ionomer and Vulcan/ionomer suspensions were examined using optical microscopy, shear rheology, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, equivalent circuit fitting, singular value decomposition (SVD), and evolving factor analysis (EFA). Conventional analyses identified support-dependent composition windows, with Vulcan-based suspensions showing pronounced changes at lower I/C ratios than Ketjen-based suspensions. SVD revealed that the rheological and impedance responses were not solely explained by a dominant global mode, but included a secondary component associated with composition-specific response reorganization. This component 2 contribution was more pronounced in the Vulcan-based system for both viscosity and impedance datasets. EFA further demonstrated that the secondary contribution developed progressively across the I/C range, rather than emerging abruptly at a single composition. These results indicate that SVD combined with EFA can serve as a supplementary data-driven framework for identifying latent descriptors of support-dependent structural evolution in carbon/ionomer suspensions.

This study presents a colorimetric hydrogel film sensor using chitosan and dimethylglyoxime (DMG) for rapid and on-site detection of nickel ions (Ni²⁺). A dual biocompatible crosslinking system using citric acid and oxalic acid was employed to produce a stable porous structure. The chitosan/DMG hydrogel (CDH) was characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analysis. In the presence of nickel ions, the sensor shows a visible color change due to the formation of a reddish-pink complex. This change can be quantified using UV-Vis spectroscopy and digital image analysis, with a detection range of 2.5 mM to 8.5 mM. Under optimal conditions, the proposed sensor demonstrates a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.49 mM, and a rapid response time of 1 min. The sensor offers a low-cost, portable, and environmentally friendly solution for rapid on-site monitoring of nickel in aqueous solution. Although the sensor performs well under controlled conditions, challenges remain regarding trace-level detection and validation in large-scale real-world matrices. Future efforts will focus on addressing these limitations and exploring smartphone-based integration for fully portable, on-site applications.

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The global energy crisis necessitates urgent improvements in energy storage device performance. Conventional porous carbon materials suffer from limited rate capability, primarily attributed to constrained ion diffusion kinetics within their tortuous architectures of nanopores, which severely restricts their practical applications in capacitive energy storage systems. To address this challenge, a novel Co/Ni oxides doped mesoporous carbon with excellent rate performance is fabricated through micellar induced chitosan self-assembly, and then synthesized via one step hydrothermal method on lyophilized PCS substrates for the deposition and composite of bimetallic oxides. The Co/Ni oxides with crosslinked γ-PGA@Chitosan freeze-dried porous carbon microspheres material (Co/Ni oxides@PCS) electrode which ratio of Co to Ni is 1:3 exhibits a high capacitance of 1458 F·g^− 1 at 1.0 A·g^− 1. Furthermore, the Co/Ni oxides@PCS device had a capacitance of 1175 F·g^− 1 at 1.0 A·g^− 1 and the coulombic efficiency is over 90% in 10,000 cycles. Furthermore, it has a high energy density of 182.25 Wh·kg^− 1 at a power density of 300 W·kg^− 1. A relatively wide energy storage window of 1.5 V has been discovered, which effectively increases the unit-device energy density. The results demonstrate that Co/Ni oxides@PCS exhibits considerable application potential in the energy storage.

Guar Gum (GG) is a naturally occurring biopolymer that is widely used in food, pharmaceutical, and biomedical fields due to its excellent properties. Sodium Cholate (NaC) is an anionic bile salt surfactant known for its amphiphilic nature and its ability to form mixed aggregates with macromolecules in water. This study looks at how GG and NaC interact in aqueous solution, focusing on their physicochemical and intermolecular characteristics. The analytical techniques are used like UV–Visible spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, conductivity measurements, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and zeta potential analysis to understand the interaction between the NaC and GG aggregates. The results show that NaC greatly affects the behavior and aggregation of GG. The critical micelle concentration of the NaC/GG mixed system was lower than that of pure NaC micelles, indicating that there are favourable interactions between GG and NaC. Additionally, the thermodynamic parameters suggest that the association process is spontaneous and stable. The interaction behavior varies significantly with concentration and temperature, which indicates that these physicochemical properties can be adjusted for different industrial applications. So, the NaC/GG mixed system has important potential for use in drug delivery, food processing, and environmentally friendly formulation technologies.

Melamine–glyoxal (MG) resin was investigated as a formaldehyde-free feedstock shell material for the encapsulation of hexyl salicylate through interface-directed in situ polymerization. The effects of acidification pH, curing temperature, and shell-to-core ratio on microcapsule morphology, particle size, encapsulation efficiency, thermal behavior, mechanical properties, and shell permeability were systematically evaluated. A shell-to-core ratio of 17.5 wt% provided a suitable balance among spherical morphology, particle dispersion, encapsulation efficiency, and mechanical integrity. The resulting MG microcapsules exhibited a well-defined spherical morphology with a relatively smooth surface, an average rupture force of 0.022 mN, a nominal rupture stress of 0.166 MPa, and an encapsulation efficiency of 78 wt%. Under the corresponding optimized preparation conditions, conventional melamine–formaldehyde (MF) microcapsules exhibited an encapsulation efficiency of approximately 70 wt%. Thus, the MG microcapsules showed a higher encapsulation efficiency than the MF microcapsules. MG microcapsules exhibited faster hexyl salicylate extraction and higher relative shell permeability than MF microcapsules under ethanol-assisted accelerated extraction conditions. Overall, this study establishes relationships among formulation conditions, shell structure, and performance of MG fragrance microcapsules.

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During crop growth, significant seasonal and diurnal temperature variations occur. Following fertilization, both the fertilizers in the soil and the crops themselves respond to these temperature changes. The development of temperature-responsive fertilizers can improve nutrient utilization efficiency under varying thermal conditions. In this study, a temperature-responsive starch-NIPAM-AM (SNA) hydrogel was synthesized using starch as a matrix incorporated with temperature-sensitive functional groups. This hydrogel was applied as a coating on conventional urea granules to produce a temperature-responsive slow/controlled-release fertilizer (TR-SRF) with a target coating percentage of 10% and a final nitrogen content of 41.4%. The grafting of temperature-sensitive functional groups and the structural properties of the hydrogel were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The swelling capacity, water-holding, and water-retention capabilities of the hydrogel under different temperatures were examined. Additionally, the nutrient release behavior and release kinetics of the TR-SRF under various temperature conditions were systematically evaluated using Higuchi and Korsmeyer–Peppas models, demonstrating an extended effective release period of up to 50 days in soil governed by an anomalous transport mechanism. Results showed that the cumulative nitrogen release rates of TR-SRF in soil at 0 °C, 10 °C, 25 °C, 35 °C, and 45 °C reached 78.76%, 76.38%, 77.94%, 75.83%, and 81.01%, respectively. The TR-SRF demonstrated stable and effective nutrient release performance across both low and high temperatures, indicating its potential to supply crops with sustained nutrition under low-temperature cultivation conditions and in environments with large diurnal temperature variations.

Aqueous formaldehyde (commonly known as formalin) a well-known carcinogen and widely used across to extend the shelf-life of meat and fish, despite its prohibition in food products. Herein, bio-inspired stimuli-responsive core-shell (CS) polymer microspheres were employed to demonstrate a facile and cost-effective solid-state fluorescence assay for the detection of formalin. We synthesized microspheres of polystyrene as core and polyacrylamide as shell by an emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization route and employed for the fabrication of well-ordered close-packed three-dimensional colloidal photonic crystals (CPCs). The diameter of the CS microsphere was tuned to obtain CPCs with brilliant structural colors in the visible wavelength region. The integration of smaller amounts of Fluoral-p into CPCs films generated a fluorescent derivative, the intensity of which is augmented due to the slow-photon effect observed at the edges of the photonic band gap (PBG) of CPCs. Here, the shell of polystyrene@polyacrylamide (PS@poly(AM)) microspheres provides anchoring sites for Fluoral-p molecules. We obtained 60-fold fluorescence enhancement as compared to the control sample upon exposure to formalin. Furthermore, the sensor exhibits a relatively high selectivity and sensitivity towards formalin.

Polyborodimethylsiloxane (PBDMS) is a boron-modified silicone elastomer exhibiting remarkable viscoelastic and shear-stiffening behaviour, making it a promising additive for various matrix materials used in damping systems, protective coatings, and impact-resistant devices. In the present work, a polystyrene-divinylbenzene sulfonic acid (PS–DVB–SO₃H) catalyzed protocol has been developed for the synthesis of PBDMS through the condensation reaction of hydroxyl-terminated polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS–OH) with boric acid. The PS-DVB–SO₃H resin serves a dual role as both a catalyst and a dehydrating agent, significantly reducing the reaction time from the conventional 12–48 h to approximately 2 h. Furthermore, the proposed method minimizes the risk of polymer chain scission associated with prolonged thermal treatment. The protocol is applicable to PDMS precursors over a wide range of viscosities, demonstrating its versatility and scalability. The synthesized PBDMS samples were characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC), and dynamic rheological analysis. The rapid and efficient synthesis route developed in this study provides a practical approach for the large-scale production of PBDMS for advanced energy-dissipation and impact-mitigation applications.

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