Ostwald ripening of reactive costabilizers in miniemulsion polymerization

Utilization of Pickering emulsion stabilized by chitin nanofibers for improving water and oxygen resistance of gelatin films

The hydrophilicity of gelatin films obviously limits their application. In this work, novel protonated chitin nanofiber was prepared with green methods, surficial deacetylation combined with acidic and mechanical treatment. Composite films with excellent water and oxygen barrier properties were successfully prepared by blending O/W Pickering emulsions stabilized by chitin nanofibers with gelatin substrates. The films were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, mechanical properties, water and oxygen permeability, moisture content, water solubility, water contact angle and optical properties. The results demonstrated that the amino groups of chitin nanofibers bound to the carboxyl groups of gelatin via electrostatic interactions, which contributing to the excellent mechanical and barrier properties of composite films. The elongation at break of composite film (the concentration of chitin nanofiber was 0.2 wt%) was 2.66 times of gelatin film. And the water vapor and oxygen permeability of composite films lowered to 65.9 % and 52.9 %, respectively. The introduction of O/W Pickering emulsion significantly enhanced the hydrophobicity of gelatin-based film and the chitin nanofibers played a positive role in stabilizing the gelatin chains to a certain extent. This study expands the application fields of gelatin-based films and provides valuable technical route for the preparation of barrier films.

Hierarchical bubble size distributions in coarsening wet liquid foams

Coarsening of two-phase systems is crucial for the stability of dense particle packings such as alloys, foams, emulsions, or supersaturated solutions. Mean field theories predict an asymptotic scaling state with a broad particle size distribution. Aqueous foams are good model systems for investigations of coarsening-induced structures, because the continuous liquid as well as the dispersed gas phases are uniform and isotropic. We present coarsening experiments on wet foams, with liquid fractions up to their unjamming point and beyond, that are performed under microgravity to avoid gravitational drainage. As time elapses, a self-similar regime is reached where the normalized bubble size distribution is invariant. Unexpectedly, the distribution features an excess of small roaming bubbles, mobile within the network of jammed larger bubbles. These roaming bubbles are reminiscent of rattlers in granular materials (grains not subjected to contact forces). We identify a critical liquid fraction [Formula: see text], above which the bubble assembly unjams and the two bubble populations merge into a single narrow distribution of bubbly liquids. Unexpectedly, [Formula: see text] is larger than the random close packing fraction of the foam [Formula: see text]. This is because, between [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], the large bubbles remain connected due to a weak adhesion between bubbles. We present models that identify the physical mechanisms explaining our observations. We propose a new comprehensive view of the coarsening phenomenon in wet foams. Our results should be applicable to other phase-separating systems and they may also help to control the elaboration of solid foams with hierarchical structures.

Modeling the shear-dependent viscosity of nonionically stabilized waterborne dispersions

The performance of a rheological model that accounts for the effect of the volume fraction, the particle size distribution, and shear rate on the viscosity of water-borne dispersions stabilized with conventional nonionic surfactants and polymeric stabilizers is assessed. The model that contains three parameters fitted well the experimental data. The parameters were independent of the volume fraction, the particle size distribution, and the shear rate. Furthermore, two of them were not affected by the surfactant type and concentration, and temperature. The other parameter increased with the surfactant molecular weight and surface covering, but decreased with increasing temperature.

Graphical Abstract

Water-based non-isocyanate polyurethane-ureas (NIPUUs)

This review aims at discussing the achievements and the remaining challenges in the development of water-soluble NIPUUs, NIPUUs-based hydrogels and water-borne NIPUU dispersions.

Predictive model of polymer reaction kinetics and coagulation behavior in seeded emulsion co- and ter-polymerizations

A mathematical model to describe the emulsion polymerization kinetics of co- and ter-polymerizations is developed.

The Effect of the Initial State of the Droplet Group on the Energy Conversion Efficiency of Self-Propelled Jumping

The essential characteristic of the self-propelled jumping droplet is the jumping velocity, which determines its application value in heat transfer enhancement, antifrosting, self-cleaning, and so on. The jumping velocity is directly related to the energy conversion efficiency (i.e., the ratio of jumping kinetic energy surface energy released by coalescence to surface energy released by coalescence) and it is affected by the initial state of droplets but there is no unified theory to describe the relationship between the initial state of droplets and the energy conversion efficiency. In this paper, the projection of the initial chemical potential and the final chemical potential difference of droplets in the direction of jumping is defined as jumping potential by theoretical analysis of the chemical potential evolution. The effects of droplet number, distribution, and radius ratio on energy conversion efficiency can be synthetically characterized by jumping potential. The larger the jumping potential is, the higher the energy conversion efficiency is. Finally, the rationality and universality of the jumping potential are verified by numerical simulations and comparison with previous studies. The jumping potential can explain phenomena that cannot be explained in previous studies and can provide a synthesis critical value of droplet jumping.

Coupled stochastic simulation of the chain length and particle size distribution in miniemulsion radical copolymerization of styrene and N-vinylcaprolactam

Kinetic Monte Carlo modeling is applied for the coupled simulation of the chain length and particle size distribution in isothermal batch miniemulsion copolymerization of styrene and N-vinylcaprolactam.