Three-Dimensional Visualization for Early-Stage Evolution of Polymer Aging

Nanoplastics and microplastics released from an enzyme-embedded biodegradable polyester during hydrolysis

Embedding enzyme in biodegradable polyester accelerates hydrolysis in environments it ends up, but the release of microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) during this process remains underexplored. This work investigated the evolution of MPs and NPs released from poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with embedded Lipase PS. The embedded enzyme significantly accelerated hydrolysis, causing the PCL film to disappear within 96 h. Notably, the formation rates and quantities of MPs and NPs were much higher compared to film with external enzyme. At 96 h, MPs (3.55 ×105 particles/mL) was 2.4 times, and NPs (4.65 ×107 particles/mL) was an order of magnitude higher than that with external enzyme. After 130 days, although both quantities and average size of MPs and NPs decreased due to only 90.6 % of enzymes were detected leaking, they did not completely disappear. The quantities of MPs and NPs were comparable to that with external enzyme, and the average size of MPs remained 1 μm. The simultaneous erosion inside film macroscopically, and severe chain cleavage microscopically, contributed to feasible film disintegration and formation of high amounts MPs and NPs. These findings underscore the importance of managing the release of MPs and NPs during the hydrolysis of enzyme-embedded biodegradable polyesters to ensure safety and mitigate environmental impact.

Nondestructive Testing of Polymer Aging Based on Room-Temperature Phosphorescence

Polymeric room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) materials have attracted much attention due to their advantages of easy processing and excellent luminescent properties. However, it is still a challenge to obtain industrial production grade material through simple and green processing strategies. Herein, through the codoping strategy, different phosphors were embedded into nylon, a kind of polymer matrix, to obtain a series of highly efficient RTP materials without any organic solvents, for which the phosphorescence lifetime and brightness could reach 628.8 ms and 14 cd/m2, respectively. Besides, we found that the photophysical properties of these RTP materials varied greatly among different types of nylon matrix, owing to the divergence in the number of hydrogen bonding "sites". The superiority of the injection molding processing strategy enables the preparation of RTP materials to achieve desolvation, which could also be processed into any complex and desiring shape. Significantly, nylon can affect molecular chain changes due to aging and other problems, so that these RTP materials are considered as potential nondestructive testing for nylon product aging levels. This strategy also paves the way for the development of large-scale, eco-friendly, and practical application RTP materials and provides new ideas to industrialized preparation of long-lived RTP materials in the future.

Probing the Alcoholysis Degree of Polyvinyl Alcohol by Synergistic Coordination-Regulated Fluorescence

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with abundant hydroxyl groups (-OH) has been widely used for membranes, hydrogels, and films, and its function is largely affected by the alcoholysis degree. Therefore, the development of rapid and accurate methods for alcoholysis degree determination in PVAs is important. In this contribution, we have proposed a novel fluorescence-based platform for probing the alcoholysis degree of PVA by using the (E)-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)-1-(quinolin-2-yl)methanimine (QPM)-Zn2+ complex as the reporter. The mechanism study disclosed that the strong coordination between -OH and Zn2+ induced the capture of the QPM-Zn2+ complex and promoted its subsequent immobilization into the noncrystalline area. The immobilization of the QPM-Zn2+ complex restricted its molecular rotation and reduced the nonirradiative transition, thus yielding bright emissions. In addition, the practical applications of this proposed method were further validated by the accurate alcoholysis degree determination of blind PVA samples with the confirmation of the National Standard protocol. It is expected that the developed fluorescence approach in this work might become an admissive strategy for screening the alcoholysis degree of PVA.

The reciprocity principle in mulch film deterioration and microplastic generation

Plastic film mulching stands as a globally employed agricultural technology pivotal to agricultural progress. Nevertheless, the environmental degradation of plastic mulch films underscores their role as a major source of secondary plastic pollutants, particularly microplastics. While a growing body of research has drawn attention to the rising issue of microplastic pollution and its environmental implications stemming from the use of plastic mulch films, there remains a significant knowledge gap regarding the kinetics and rate-limiting mechanisms governing the generation of microplastics during processes driven by plastic photodegradation. Moreover, a comprehensive quantification of the connection between mulch deterioration and the behavior of microplastic release and accumulation has yet to be fully realized. In this study, a kinetic equation was formulated to characterize the degradation of plastic mulch films and the subsequent release and accumulation of microplastics under light exposure. The results demonstrate that with increasing irradiation time, the change in the release rate exhibits a bell-shaped Gaussian probability distribution, while the cumulative alteration of microplastics follows a Gaussian distribution. Remarkably, once the exposure time reaches μ + 3σ, the accumulation plateaus at 99.7%. This research establishes a theoretical framework for the prospective assessment of plastic mulch lifespan and its environmental repercussions. Moreover, the findings provide valuable insights for optimizing plastic mulch design and devising strategies to mitigate microplastic pollution.

Aging of Plasma-Activated Polyethylene and Hydrophobic Recovery of Polyethylene Polymers

Available literature on the aging of plasma-activated polyethylene due to hydrophobic recovery has been reviewed and critically assessed. A common method for the evaluation of hydrophobic recovery is the determination of the static water contact angle, while the surface free energy does not reveal significant correlations. Surface-sensitive methods for the characterization of chemical composition and structure have limited applicability in studying the aging phenomenon. Aging is driven by thermodynamics, so it is observed even upon storage in a vacuum, and hydrophobic recovery increases with increasing temperature. Storage of plasma-activated polyethylene in the air at ambient conditions follows almost logarithmic behavior during the period studied by most authors; i.e., up to one month. The influence of the storage medium is somehow controversial because some authors reported aging suppression by storing in polar liquids, but others reported the loss of hydrophilicity even after a brief immersion into distilled water. Methods for suppressing aging by hydrophobic recovery include plasma treatment at elevated temperature followed by brief treatment at room temperature and application of energetic ions and photons in the vacuum ultraviolet range. Storing at low temperatures is a trivial alternative, but not very practical. The aging of plasma-activated polyethylene suppresses the adhesion of many coatings, but the correlation between the surface free energy and the adhesion force has yet to be addressed adequately.

Regulating Degradation Pathways of Polymers by Radical-Triggered Luminescence

Understanding the radical behaviours during polymer degradation is beneficial to unveil and regulate the degradation pathways of polymers to achieve a sustainable polymer development. However, it is a long-standing challenge to study radical behaviours owing to the ultra-short lifetime of the transient radicals generated during the polymer degradation. In this contribution, we have proposed the radical-triggered luminescence to monitor the radical behaviours during polymer degradation without/with the addition of inorganic additives. It was disclosed that the pure polymers showed a single sigmoidal dynamic curve from peroxy radicals (ROO⋅) emissions, leading to the exponential proliferation for the degradation evolution. Alternatively, the degradation pathways with the addition of additives, layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with positively charged Al centers, could be modulated into a double sigmoidal dynamics, involving the main product of alkoxy radicals (RO⋅) with the activation energy of 40.2 kJ/mol and a small amount of ROO⋅ with 76.3 kJ/mol, respectively. Accordingly, the polymers with the additive-regulated pathways could exhibit prominently anti-degradation behaviours. This work is beneficial for the deep understanding of the radical mechanisms during polymer degradation, and for the rational design of anti-degradation polymers.

Characterization Techniques of Polymer Aging: From Beginning to End

Polymers have been widely applied in various fields in the daily routines and the manufacturing. Despite the awareness of the aggressive and inevitable aging for the polymers, it still remains a challenge to choose an appropriate characterization strategy for evaluating the aging behaviors. The difficulties lie in the fact that the polymer features from the different aging stages require different characterization methods. In this review, we present an overview of the characterization strategies preferable for the initial, accelerated, and late stages during polymer aging. The optimum strategies have been discussed to characterize the generation of radicals, variation of functional groups, substantial chain scission, formation of low-molecular products, and deterioration in the polymers' macro-performances. In view of the advantages and the limitations of these characterization techniques, their utilization in a strategic approach is considered. In addition, we highlight the structure-property relationship for the aged polymers and provide available guidance for lifetime prediction. This review could allow the readers to be knowledgeable of the features for the polymers in the different aging stages and provide access to choose the optimum characterization techniques. We believe that this review will attract the communities dedicated to materials science and chemistry.

Optical mapping of the evolution of water content during the swelling of hydrophilic polymers

The water content of hydrophilic polymers is a fundamental property that regulates their performance. Herein, we report a new technique for optically imaging the water content of hydrophilic polymers both in static and dynamic evolution during swelling, based on mapping the interfacial refractive index of hydrophilic polymers with label-free total internal reflection microscopy.

Real-Time Imaging of Stress in Single Spherulites and Its Relaxation at the Single-Particle Level in Semicrystalline Polymers

Crystallization-induced microscopic stress and its relaxation play a vital role in understanding crystallization behavior and mechanism. However, the real-time measurements for stress and its relaxation seem to be an unachievable task due to difficulties in simultaneous labeling, spatiotemporal discrimination, and continuous quantification. We designed a micron-sized fluorescent probe, whose fluorescence can respond to stress-induced environmental rigidity and whose three-dimensional (3D) flow can respond to stress relaxation. Using the as-prepared fluorescent probe, we established a versatile strategy to realize the real-time 3D imaging of stress and its relaxation in the crystallization process. The rigidity-responsive fluorescence clearly indicated the stress, while the 3D flow movement could quantify the stress relaxation. It is revealed that stress in spherulites increased dramatically as a result of the suppression of stress relaxation in polymer melts. The developed method provides a novel avenue to simultaneously detect stress and its relaxation in various semicrystalline polymers at the single-particle level. This success would achieve the microscopic ways to guide the development of advanced crystallization-dependent materials.

Fluorescence monitoring of the degradation evolution of aliphatic polyesters

To provide lifecycle monitoring for degradable polymers, we have proposed a three-dimensional fluorescence monitoring and quantification method to simultaneously study the thermal and photothermal degradation by combining the intrinsic conjugation and probe-labelled carboxyl of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT).

Large-scale visualization of the dispersion of liquid-exfoliated two-dimensional nanosheets

An ultrafast, non-invasive and large-scale visualization method has been developed to evaluate the dispersion of two-dimensional nanosheets in aqueous solution with a fluorescence microscope by the formation of excimers from the improvement of cation-π interactions.

100th Anniversary of Macromolecular Science Viewpoint: Enabling Advances in Fluorescence Microscopy Techniques

In the past few decades there has been a revolution in the field of optical microscopy with emerging capabilities such as super-resolution and single-molecule fluorescence techniques. Combined with the classical advantages of fluorescence imaging, such as chemical labeling specificity, and noninvasive sample preparation and imaging, these methods have enabled significant advances in our polymer community. This Viewpoint discusses several of these capabilities and how they can uniquely offer information where other characterization techniques are limited. Several examples are highlighted that demonstrate the ability of fluorescence microscopy to understand key questions in polymer science such as single-molecule diffusion and orientation, 3D nanostructural morphology, and interfacial and multicomponent dynamics. Finally, we briefly discuss opportunities for further advances in techniques that may allow them to make an even greater contribution in polymer science.

Evaluation of water repellency in bentonite filled polypropylene composites via physical and mechanical methods

With the advent of polymeric materials having dimensional stability, outdoor applications for polymer composites are increasing expeditiously. The employment of durable material in wet environments is the most effective means of water repellency. Silane modification was applied to bentonite clay for the donation of hydrophobicity on its surface. Surface functionalities of powder surfaces were confirmed by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy and SEM techniques. Polypropylene composities involving pristine and modified bentonite powders were produced in bulk and film forms at three different loading ratios. Water permeability of bulk and film samples was evaluated via water absorption test. In addition to water uptake values, optical microscopy was utilized in order to visualize the structural deterioration of composite samples after water immersion. Mechanical behaviours of composite materials before and after water absorption test were reported in order to analyze the effect of water aging. Based on the findings, in-depth discussions were performed by comparison with basic models postulated regarding migration of water molecules into polymer structure.