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Locarno S, Arosio P, Curtoni F, Piazzoni M, Pignoli E, Gallo S. Microscopic and Macroscopic Characterization of Hydrogels Based on Poly(vinyl-alcohol)-Glutaraldehyde Mixtures for Fricke Gel Dosimetry. Gels 2024; 10:172. [PMID: 38534590 DOI: 10.3390/gels10030172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024] Open
Abstract
In recent decades, hydrogels have emerged as innovative soft materials with widespread applications in the medical and biomedical fields, including drug delivery, tissue engineering, and gel dosimetry. In this work, a comprehensive study of the macroscopic and microscopic properties of hydrogel matrices based on Poly(vinyl-alcohol) (PVA) chemically crosslinked with Glutaraldehyde (GTA) was reported. Five different kinds of PVAs differing in molecular weight and degree of hydrolysis were considered. The local microscopic organization of the hydrogels was studied through the use of the 1H nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry technique. Various macroscopic properties (gel fraction, water loss, contact angle, swelling degree, viscosity, and Young's Modulus) were investigated with the aim of finding a correlation between them and the features of the hydrogel matrix. Additionally, an optical characterization was performed on all the hydrogels loaded with Fricke solution to assess their dosimetric behavior. The results obtained indicate that the degree of PVA hydrolysis is a crucial parameter influencing the structure of the hydrogel matrix. This factor should be considered for ensuring stability over time, a vital property in the context of potential biomedical applications where hydrogels act as radiological tissue-equivalent materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Locarno
- Dipartimento di Fisica "Aldo Pontremoli", Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Milano, Via G. Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Paolo Arosio
- Dipartimento di Fisica "Aldo Pontremoli", Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Milano, Via G. Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
- Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM), 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Francesca Curtoni
- Dipartimento di Fisica "Aldo Pontremoli", Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Marco Piazzoni
- Dipartimento di Fisica "Aldo Pontremoli", Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Milano, Via G. Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Emanuele Pignoli
- Fondazione IRCCS "Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori", Via G. Venezian 1, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Salvatore Gallo
- Dipartimento di Fisica "Aldo Pontremoli", Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN), Sezione di Milano, Via G. Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
- Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM), 20133 Milano, Italy
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Magalhães N, Maia BA, Braga MH, Santos RM, Correia N, Cunha E. Glass Fiber Reinforced Epoxy-Amine Thermosets and Solvate IL: Towards New Composite Polymer Electrolytes for Lithium Battery Applications. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10703. [PMID: 37445883 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
To effectively use (Li) lithium metal anodes, it is becoming increasingly necessary to create membranes with high lithium conductivity, electrochemical and thermal stabilities, as well as adequate mechanical properties. Composite gel polymer electrolytes (CGPE) have emerged as a promising strategy, offering improved ionic conductivity and structural performance compared to polymer electrolytes. In this study, a simple and scalable approach was developed to fabricate a crosslinked polyethylene oxide (PEO)-based membrane, comprising two different glass fiber reinforcements, in terms of morphology and thickness. The incorporation of a solvated ionic liquid into the developed membrane enhances the ionic conductivity and reduces flammability in the resulting CGPE. Galvanostatic cycling experiments demonstrate favorable performance of the composite membrane in symmetric Li cells. Furthermore, the CGPE demonstrated electrochemical stability, enabling the cell to cycle continuously for more than 700 h at a temperature of 40 °C without short circuits. When applied in a half-cell configuration with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes, the composite membrane enabled cycling at different current densities, achieving a discharge capacity of 144 mAh·g-1. Overall, the findings obtained in this work highlight the potential of crosslinked PEO-based composite membranes for high-performance Li metal anodes, with enhanced near room temperature conductivity, electrochemical stability, and cycling capability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natália Magalhães
- Materials and Composite Structures Unit (UMEC), Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), 4000-014 Porto, Portugal
| | - Beatriz Arouca Maia
- Materials and Composite Structures Unit (UMEC), Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), 4000-014 Porto, Portugal
- LAETA-Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transports and Aeronautics, 4200-265 Porto, Portugal
- Engineering Physics Department, FEUP-Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4200-265 Porto, Portugal
| | - Maria Helena Braga
- LAETA-Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transports and Aeronautics, 4200-265 Porto, Portugal
- Engineering Physics Department, FEUP-Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, 4200-265 Porto, Portugal
| | - Raquel M Santos
- Materials and Composite Structures Unit (UMEC), Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), 4000-014 Porto, Portugal
- LAETA-Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transports and Aeronautics, 4200-265 Porto, Portugal
| | - Nuno Correia
- Materials and Composite Structures Unit (UMEC), Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), 4000-014 Porto, Portugal
- LAETA-Associated Laboratory of Energy, Transports and Aeronautics, 4200-265 Porto, Portugal
| | - Eunice Cunha
- Materials and Composite Structures Unit (UMEC), Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (INEGI), 4000-014 Porto, Portugal
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Cho HW, Kim H, Sung BJ, Kim JS. Tracer Diffusion in Tightly-Meshed Homogeneous Polymer Networks: A Brownian Dynamics Simulation Study. Polymers (Basel) 2020; 12:E2067. [PMID: 32932910 PMCID: PMC7569880 DOI: 10.3390/polym12092067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Revised: 09/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
We report Brownian dynamics simulations of tracer diffusion in regularly crosslinked polymer networks in order to elucidate the transport of a tracer particle in polymer networks. The average mesh size of homogeneous polymer networks is varied by assuming different degrees of crosslinking or swelling, and the size of a tracer particle is comparable to the average mesh size. Simulation results show subdiffusion of a tracer particle at intermediate time scales and normal diffusion at long times. In particular, the duration of subdiffusion is significantly prolonged as the average mesh size decreases with increasing degree of crosslinking, for which long-time diffusion occurs via the hopping processes of a tracer particle after undergoing rattling motions within a cage of the network mesh for an extended period of time. On the other hand, the cage dynamics and hopping process are less pronounced as the mesh size decreases with increasing polymer volume fractions. The interpretation is provided in terms of fluctuations in network mesh size: at higher polymer volume fractions, the network fluctuations are large enough to allow for collective, structural changes of network meshes, so that a tracer particle can escape from the cage, whereas, at lower volume fractions, the fluctuations are so small that a tracer particle remains trapped within the cage for a significant period of time before making infrequent jumps out of the cage. This work suggests that fluctuation in mesh size, as well as average mesh size itself, plays an important role in determining the dynamics of molecules and nanoparticles that are embedded in tightly meshed polymer networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun Woo Cho
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, Korea;
| | - Haein Kim
- Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Korea;
| | - Bong June Sung
- Department of Chemistry, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, Korea;
| | - Jun Soo Kim
- Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience, Ewha Womans University, Seoul 03760, Korea;
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