http://phys.org/chemistry-news/polymers/ en-us Phys.Org provides the latest news on polymers (Phys.org) —Polymer brushes are polymers in which individual polymer chains stand side by side on a surface, causing the chains to stick out like bristles on a brush. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, American scientists have now presented a new simple method for making three-dimensional nanostructures in a controlled fashion from polymer brushes. http://phys.org/news290243449.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:11:01 EST news290243449 Nanotechnologies require a detailed knowledge of the molecular state. For instance, it is useful to know when and how a generic polymer, a long chain of polymers (chain of beads), knots. The study of molecular entanglement is an important field of study as the presence of knots affects its physical properties, for instance the resistence to traction. Previous studies had mainly obtained "static" data on the knotting probability of such molecules. In other words, they focused on the likelihood that a polymer may knot. The novelty of the study carried out by Micheletti and colleagues lies in the fact that this time the dynamic aspect of the phenomenon has been simulated. http://phys.org/news290065174.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 10 Jun 2013 06:39:45 EST news290065174 (Phys.org) —A chemical that's often the key ingredient in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) can be quickly and safely detected in trace amounts by a new polymer created by a team of Cornell chemists. http://phys.org/news289637022.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:00:02 EST news289637022 A new slow-motion method of controlling the synthesis of polymers, which takes inspiration from both trees and Celtic Knots, opens up new possibilities in areas including medical devices, drug delivery, elastics and adhesives. http://phys.org/news288433007.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 22 May 2013 09:16:56 EST news288433007 (Phys.org) —A thin polymer coating on foam used in furniture can prevent the spread of flames, said Dr. Jaime Grunlan, the Gulf Oil/Thomas A. Dietz Career Development Professor at Texas A&M university. http://phys.org/news287043396.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 06 May 2013 07:17:53 EST news287043396 A team of researchers headed by Director Susumu Kitagawa, at Kyoto University Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), has found that small porous materials increase in memory shape function as they get smaller. The study, published in Science, could have potential medical and engineering implications. http://phys.org/news285929141.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:45:52 EST news285929141 A University of Alberta researcher is thinking small to find innovative ways to improve the delivery of drugs that can be more easily administered with fewer side-effects. http://phys.org/news285342517.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:48:43 EST news285342517 Chemical Engineering Professor Tim Bender and Post-Doctoral Fellow Benoit Lessard's discovery of an unexpected side product of polymer synthesis could have implications for the manufacture of commercial polymers used in sealants, adhesives, toys and even medical implants, the researchers say. http://phys.org/news284381643.html Chemistry - Polymers Fri, 05 Apr 2013 11:56:11 EST news284381643 Jose Ramon Sarasua and Aitor Larrañaga, researchers in the materials engineering department of the UPV/EHU-University of the Basque Country, have been studying new materials or implants that are of interest in medicine and in helping to mend bones, in particular. They have in fact measured the effect that the bioglass has on the thermal degradation of polymers currently used in medicine. The results have been published in the journal Polymer Degradation and Stability. http://phys.org/news284110229.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 02 Apr 2013 08:30:36 EST news284110229 Scientists may soon be able to turn to one of the most powerful forces in biology—evolution—to help in their quest to develop new synthetic polymers. http://phys.org/news284104014.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 02 Apr 2013 06:47:07 EST news284104014 Mass manufacture of photovoltaic materials is often achieved inexpensively by screen printing organic solar cells onto plastic sheets. The polymer known as poly(ethylene terephthalate), or PET, is a key part of the technology. Well known as the inexpensive plastic used to make soda bottles, PET has garnered increasing use as an optoelectronic substrate because of its strength and flexibility. But printing conductive solar-cell coatings onto PET is a challenge: it has a non-reactive surface and is frequently contaminated with static electric charges, which makes adhesion to other materials difficult. http://phys.org/news283588192.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 27 Mar 2013 07:40:01 EST news283588192 (Phys.org) —When physics professor Randy Heflin brought his 18-month-old daughter to the pediatrician, he didn't know the visit would provide the motivation for a discovery that could herald a breakthrough in diagnostic technology. He just knew his daughter was ill – and that it would take three days to confirm what the doctor believed. http://phys.org/news281689972.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 05 Mar 2013 07:50:04 EST news281689972 NIMS researchers have succeeded for the first time in the world in real-time analysis of the "polymer wrapping" process by which polymers (polymers of molecules) wrap around single-walled carbon nanotubes, which are a next-generation material. http://phys.org/news281086173.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 26 Feb 2013 07:29:43 EST news281086173 (Phys.org)—For those who have wondered why shampoo moisturizes hair rather than drying it out, or how antidandruff shampoo works, it is due to a process known as coacervation. http://phys.org/news279967938.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 13 Feb 2013 09:40:03 EST news279967938 (Phys.org)—Irradiation with light is an established method for initiating polymerization or crosslinking (curing) in the production of plastics. American researchers are now using light to retroactively increase the size of the pores within a polymer network. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, this new approach allows for the production of polymer gels with tailored mechanical properties. http://phys.org/news279361108.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 06 Feb 2013 08:18:34 EST news279361108 Vaccines usually consist of inactivated viruses that prompt the immune system to remember the invader and launch a strong defense if it later encounters the real thing. However, this approach can be too risky with certain viruses, including HIV. http://phys.org/news278579582.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 28 Jan 2013 07:13:24 EST news278579582 A new polymer developed by researchers at Cardiff University may lead to more efficient large-scale separation of gas mixtures for chemical engineering and energy generation. http://phys.org/news277653285.html Chemistry - Polymers Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:00:18 EST news277653285 In their recently published review article in the Science and Technology of Advanced Materials, Yasuhiko Iwasaki at Kansai University and Kazuhiko Ishihara at the University of Tokyo describe how developments in synthesis techniques have liberated the polymer MPC's potential for a huge range of medical and biological applications. http://phys.org/news274602491.html Chemistry - Polymers Thu, 13 Dec 2012 06:40:01 EST news274602491 (Phys.org)—Just like the bones that hold up your body, your cells have their own scaffolding that holds them up. This scaffolding, known as the extracellular matrix, or ECM, not only props up cells but also provides attachment sites, or "sticky spots," to which cells can bind, just as bones hold muscles in place. http://phys.org/news274346151.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 10 Dec 2012 07:15:59 EST news274346151 (Phys.org)—Using an enhanced form of "chemical microscopy" developed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), researchers there have shown that they can peer into the structure of blended polymers, resolving details of the molecular arrangement at sub-micrometer levels. The capability has important implications for the design of industrially important polymers like the polyethylene blends used to repair aging waterlines. http://phys.org/news273318309.html Chemistry - Polymers Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:45:35 EST news273318309 (Phys.org)—Working in the lab for the last few years, three generations of University of Akron polymer scientists say their mutual and passionate curiosity about science has led to their discovery of a first-of-its-kind, easily adaptable biocompatible polymer structure able to fight infection, filter water and perform a host of other functions. http://phys.org/news272532838.html Chemistry - Polymers Mon, 19 Nov 2012 07:34:11 EST news272532838 "You look at the material world and see objects and how you can use them. I look at the material world and see a fascinating hidden life which is within our control, if we can only understand how it works," says Jane Lipson, the Albert W. Smith Professor of Chemistry at Dartmouth. Lipson looks at things from the point of view of both a chemist and a physicist. "What I do lies between the two sciences, and there is some engineering thrown in there, too," she says. http://phys.org/news272287957.html Chemistry - Polymers Fri, 16 Nov 2012 11:33:20 EST news272287957 The storage capacity of hard disk drives could increase by a factor of five thanks to processes developed by chemists and engineers at The University of Texas at Austin. http://phys.org/news272029494.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 13 Nov 2012 11:45:05 EST news272029494 (Phys.org)—Lithium batteries are used in many devices such as cell phones, computers and cameras, among others. http://phys.org/news271581977.html Chemistry - Polymers Thu, 08 Nov 2012 07:40:04 EST news271581977 Many of the objects we encounter are made of polymers—long chains of repeating molecules. Networks of polymers form manmade materials such as plastics, as well as natural products such as rubber and cellulose. http://phys.org/news271407728.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 06 Nov 2012 07:02:22 EST news271407728 Glycopolymer technology is opening up a myriad of new opportunities for disease therapy. European research is investigating novel production strategies for polymers to bring about more efficient targeted drug delivery. http://phys.org/news269854425.html Chemistry - Polymers Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:46:29 EST news269854425 (Phys.org)—Sweating is a conceivably simple and efficient process for cooling down the body. People and animals use it to avoid overheating in midsummer temperatures or after physical exertion. The process is now also to be used to cool buildings. Researchers from Wendelin Stark's group, a professor at the Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, have developed a mat with which they are looking to cover roofs. If it rains, the mat soaks up water like a sponge. If the mat becomes warm in the sunshine, it releases water at its surface – it "sweats". This extracts heat from the building and works in the same way as in us humans: when we perspire, glands in our skin secrete sweat, which gradually evaporates. For a bead of sweat to turn into vapour, it needs energy, which it extracts from the body in the form of heat. http://phys.org/news268386469.html Chemistry - Polymers Tue, 02 Oct 2012 09:10:01 EST news268386469 (Phys.org)—Back in the early thirties, the story goes, a couple of unknown chemists set about betting one another as to whether they could remove the water from a jelly that had been gelled with pectin, without causing the jelly to shrink. The resultant efforts produced what are known today as aerogels, sometimes referred to as liquid smoke because of their very low densities. Chemists have produced them by mixing silica based materials with water, then removing the water via supercritical drying. Unfortunately, the material produced is very brittle and thus easily broken which limits its use. Because of this researchers at NASA's Glenn Research Center looked to polymers (types of plastics) to see if a new type of aerogel could be created that would be less brittle. http://phys.org/news268036301.html Chemistry - Polymers Fri, 28 Sep 2012 08:10:04 EST news268036301 Scientists use simulations to test the limits of their object of study—in this case thin films of polymers—to extremes of scale. In a study about to be published in the European Physical Journal E, Nava Schulmann, a researcher at Strasbourg University, France, and colleagues use a well-known model capable of providing information on heat and mechanical energy exchange between these polymer chains. They found that polymer blends confined to ultrathin two-dimensional films displayed enhanced compatibility. This was made possible by simulations using a fairly standard model, which is simple enough to allow the efficient computation of dense large-chain systems. http://phys.org/news267962642.html Chemistry - Polymers Thu, 27 Sep 2012 11:04:09 EST news267962642 Biocomposites challenge chipboard as furniture material. Researchers at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have developed a kitchen furniture framework material from plastic polymers reinforced with natural fibre. The new material reduces raw materials consumption by 25 per cent and the carbon footprint of production by 35 per cent. http://phys.org/news267959588.html Chemistry - Polymers Thu, 27 Sep 2012 10:13:15 EST news267959588