Diels⁻Alder-Crosslinked Polymers Derived from Jatropha Oil.

Methyl oleate, methyl linoleate, and jatropha oil were fully epoxidized using in situ-generated performic acid. The epoxidized compounds were further reacted with furfurylamine in a solvent-free reaction to obtain furan-functionalized fatty esters which, then, functioned as oligomers for a network preparation. Thermoreversible crosslinking was obtained through a (retro) Diels⁻Alder reaction with bismaleimide, resulting in the formation of a brittle network for furan-functionalized methyl linoleate and jatropha oil. The furan-functionalized fatty esters were mixed with alternating (1,4)-polyketone reacted with furfurylamine (PK-Furan) for testing the mechanical and self-healing properties with DMTA and DSC, respectively. Full self-healing properties were found, and faster thermoreversibility kinetics were observed, compared to PK-Furan.

The effect of hydrophilic and hydrophobic block length on the rheology of amphiphilic diblock Polystyrene-b-Poly(sodium methacrylate) copolymers prepared by ATRP.

Following our previous investigation on the effect of molecular architecture on the rheology of Polystyrene-b-Poly(sodium methacrylate) copolymers (PS-b-PMAA), we consider here diblock PS-b-PMAA copolymers characterized by a different length of either the hydrophilic or the hydrophobic block. Various copolymers characterized by different PS or PMAA block length have been prepared by ATRP (kinetics is also discussed) and studied from the point of view of their rheological behaviour in water. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic investigation concerning the effect of block length on the rheology of diblock polyelectrolytes. We found that the hydrophobic block length has small influence on the rheology. Surprisingly, the polymers with shortest PMAA blocks yield the strongest gels at high concentration. A simple model based on the classical theories of self-assembly and percolation of amphiphilic polymers has been here developed in order to explain the observed data.

Understanding the role of plasticisers in spray-dried starch.

Amorphous thermoplastic starch (TPS) films were produced by compression moulding of solution spray-dried TPS powder and by direct solution casting. Oxidised potato starch was used as a feedstock for production of plasticised formulations containing glycerol or urea, or their combinations with maltodextrin (DE=19.1) as processing aid. The crystallinity index of freshly moulded films made from solution spray-dried powder was significantly lower than that for casted films. FTIR analysis showed that starch interacted in hydrogen bond formation with glycerol and urea plasticisers, reducing the glass transition temperature to 136 °C and 106 °C, respectively. Formulations containing maltodextrin did not show a Tg. Glycerol-plasticised and co-plasticised films immediately started to retrogradate in the presence of moisture, while urea based systems only showed slow recrystallization at the highest moisture exposure. In line with retrogradation behaviour, urea plasticised and co-plasticised films exhibited a more ductile behaviour, whereas glycerol based ones showed more brittle behaviour.