Ke Zeng

Infected bone defects demand biomaterials that reconcile potent antibacterial activity with osteogenic capacity—a challenge that originates from the inert surface chemistry of polyester scaffolds.

In this study, a copolyimide binder containing -SO3Li groups, adenine units, and flexible segments was prepared via ternary polymerization for silicon anode. This material significantly enhances lithium-ion transport efficiency and electrolyte wettability, while effectively suppressing volume expansion and strengthening interfacial interactions. The binder exhibits excellent thermal stability and mechanical stability. Test results demonstrate that the silicon anode delivers a specific capacity of 1994.4 mAh g-1 at a current density of 8 A g-1, and maintains 74.0% capacity retention after 220 cycles at 2 A g-1. Excessive -SO3Li groups reduce the material's toughness and adhesion. This study provides a feasible technical strategy for developing high-rate, long-cycle-life silicon electrodes.

This study presents a molecular-weight-engineered strategy for room-temperature 3D printing of osteogenic PLA/PCL/n-HA scaffolds, where PLA's molecular weight ( M _w ) governs printability and structural fidelity.

High switching temperature shape memory polymers were developed from copolyimides via a facile random copolymerization strategy.

Compared with nanostructured silicon (Si), the Si microparticle (SiMP) has more commercial prospects due to its low cost. However, SiMPs suffer from unavoidable fracture during electrochemical cycling owing to their significant volume change. Here we develop a series of novel n-type conductive polymer binders (CPBs) for SiMP anodes in lithium-ion batteries owing to their superior properties. Extraordinary electrochemical performance of cells with such unique binders could be achieved, which is because these designed polymers contain electron-withdrawing oxadiazole ring groups and easily ionizable sulfonate polar groups, exhibiting excellent ionic conductivity, outstanding wettability to the electrolyte, and improved electronic conductivity after doping. Moreover, the coexistence of rigid and flexible chains enables them to have exceptional strength and ductility. Besides, a unique electrochromic approach has been utilized to investigate the energy gap of the CPBs in n-doping states. The ionic and electronic conductivities of prepared CPBs in an eigenstate and n-doping state have been systematically studied by the electrochemical method, filling the current research gap in this field. Due to the high conductivity of b-POD, the capacity of SiMPs (4200 mA h g⁻¹) can be almost entirely released during the first cycle of discharge, while the SiMP anodes prepared with the PAALi or CMC binder show a much lower initial capacity. The high conductivity of b-POD also endows it with better cycling performance than non-conductive binders especially at high current densities, demonstrating its excellent fast-charging ability. More essentially, this work provides polymer binders without any intricate structural designs to obtain high-performance SiMP batteries, significantly enhancing their practical applications.

The reaction mechanism and product properties of radical promoted‐polymerization effect of phthalonitrile (PN) were further studied in this article. Different from the previous blending model system, this work provided a structurally symmetrical self‐promoted PN model compound [di‐imide PN model monomer (DAIM‐PN)], which was more conductive to study the polymerization mechanism. Combination of “in situ” infrared, proton nuclear magnetic resonance, and matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry offered a clearer picture of polymerization mechanism. The results indicated that DAIM‐PN formed isoindoline and its cyclized tetramer of phthalocyanine selectively during the curing process. This work also demonstrated that the aliphatic chain participated in the reaction of nitrile group and provided more evidence for the reaction site (secondary carbon). Besides, high performance polymers with good processing properties, excellent thermal stability (overall char yield >74% at 800 °C, N₂), and heat resistance (T_g > 470 °C) were obtained by blending and copolymerizing DAIM‐PN with 1,3‐bis(3,4‐dicyanophenoxy)benzene. The effectiveness and application potential of the reaction mechanism were confirmed. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 48134.