Synthesis and Characterization of a HydrophilicHydrophobic IPN Composed of Poly(vinyl alcohol)and Polystyrene

A hydrophilic/hydrophobic interpenetrating polymer network （IPN） of poly （vinyl alcohol） / polystyrene was prepared by conversion of the IPN of poly （vinyl acetate）/polystyrene. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic IPN was characterized by FT-IR and DSC, and the swelling ratios of the IPN in different solvents were measured.

Preparation of hydrophilic molecularly imprinted polymers for tetracycline antibiotics recognition

Hydrophilic molecularly imprinted polymers（MIPs） were prepared using tetracycline as template,methacrylic acid as monomer and glycidilmethacrylate as pro-hydrophilic co-monomer.Compared with common MIPs,the imprinting effect and adsorption amounts of hydrophilic MIPs for tetracycline（TC） were greatly improved in water media.Furthermore,the electrochemical sensor fabricated by modifying hydrophilic MIPs on glassy carbon electrode was developed for the determination of TC in foodstuff samples.

Simple synthesis of sub-nanometer Pd clusters:High catalytic activity of Pd/PEG-PNIPAM in Suzuki reaction

Ultra‐small metal nanoclusters have high surface energy and abundant active sites,and thereforetheir catalytic activities are usually significantly higher than those of larger nanoparticles.A temperature‐responsive copolymer,namely poly(ethylene glycol)‐co‐poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)(PEG‐PNIPAM)was synthesized as the first step,and then ultra‐small Pd clusters stabilized withinPEG‐PNIPAM copolymer micelles were formed by direct reduction.Pd nanoclusters of size less than2nm showed outstanding catalytic activity in the Suzuki coupling reaction.The reaction betweeniodobenzene and phenylboronic acid was completed in as little as10s(turnover frequency=4.3×104h?1).A yield of64%was achieved in5min in the reaction between chlorobenzene and phenylboronicacid.The catalyst showed significant deactivation during three consecutive runs.However,this composite catalyst consisting of Pd/PEG‐PNIPAM can be easily recycled based on the reversiblephase transition of temperature‐responsive PEG‐PNIPAM.This catalyst therefore has good potentialfor practical applications.

Self-Healing Hydrophilic Porous Photothermal Membranes for Durable and Highly Efficient Solar-Driven Interfacial Water Evaporation

It is highly desirable to develop a solar-driven interfacial water evaporatorwith a self-healing ability and high-efficiency water evaporation performance for water distillation and desalination;however,this process is considerably challenging.Herein,by exploiting the advantages of a self-healing hydrophilic polymer,a self-healing hydrophilic porous photothermal(SHPP)membrane was fabricated by curing a mixture of the polymer,carbon black,and NaCl,followed by removal of the NaCl from water.Since the SHPP membrane could serve as a photothermal layer and water transportation channel simultaneously,a solar-driven interfacial evaporator could be fabricated readily by assembling the SHPP membrane with polyethylene foam.We have shown that the SHPP membrane-based evaporator exhibited a water evaporation rate of 1.68 kg m^(−2) h^(−1) and an energy efficiency of 97.3%.These values are superior to those obtained using solar-driven interfacial evaporators with self-healing capability.Notably,by hydrogen bonds reformation between the fracture surfaces,the SHPP membrane could regain its structural integrity after breaking,making the SHPPmembrane-based evaporator the first to heal entirely and repeatedly from physical damage to sustain itswater evaporation capacity.Therefore,the potential of using SHPP membranes to develop stable,long-last ing,andhigh-efficiency solar-driven interfacial water evaporators is highlighted.

Glass Transition Behavior of Spin-coated Thin Films of a Hydrophilic Polymer on Supported Substrates

Using ellipsometry, it is found the glass transition temperature of the spin-coated polyacrylamide （PAL） thin films on the supported silicon （Si） substrates with an oxide layer decreases with decreasing the film thickness. But Tgs of the as- prepared thin films are much higher than that of the bulk sample. Such observations can be attributed to the combined result of the ＂surface effect＂ and increased hydrogen bonding interaction between PAL chains due to spin coating/thin film confinement.