Introducing the reverse micelle formation during polymerization, and thus avoiding the catalyst support, aggregated single crystals of ultra‐high molecular weight isotactic polypropylene having spherical morphology are obtained. The ease in flowability of the spherical nascent morphology, having a low‐entangled state in the non‐crystalline region of the single crystals in the semi‐crystalline polymer, allows the sintering of the nascent polymer in the solid state without melting. Thus maintains a low‐entangled state, and facilitates the translation of macroscopic forces to macromolecular length scale, without melting, leading to the formation of uniaxially drawn objects having unprecedented properties that can be used in the development of one component, high‐performance, easy‐to‐recycle composites. Thus having the potential of replacing difficult‐to‐recycle hybrid composites.

Here we report on the influence of an aliphatic oxalamide-based nucleating agent (OXA3,6) on the viscoelastic and mechanical properties of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) blended with ultrahigh molecular weight iPP (UHMWiPP). The linear viscoelastic properties are investigated by using a plate−plate rheometer; the presence of only 0.5 wt % of OXA3,6 in the iPP−UHMWiPP blends results in a reduction of the complex viscosity in the entire frequency domain examined. This observation holds irrespective of the UHMWiPP weight fraction, up to 25 wt %. The viscosity suppression is attributed to an acceleration of the reorientation times of the chains, especially the longer ones, due to partial alignment of their molecular segments. Furthermore, SAXS measurements on cooled, injection molded samples hint that OXA3,6-containing samples display enhanced alignment under processing conditions (injection molding). Compared to samples without OXA, an increase in the SAXS intensity along the equator is observed in the OXA3,6 samples, implying an enhanced ability of shish-kebab formation. Such a morphological development results in higher yield stress while maintaining the elastic behavior.

Hydrogels are interesting materials for application in biomedicine due to their outstanding properties (e.g., water retention, drug release, and biocompatibility). This work evaluates two series of phosphorus-based hydrogels as potential wounddressing candidates. The materials were synthesized via free-radical polymerization of bis[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl] phosphate ( B M E P , ≥ 7 5 w t % ) w i t h ( 3 -a c r y l a m i d o p r o p y l )trimethylammonium chloride solution (APTAC) or 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propane sulfonic acid (AMPS). Due to optimized synthetic conditions, the materials displayed an unprecedented compressive elastic modulus (E′) reaching up to 0.19 MPa, which represents a 1000-fold increase compared to previously reported materials. Furthermore, the hydrogels displayed good hydrolytic and enzymatic stability, cytocompatibility using bovine fibroblasts (BFs), and drug loading/release in woundlike pH conditions. In summary, this work demonstrates the potential of phosphorusbased hydrogels as drug-eluting wound-dressing materials.