Amphiphilic polymer conetworks (APCNs) are polymer networks composed of hydrophilic and hydrophobic chain segments. Their applications range from soft contact lenses to membranes and biomaterials. APCNs based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and poly(2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate) are flexible and elastic in the dry and swollen state. However, they are not good at resisting deformation under load, i.e., their toughness is low. A bio‐inspired approach to reinforce APCNs is presented based on the incorporation of poly(β‐benzyl‐L‐aspartate) (PBLA) blocks between cross‐linking points and PDMS chain segments. The mechanical properties of the resulting peptide‐reinforced APCNs can be tailored by the secondary structure of the peptide chains (β‐sheets or a mixture of α‐helices and β‐sheets). Compared to non‐reinforced APCNs, the peptide‐reinforced networks have higher extensibility (53 vs. up to 341%), strength (0.71 ± 0.16 vs. 22.28 ± 2.81 MPa), and toughness (0.10 ± 0.04 vs. up to 4.85 ± 1.32 MJ m−3), as measured in their dry state. The PBLA peptides reversibly toughen and reinforce the APCNs, while other key material properties of APCNs are retained, such as optical transparency and swellability in water and organic solvents. This paves the way for applications of APCNs that benefit from significantly increased mechanical properties.
This work describes the development of copper oxide multilayered porous media with 30 vol% of charcoal, used as space holder material, which was milled during different time periods, 5-45 minutes. A previews work developed with different space holder concentration showed that 30 vol% presents the best properties of mechanical resistance and porosity for the desired application and that each concentration presents a different percentage of retraction. In the present work, to be able to develop multilayer porous media, the concentration was maintained constant and the charcoal particle size was modified. The rheological behavior of the mixture was studied through constant rate curves. The ceramic bodies were produced in different layer combinations through aqueous colloidal processing, using slip casting as molding technique. The each layer final bodies were heat treated and characterized to obtain its porosity, pore size distribution, permeability and effective thermal conductivity. The sintered samples presented porosity of 60.2 ± 2,0 %, bimodal pore size distribution, permeability 10-14-10-13 1/m 2 (depending of the space holder average particle size) and effective thermal conductivity of 5,6 W/(m⋅K). The multilayer porous media interface was characterized through scanning electron microscope images.
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