Formation of a nylon-6 micro/nano-fiber assembly through a low energy reactive melt spinning process

Zhao, Ran; Meng, Xiao; He, Hongwei; Ming, Jinfa; Ning, Xin

doi:10.1039/d1gc03468e

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Remarkably, a small amount of MA·TMA precursor (50 mg) in water was adequate for fabricating free-standing macroscopic fabric with a diameter up to 17 cm (Figure ) and a thickness of ∼15 μm (Figure S9), illuminating the potential of scalable manufacture for practical applications. These supramolecular nonwoven materials originated from small molecules exhibit many similarities with melt-blown porous films, electro-spun nanofibrous membranes, and blow-spun nonwoven fabrics composed of macromolecules, − both in terms of microstructures as well as macroscales. As a more facile, cost-effective, and greener bottom-up method, the TIPC process can be a promising alternative to above traditional top-down approaches for the production of multifunctional nonwoven materials with diverse micro-morphologies.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These free-standing supramolecular nonwovens, self-assembled from cocrystals composed of MA with aromatic carboxylic acids show a unique microstructure, outstanding mechanical flexibility, advantageous thermal stability, selective light transmission, and can be used as recyclable air filters. Compared with popular top-down strategies (e.g., melt blowing, electrospinning, and blow spinning) for constructing traditional polymer nonwovens composed of macromolecules, − TIPC is a more facile, cost-effective, and greener bottom-up approach to preparing functional supramolecular nonwovens based solely on small molecules.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supramolecular Nonwoven Materials via Thermally Induced Precursor Crystallization of Nanocrystalline Fibers/Belts for Recyclable Air Filters

Dong

Zhang

Yuan

2023

ACS Appl. Nano Mater.

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Functional micro-/nanofibrous nonwovens have been widely used in both civil and military fields. However, traditional nonwoven materials preparation methods generally require special equipment and are often plagued by high-energy consumption or toxic solvent contamination. Here, a thermally induced precursor crystallization (TIPC) approach is reported for preparing macroscopic free-standing supramolecular nonwoven materials, which stemmed from the self-assembly of cocrystals of melamine and aromatic carboxylic acids. Green solvents are involved in the entire preparation process without the use of costly specialized equipment, making this strategy cost-efficient, environmentally benign, and scalable in size and quantity. Distinct nanocrystalline fibers/belts formed by hydrogen bonds and π–π interactions in thus-obtained nonwovens are tightly connected in a 3D network, constructing diverse porous fabrics with outstanding mechanical flexibility and advantageous thermal stability. These supramolecular nonwovens display selective optical transmittance and, remarkably, can be utilized as recyclable air filters. Taking advantage of the thermally reversible property of supramolecular complexes, a proof-of-concept on the closed-loop recycling of supramolecular nonwovens is realized. This work for assembling common small molecules into structurally complex architectures not only opens up promising avenues for multifunctional supramolecular materials based on synthetically facile procedures but also provides a versatile and cost-effective bottom-up approach to preparing micro-/nanofibrous nonwovens for emergent applications.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supramolecular Nonwoven Materials via Thermally Induced Precursor Crystallization of Nanocrystalline Fibers/Belts for Recyclable Air Filters

Dong

Zhang

Yuan

2023

ACS Appl. Nano Mater.

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“…In previous studies, little attention has been paid to the issue of time here, as they usually take a whole day. [17][18][19]27,36 It can be observed from Table S1 that solvent extraction for 2 h followed by vacuum drying 4 h was sufficient to remove residues from the polymerization product. This will provide important reference for the relevant research and production in the future.…”

Section: Solvent Extractionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This may be explained by the fact that while CL monomers and oligomers in PA6 can be removed by solvents, the solubility of these substances varies among different solvents. 25,36 Unlike methanol and water, oligomer molecules cannot be completely extracted from polymerization products when ethanol was used as a solvent. As a result, the CL conversion rate by solvent extraction all followed the order of methanol ≈ water < ethanol for the samples with different polymerization degrees.…”

Section: Solvent Extractionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An applicability study on various methods for determining the monomer conversion rate of polyamide 6

Gao,

Zhao,

Cai

et al. 2024

J of Applied Polymer Sci

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Anionic ring opening polymerization of ε‐caprolactam (CL) results in the formation of high molecular weight polyamide 6 (PA6) within a few minutes. The monomer conversion rate is an important characterization parameter for polymerization process as well as the end products. This paper used PA6 films with different polymerization degrees as research object for the first time, and systematically compared the performance of four methods for measuring CL conversion rate. The analytical methods were solvent extraction (methanol, ethanol, or water), vacuum removal, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and absorbance ratio respectively. For all PA6 products, solvent extraction based on methanol/water and vacuum removal were effective methods for determine their conversion rates. And TGA was only applicable for samples with high degree of polymerization. The CL conversion rate obtained by solvent extraction based on ethanol and absorbance ratio was slightly higher than the real value, especially the latter. Moreover, a new method was discovered and validated during the research process, namely atmospheric devolatilization. The methodology and results in this study can be employed for guiding the production and application of polymers, especially the reactive processing of PA6.

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“…Notably, they are widely used as scaffolds for tissue engineering. − In terms of material selection, we observe a preference among researchers for three types of polymers: (i) synthetic polymers, (ii) polysaccharide polymers, and (iii) protein-based polymers. Commonly used synthetic polymers include nylon-66, PVA, PLLA, PCL, PEG, among others. Synthetic polymers are favored for their availability, cost-effectiveness, uniform monomer distribution, and solubility.…”

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confidence: 99%

AI-Driven Optimization of PCL/PEG Electrospun Scaffolds for Enhanced In Vivo Wound Healing

Virijević,

Živanović,

Nikolić

et al. 2024

ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces

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Here, an artificial intelligence (AI)-based approach was employed to optimize the production of electrospun scaffolds for in vivo wound healing applications. By combining polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) in various concentration ratios, dissolved in chloroform (CHCl 3 ) and dimethylformamide (DMF), 125 different polymer combinations were created. From these polymer combinations, electrospun nanofiber meshes were produced and characterized structurally and mechanically via microscopic techniques, including chemical composition and fiber diameter determination. Subsequently, these data were used to train a neural network, creating an AI model to predict the optimal scaffold production solution. Guided by the predictions and experimental outcomes of the AI model, the most promising scaffold for further in vitro analyses was identified. Moreover, we enriched this selected polymer combination by incorporating antibiotics, aiming to develop electrospun nanofiber scaffolds tailored for in vivo wound healing applications. Our study underscores three noteworthy conclusions: (i) the application of AI is pivotal in the fields of material and biomedical sciences, (ii) our methodology provides an effective blueprint for the initial screening of biomedical materials, and (iii) electrospun PCL/PEG antibiotic-bearing scaffolds exhibit outstanding results in promoting neoangiogenesis and facilitating in vivo wound treatment.

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Formation of a nylon-6 micro/nano-fiber assembly through a low energy reactive melt spinning process

Abstract: Commercial synthetic fibers of below 10μm in diameter are usually unachievable with conventional melt spinning technology using high molecular weight polymers as the starting materials. The electrospinning process is capable...

Cited by 5 publications

References 65 publications

Supramolecular Nonwoven Materials via Thermally Induced Precursor Crystallization of Nanocrystalline Fibers/Belts for Recyclable Air Filters

Supramolecular Nonwoven Materials via Thermally Induced Precursor Crystallization of Nanocrystalline Fibers/Belts for Recyclable Air Filters

An applicability study on various methods for determining the monomer conversion rate of polyamide 6

AI-Driven Optimization of PCL/PEG Electrospun Scaffolds for Enhanced In Vivo Wound Healing

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