Shengmiao Zhang

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Name: 章圣苗; Zhang, ShengMiao

Organization: University of Toronto , China

Department: Department of Chemistry

Title: Associate Professor(PhD)

TOPICS

Polymer

Polyurethane

Chemicals
References

Synthesis of Latex Particles with a Complex Structure As an Emulsifier of Pickering High Internal Phase Emulsions

Co-reporter:Heng Zhang;Jianding Chen;Ye Hua;Yun Zhu

Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research March 26, 2014 Volume 53(Issue 12) pp:4642-4649

Publication Date(Web):2017-2-22

DOI:10.1021/ie404009x

A one-pot surfactant-free emulsion polymerization was described to produce uniform copolymer particles with core–shell structure, single-cavity structure, single-cavity with multiprotrusions in edge structure, or multiprotrusions structure. The structure of the copolymer particles was tailored by simply varying the cross-linker divinylbenzene (DVB) concentration in the emulsion. The formation of the nonspherical shape of the polymer particles was attributed to the presence of local cross-linking domains in the latex particles at low conversion and the phase separation between the hydrophilic polymer rich region and hydrophobic polymer rich region in further polymerization. With the copolymer particles as an emulsifier, Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) having an internal phase fraction of 85 vol% were obtained. The use of nonspherical particles not only stabilizes the Pickering emulsions against coalescence but also enhances the roughness of the void wall in the emulsion-templated porous polymers and even endows the porous polymers with high adhesive superhydrophobicity. This provides a simple and new approach to the fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces.

Synthesis of emulsion-templated macroporous materials via Diels-Alder polymerization

Co-reporter:Chenchen Xiao, Yun Zhu, Jianding Chen, Shengmiao Zhang

Polymer 2017 Volume 110(Volume 110) pp:

Publication Date(Web):10 February 2017

DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2016.12.074

•Emulsion-templated macroporous materials were obtained by Diels-Alder reaction.•A multiple self-healing porous material was synthesized via emulsion-templated technique.•Water-in-oil emulsions were stabilized solely by water-dispersible copolymer particle.Emulsion-templated macroporous materials, known in the literature for many years as polyHIPEs, have found an increasing number of applications due to their well-defined structures. However, most of the emulsion-templated materials are synthesized using conventional radical polymerization, and most of the radical polymerization are thermally initiated. Expanding the polymerization mechanisms available for emulsion-templated material synthesis is still highly desired. In this work, macroporous polymers were firstly synthesized by Diels-Alder reaction of furan derivatives and bismaleimide within the continuous phase of particle-stabilized emulsions. These polymers have a well-defined controllable porous structure and good self-healing performance.Download high-res image (243KB)Download full-size image

Superhydrophobicity construction with dye-sensitised TiO2 on fabric surface for both oil/water separation and water bulk contaminants purification

Co-reporter:Linfeng Yu, Shengmiao Zhang, Meng Zhang, Jianding Chen

Applied Surface Science 2017 Volume 425(Volume 425) pp:

Publication Date(Web):15 December 2017

DOI:10.1016/j.apsusc.2017.06.329

•One Dye@TiO2-TEOS/VTEO hybrid modified polyester fabric is developed.•The modified fabric possesses a high efficiency of oil/water separation.•The modified fabric has a high efficiency of water bulk contaminants purification.•The fabric shows high resistance to abrasion, acid and alkali.•Dye/TiO2 photo-catalytic mechanism is understood by theory calculation.For the promising material for both oil/water separation and water-soluble contaminants, the Dye@TiO2-TEOS/VTEO hybrid modified polyester fabric is developed by a simple dip-coating process, which combines Dye-sensitised TiO2 with silicon contained superhydrophobic coating to guarantee the long-term stability of Dye-sensitised TiO2 system as well as material’s sustainability. The modified fabric possesses selective oil/water seperation properties towards water and oil, besides, mechanical, acid and alkali durability shows this material’s appropriate performance on oil/water separation. UV–Vis absorption spectrum reveals the Dye 4-(2H-imidazol-2-ylazo) benzoic acid could sensitize the semiconductor TiO2 for visible light catalytic organic pollutant degradation that is also confirmed by methylene blue degradation experiment. Density Functional calculation (DFT) witnesses that HOMO, HOMO-1 of Dye contributed by oxygen bonding to TiO2 can insert into TiO2 band gap and result in low energy electron excitation. The ability of oil/water separation and water-soluble contaminants purification provides the material opportunity to practical applications in environmental restoration and human life.Download high-res image (153KB)Download full-size image

Macroporous Polymers with Aligned Microporous Walls from Pickering High Internal Phase Emulsions

Co-reporter:Yun Zhu, Ranran Zhang, Shengmiao Zhang, Yeqian Chu, and Jianding Chen

Langmuir 2016 Volume 32(Issue 24) pp:6083-6088

Publication Date(Web):June 1, 2016

DOI:10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b00794

A novel class of macroporous polymers, open macroporous polymers with aligned microporous void walls, were prepared by combining particle-stabilized high internal phase emulsion (Pickering HIPE) and unidirectional freezing technique. These Pickering HIPEs were prepared by utilizing poly(urethane urea)/(vinyl ester resin) nanoparticles as the sole stabilizer, and this nanoparticles also acted as building blocks for the resulting macroporous polymers. Moreover, the morphology and compression modulus of the resulting porous materials could be tuned easily. This means now Pickering-HIPE templated open-cell foams can be prepared, and this route was normally achieved with surfactant and/or chemical reaction involved.

Preparation of poly (L-lactic acid) with aligned structures by unidirectional freezing

Co-reporter:Yeqian Chu;Zhen Lu;Junjie Li;Yun Zhu;Jiing Chen

Polymers for Advanced Technologies 2015 Volume 26( Issue 6) pp:606-612

Publication Date(Web):

DOI:10.1002/pat.3493

Honeycomb monolith structured porous poly (L-lactic acid, PLA) was simply fabricated by employing a unidirectional freeze-casting technique. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) was used as a solvent for PLA, and the solution was unidirectionally frozen. The DMSO was nucleated in the solution and was grown in the freezing direction. The PLA was solidified and structured with the DMSO crystal as a template. Then DMSO was leached by water, ethanol, or the mixture of them, and subsequently the porous PLA was dried by oven. It was found that the freeze-casting protocol can significantly influence the morphological features such as the tube diameter and wall thickness of tube can be tuned by varying of PLA concentration, freezing temperature, and the nature of leaching solvent. Because DMSO has a special solubility of a number of polymers, this method may be a general way for designing and preparing aligned porous materials. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Open-cell macroporous bead: a novel polymeric support for heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions

Co-reporter:Yun Zhu;Ye Hua;Yanhua Wang;Jianding Chen

Journal of Polymer Research 2015 Volume 22( Issue 4) pp:

Publication Date(Web):2015 April

DOI:10.1007/s10965-015-0703-9

A novel polymeric support for heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions was fabricated by using a multiple O/W/O emulsion as the template, which was an open-cell macroporous bead with photocatalyst titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles embedded in the void surface. The beads exhibited high photocatalytic efficiency, up to 99.4 % methyl orange could be degraded in 2.5 h photocatalysis in the water containing the bead of 0.46 wt%. Moreover, stable cyclic usage in wastewater treatment was proved to be feasible, and not any decrease in the photocatalytic performance was found for the use in their later 9 cycles, which make the bead material an ideal and potential photocatalyst in wastewater industry.

Switchable release and recovery of nanoparticles via a Pickering-emulsion-templated porous carrier

Co-reporter:Ye Hua, Shengmiao Zhang, Jianding Chen and Yun Zhu

Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2013 vol. 1(Issue 44) pp:13970-13977

Publication Date(Web):2013/09/24

DOI:10.1039/C3TA12295F

A Pickering-emulsion-templated macroporous polymer was utilized as a novel release carrier for switchable controlled release and recovery of nanoparticles. With silica nanoparticles as stabilizers, oil-in-water Pickering high internal phase emulsions were prepared as templates to synthesize porous poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) materials with silica nanoparticles inlaid in the polymer void walls. The porous materials can effectively avoid the diffusion of silica nanoparticles when the release is undesirable, and can resorb the released nanoparticles back from the aqueous solution simply by controlling the temperature. Because a wide range of functional nanoparticles can be used to stabilize Pickering emulsions, the method developed herein provides an alternative to prepare carriers for controlled release and recovery of functional nanoparticles.

Macroporous materials from water-in-oil high internal phase emulsion stabilized solely by water-dispersible copolymer particles

Co-reporter:Ye Hua, Yeqian Chu, Shengmiao Zhang, Yun Zhu, Jianding Chen

Polymer 2013 Volume 54(Issue 21) pp:5852-5857

Publication Date(Web):4 October 2013

DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2013.08.055

Water-in-oil (W/O) high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) were prepared by utilizing water-dispersible copolymer particle stabilizer, whose concentration in the internal phase could reach as high as 12.0 wt% (equivalent to 52 wt% relative to the continuous phase). Accordingly, the macroporous materials with high content of skeleton substance would be obtained by the dissolving of these copolymer particles into the continuous phase and without any chemical reaction. And the morphology, the density and the mechanical property of the macroporous materials could be easily tailored through varying the standing time after emulsification, particle concentration in the aqueous phase and the internal phase volume ratio.

Hydrophilic polymer foams with well-defined open-cell structure prepared from pickering high internal phase emulsions

Co-reporter:Ye Hua;Yun Zhu;Yeqian Chu ;Jiing Chen

Journal of Polymer Science Part A: Polymer Chemistry 2013 Volume 51( Issue 10) pp:2181-2187

Publication Date(Web):

DOI:10.1002/pola.26588

Abstract

Open-cell hydrophilic polymer foams are prepared through oil-in-water Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs). The Pickering HIPEs are stabilized by commercial titania (TiO₂) nanoparticles with adding small amounts of non-ionic surfactant Tween85. The morphologies, such as average void diameter and interconnectivity, of the foams can be tailored easily by varying the TiO₂ nanoparticles and Tween85 concentrations. Further, investigation of the HIPE stability, emulsion structure and the location of TiO₂ nanoparticles in resulting foams shows that the surfactant tends to occupy the oil-water interface at the contact point of adjacent droplets, where the interconnecting pores are hence likely to be formed after the consolidation of the continuous phase. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2013

Stability of surfactant-free high internal phase emulsions and its tailoring morphology of porous polymers based on the emulsions

Co-reporter:Shengmiao Zhang, Yun Zhu, Ye Hua, Corinne Jegat, Jianding Chen, Mohamed Taha

Polymer 2011 Volume 52(Issue 21) pp:4881-4890

Publication Date(Web):29 September 2011

DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2011.08.022

Stable water-in-oil (w/o) high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) having an internal phase of up to 95 vol% were prepared. The poly(styrene-methyl methacrylate-acrylic acid) (P(St-MMA-AA)) copolymer particles were used as stabilizer. The HIPEs prepared with addition of copolymer particles to the aqueous phase were stabilized by copolymer particles initially, followed by the mixture of copolymer particles and copolymer as the particles eventually dissolves in the organic phase, and finally by only copolymer. Stable w/o HIPEs having an internal phase of up to 92 vol% were also formed with P(St-MMA-AA) copolymer dissolved in the organic phase as the sole stabilizer. Porous polymers (polyHIPEs) were prepared based on these two types of surfactant-free HIPEs. The morphology of the polyHIPEs, such as the surface roughness of the voids and average void diameter, were tailored by tuning the internal phase volume fraction, NaCl, copolymer, and crosslinker concentrations.

Hydrophilic porous polymers based on high internal phase emulsions solely stabilized by poly(urethane urea) nanoparticles

Co-reporter:Yun Zhu, Shengmiao Zhang, Ye Hua, Jianding Chen, Chun Pu Hu

Polymer 2010 Volume 51(Issue 16) pp:3612-3617

Publication Date(Web):22 July 2010

DOI:10.1016/j.polymer.2010.06.008

Stable oil-in-water (o/w) Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) having an internal phase of up to 95 vol% were prepared with a low-energy emulsification method. A poly(urethane urea) (PUU) aqueous nanodispersion was used as aqueous phase. The PUU nanoparticles of the aqueous nanodispersion acted as a mechanical barrier, and prevented droplet coalescence in the Pickering HIPEs. In addition, open porous hydrophilic polymer foams were obtained by polymerization of the Pickering HIPEs, and the morphology of the foams were tailored by changing the oil:water ratio, PUU nanoparticle and NaCl concentrations. The method used herein provides a simple way to prepare morphology controlled hydrophilic polymer foams using o/w Pickering HIPEs as template.

Functionalization of Cellulose Nanocrystals with PEG-Metal-Chelating Block Copolymers via Controlled Conjugation in Aqueous Media

Co-reporter:Melinda Guo, Sohyoung Her, Rachel Keunen, Shengmiao Zhang, Christine Allen, and Mitchell A. Winnik

ACS Omega Volume 1(Issue 1) pp:93-107

Publication Date(Web):July 18, 2016

DOI:10.1021/acsomega.6b00055

Elongated nanoparticles have recently been shown to have distinct advantages over their spherical counterparts in drug delivery applications. Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) have rodlike shapes in nature and have demonstrated biocompatibility in a variety of mammalian cell lines. In this report, CNCs are put forward as a modular platform for the production of multifunctional rod-shaped nanoparticles for cancer imaging and therapy. For the first time, PEGylated metal-chelating polymers containing diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) (i.e., mPEG-PGlu(DPTA)18-HyNic and PEG-PGlu(DPTA)25-HyNic) are conjugated to CNCs to enable the chelation of radionuclides for diagnostic and therapeutic applications. The entire conjugation is based on UV/vis-quantifiable bis-aryl hydrazone-bond formation, which allows direct quantification of the polymers grafted onto the CNCs. Moreover, it has been shown that the mean number of polymers grafted per CNC could be controlled. The CNCs are also fluorescently labeled with rhodamine and Alexa Fluor 488 by embedding the probes in the polymer corona. Preliminary evaluation in a human ovarian cancer cell line (HEYA8) demonstrated that these CNCs are nontoxic and their penetration properties can be readily assessed in multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTSs) by optical imaging. These findings provide support for biomedical applications of CNCs, and further in vitro and in vivo studies are warranted to evaluate their potential as imaging and therapeutic agents for cancer treatment.Topics: Biological transport; Bonding; Drug delivery systems; Drug delivery systems; Drug discovery and Drug delivery systems; Fluorescence imaging; Imaging agents; Polyamides; Polyoxyalkylenes;

Switchable release and recovery of nanoparticles via a Pickering-emulsion-templated porous carrier

Co-reporter:Ye Hua, Shengmiao Zhang, Jianding Chen and Yun Zhu

Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2013 - vol. 1(Issue 44) pp:NaN13977-13977

Publication Date(Web):2013/09/24

DOI:10.1039/C3TA12295F