Publications related to Sustainable, recyclable and biodegradable castor oil-derived elastomers enabled by dynamic acetoacetyl formed amides

New Polymers from Biomass-Derived Hydroxycinnamic Acid Derivatives

Polymers play a central role in shaping our world across various fields, but their heavy reliance on petrochemicals poses climate change, environmental and health risks. To address and alleviate these issues, transitioning to sustainable polymers, sourced ...

EPFL2024

Tailoring the performance of nanocellulose-based multilayer-barrier paperboard using biodegradable-thermoplastics, pigments, and plasticizers

Tiffany Abitbol

In this work a multilayer barrier paperboard was produced in a roll-to-roll process by slot-die coating of nanocellulose (microfibrillated cellulose or carboxymethylated cellulose nanofibrils) followed by extrusion coating of biodegradable thermoplastics ( ...

SPRINGER2023

Photodegradation of biodegradable plastics in aquatic environments: Current understanding and challenges

Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Vinhteang Kaing

Direct photolysis and indirect photolysis are important abiotic processes in aquatic environments through which plastics can be transformed physically and chemically. Transport of biodegradable plastics in water is influenced by vertical mixing and turbule ...

2023

Acetal-Stabilized Carbohydrates as Novel Platform Molecules for Renewable Polymer Production

Lorenz Perry Manker

To address the rising demand for plastics, it is essential to create new types of polymers that are both highly recyclable and emit minimal amounts of greenhouse gases. These plastics should be derived from readily available, renewable feedstocks. Such eff ...

EPFL2023

High-performance triboelectric nanogenerator via photon-generated carriers for green low-carbon system

Xin Chen

Enhancing the surface charge density and reducing the output impedance via innovative techniques are essential to accelerate the commercialization of triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs). However, methods for increasing output performance have numerous lim ...

Elsevier2023

Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (+)-Stephadiamine

Qian Wang, Jieping Zhu, Guang Li, Baochao Yang

An asymmetric synthesis of (+)-stephadiamine has been accomplished featuring (a) an enantioselective dearomatizative Michael addition to generate a quaternary stereocenter; (b) a domino sequence involving reductive generation of nitrone from γ-nitro ketone ...

2023

Organic electrochemical transistors printed from degradable materials as disposable biochemical sensors

Danick Briand, Nicolas Francis Fumeaux, Claudio Pinto Almeida, Silvia Demuru

Transient electronics hold promise in reducing electronic waste, especially in applications that require only a limited lifetime. While various degradable electronic and physical sensing devices have been proposed, there is growing interest in the developm ...

Nature Research2023

Additive and digital manufacturing of transient sensors and bioelectronics

Nicolas Francis Fumeaux

Transient electronics have emerged as a promising class of devices, capable of breaking down without harmful side effects to their environment. They have tremendous potential as bioresorbable electronics for temporary applications in the human body, and as ...

EPFL2023

Reinforced Supramolecular Networks of End Functionalized Polymers for Tailored Thermomechanical Property Profiles

Yevhen Hryshunin

Thermoset rubbers give rise to elastomers with tunable stiffness and high resilience but are not recyclable. Thermoplastic elastomers can address this problem but their broad applicability is impeded by either limited operating temperatures or inferior ela ...

EPFL2023

Biocompatible and Biodegradable 3D Printing from Bioplastics: A Review

Sandro Carrara

There has been a lot of interest in developing and producing biodegradable polymers to address the current environmental problem caused by the continued usage of synthetic polymers derived from petroleum products. Bioplastics have been identified as a poss ...

MDPI2023

Incorporation of Lignin in Bio-Based Resins for Potential Application in Fiber-Polymer Composites

Mário Alexandre De Jesus Garrido, Mateus De Assunção Hofmann

Bio-based resins, obtained from renewable raw materials, are a more sustainable alternative to oil-based resins for fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. The incorporation of lignin in those resins has the potential to enhance their performance. This ...

MDPI2023

Supramolecular Modifications of Semicrystalline Polymers

Michael Alan Giffin

Supramolecular interactions play an important role in defining the structure and the resulting mechanical properties of materials. For instance, interchain hydrogen-bonding in PAs gives them superior strength and stiffness in engineering materials, while t ...

EPFL2023

Transient Elastomers with High Dielectric Permittivity for Actuators, Sensors, and Beyond

Holger Frauenrath, Yauhen Sheima

Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are key materials in actuators, sensors, energy harvesters, and stretchable electronics. These devices find applications in important emerging fields such as personalized medicine, renewable energy, and soft robotics. However, e ...

AMER CHEMICAL SOC2022

Quantified Effects of Multiple Parameters on Inputs and Potential Sources of Microplastics from a Typical River Flowing into the Sea

Florian Frédéric Vincent Breider, Wenxin Liu, Yang Liu

As an important connection of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, rivers input multitudinous (micro)plastics into the oceans. However, comparisons of field and estimated riverine inputs of (micro)plastics and contributions of multiple parameters are limited ...

2022

Sustainable polyesters via direct functionalization of lignocellulosic sugars

Yves Leterrier, Véronique Michaud, François Maréchal, Jeremy Luterbacher, Harm-Anton Klok, Graham Reid Dick, Adrien Julien Demongeot, Christèle Rayroud, Maxime Alexandre Clément Hedou, Thibault Rambert

The development of sustainable plastics from abundant renewable feedstocks has been limited by the complexity and efficiency of their production, as well as their lack of competitive material properties. Here we demonstrate the direct transformation of the ...

2022

Solvent-Free Synthesis and Processing of Conductive Elastomer Composites for Green Dielectric Elastomer Transducers

Frank Nüesch

Stretchable electrodes are more suitable for dielectric elastomer transducers (DET) the closer the mechanical characteristics of the electrodes and elastomer are. Here, a solvent-free synthesis and processing of conductive composites with excellent electri ...

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH2022

Highly Stretchable Silicone Elastomer Applied in Soft Actuators

Fabio Beco Albuquerque, Pengpeng Hu

In this work, a highly stretchable silicone elastomer is incorporated into dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs) in order to decrease operation voltages by applying high prestretches. Results show that the fabricated DEAs (5 mm diameter circle active regio ...

WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH2022

Algal cellulose, production and potential use in plastics: Challenges and opportunities

Horst Pick, Christian Ludwig, Adrian Pulgarin, Enio Daniel Zanchetta, Eya Nicodeme, Tobias Borgmeyer

The development of new biodegradable plastic materials from renewable sources is a major challenge for plastic industries to provide sustainable alternatives to petroleum plastic. Bio-based plastics are generally obtained from photosynthetic biomass such a ...

2021

Automated test setup to quantify the lifetime of dielectric elastomer actuators under a wide range of operating conditions

Herbert Shea, Fabio Beco Albuquerque, Valentin Colin Py, Djen Timo Kühnel

We present an automated test setup for the systematic performance and lifetime evaluation of dielectric elastomer actuators (DEAs). This setup, called the MAPLE setup, performs accelerated aging tests and allows quantifying how material choice, fabrication ...

IOP PUBLISHING LTD2021

Microstructured biodegradable fibers for advanced controlled release

Shahrzad Shadman Yazdi

Biodegradable polymers are increasingly at the heart of therapeutic devices. Particularly in the form of thin and elongated fibers, they offer an effective strategy for controlled-release in a variety of biomedical configurations such as sutures, scaffolds ...

EPFL2020