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Polymers

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 26, 2026

Transport Properties of Ibuprofen Encapsulated in Cyclodextrin Nanosponge Hydrogels: A Proton HR-MAS NMR Spectroscopy Study

Transport Properties of Ibuprofen Encapsulated in Cyclodextrin Nanosponge Hydrogels: A Proton HR-MAS NMR Spectroscopy Study

Published on: August 15, 2016

Reorganizing Polymer Chains with Cyclodextrins.

Alper Gurarslan¹, Abhay Joijode², Jialong Shen³

¹Fiber & Polymer Science Program, College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27606-8301, USA. gurarslan@itu.edu.tr.

|April 11, 2019

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cyclodextrins (CDs) nanostructure polymers into unique bulk materials. Polymers coalesced from CD inclusion complexes exhibit distinct properties and enhanced thermal stability compared to conventional polymer samples.

Keywords:

coalescence cyclodextrins inclusion compounds polymers

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Area of Science:

Polymer Science
Materials Science
Supramolecular Chemistry

Background:

Cyclodextrins (CDs) are utilized to nanostructure polymers.
This approach creates bulk polymer samples with distinct chain organizations and properties.
Conventional polymer processing (solutions, melts) yields different material characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the distinct properties of polymers processed using cyclodextrin inclusion complexes (CD-ICs).
To understand the role of polymer chain organization within CD-ICs on bulk material behavior.
To explore the stability and potential applications of these nanostructured polymers.

Main Methods:

Formation of non-covalently bonded inclusion complexes (ICs) between cyclodextrin hosts and guest polymers.
Crystallization of polymer-CD ICs, leading to highly extended and separated guest polymer chains within CD channels.
Removal of the host cyclodextrin lattice to induce polymer chain coalescence into bulk samples.

Main Results:

Coalesced polymers exhibit significantly higher glass-transition temperatures (Tg) and melting/crystallization temperatures (Tm, Tc).
Polymers can form different crystalline polymorphs after processing via CD-ICs.
Homopolymers and block copolymers within CD-ICs show intimate mixing upon coalescence.
The unique properties and organizations are stable to extended annealing above Tg and Tm.

Conclusions:

The distinct behaviors stem from the extended, un-entangled, and confined nature of polymer chains within CD-ICs.
Coalesced polymers may possess a "nematic" domain organization, resisting transformation to conventional entangled melts.
This method offers a novel route to engineer polymer properties and stability.