Three well-controlled biocompatible hydrophilic nanogels were synthesized, and they can effectively initiate photopolymerization and improve the mechanical properties of polymers.

To prepare biodegradable composites suitable for short‐life applications, large‐scale production of thermoplastic starch (TPS)‐based composites reinforced with jute fiber (JF) was performed in a twin‐screw extruder. The effect of JF content on the properties of starch‐based composites was investigated. The results showed the tensile strength of the composites increased sharply with the increase of JF content. The reinforcement effectiveness of JF in the composites improved with the decrease of relative humidity (RH). Due to the synergy of the similarity in chemical structure and the uniform dispersion of JF in the starch matrix induced by the strong shear mixing, good interfacial adhesion was observed between the starch matrix and the fibers. When the content of JF increased to 15 wt%, the crystallinity and the thermal stability of the composites obviously improved. The results also indicated that the stiffness of the composites increased, while the water absorption reduced with the increase of the JF content. The addition of JF increased the degradation period of the composites due to the slower degradation rate of JF as compared to pure TPS. JF‐reinforced starch‐based composites with high mechanical strength and optimized biodegradability will serve as competitive eco‐friendly “green” materials for various applications.

A coarse-grained model-based molecular dynamics simulation was employed to investigate the mechanical properties of NR-graft-rigid-polymer/rigid-polymer systems (N-g-(R)/R). An external factor (the strain rate) as well as internal factors such as the nonbonding interaction strength, the proportion of rigid polymers, and architecture parameters (the length and number of graft chains in a molecule) were examined for their effect on the tensional behavior of N-g-(R)/R systems. Simulation results show that a higher strain rate can promote the enhancement of mechanical performance, such as a higher modulus or yield stress. Moreover, the stress and modulus increase with an increase of the nonbonding interaction strength within rigid polymers or of the rigid polymer proportion in the systems. However, the increasing stress was found to reach a limit with a continuously increasing rigid polymer proportion. On increasing the number of graft chains in a molecule, the stress increases at small strains. However, at large strains, the evident increase in stress was found in systems in which a graft molecule has longer graft chains. In addition, our research shows that N-g-(R)/R blends exhibit improved mechanical properties and better compatibilities relative to N/R, which is consistent with the experimental results. Lastly, comparisons with experimental observations were also made to ensure the rationality of the simulation results. Overall, bond stretching, bond orientation, and nonbonding interactions were found to be crucial in governing the mechanical properties of the N-g-(R)/R systems. These findings may provide important information for further experimental and simulation studies of NR hybrid materials.

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