A Novel Fibrous Material Created by Self‐Rolling of a Patterned Polymer Thin Film

Abstract

A new kind of a fibrous material is produced by controlled self-rolling of patterned thin poly(4-vinyl)pyridine films in acidic water. Self-rolling is induced by unequal swelling of the top and the bottom layers of the films in the solvent. Rolling starts from parallel scratches in the film and results in twin-scroll fibers. The fibers are stabilized by staining with CuCl(2) salt and freeze-dried. The output of the fiber material production is of the order of 1 cm(3) from approximately 50 cm(2) of the patterned polymer film. The approach opens new broad opportunities for creation of smart fibrous materials via loading the fibers with functional micro- and nanoparticles.

Carbon–Iron Microfibrous Material Produced by Thermal Treatment of Self-rolled Poly(4-vinyl pyridine) Films Loaded by Fe2O3 Particles

“…The self-rolled P4VP fibres were prepared according to the method described elsewhere [14] . The P4VP films (Aldrich, Mw = 60 kDa) were formed by dip-coating of glass slides in 3 wt% solution polymer in chloroform, at dip-coating rate 1 cm s −1 .…”

“…This important advantage compared to the polymer-based particle-containing fibres, was explored in our previous paper [14] , which makes them an interesting material for the design of catalytic filters and other applications. In our study, we investigated catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide in water solutions.…”

“…In the present work, closely related to our previous study [14] , we investigate the transformation of the self-rolled polymer fibres, loaded by the hematite Fe2O3 particles, in a thermally and mechanically stable, highly carbon/iron based porous material with significant catalytic activity. This transformation is performed via thermal carbonization of the precursor fibres, impregnated by furfuryl alcohol (FA), serving a carbon source.…”

“…The self-rolling technique allows for a very high fraction of encapsulated material with respect to the mass of encapsulating polymer, since such eventual problems as clogging of extruder nozzles by the filler particles are excluded. In our recent work [14] , we have designed self-rolled P4VP fibres with high surface area of inner shells, modified by magnetite Fe3O4 microparticles, and demonstrated the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide by such composite fibres. However, the long term stability of the polymer fibres requires to be improved in order to respond to applications such as catalytic filtering.…”

Photochemistry for Advanced Nanoengineering: Polymer Microtubes with Inner Walls Coated with Silver Nanoparticles

“…For instance, in semiconductor epitaxially grown heterofilms, the strain is provoked by the mismatch of the crystal lattice constants of the top and bottom layers [4][5][6][7]. In polymer multi-layer films, curling can be triggered by an unequal swelling ratio of the top and bottom layers in a given solvent [8][9][10][11][12]. For instance, polystyrene/poly(4-vinyl pyridine) bilayer films roll up in acidic water due to preferential swelling of the P4VP layer [8].…”