Electrothermal Phase Change Composite with Flexibility over a Wide Temperature Range for Wearable Thermotherapy.

Flexible electrothermal composite phase change materials (PCMs) are promising candidates for portable thermotherapy. However, a great challenge remains to achieve high PCM loading while maintaining reasonable flexibility. Herein, the polypyrrole-decorated melamine foam (PPy@MF) was fabricated and thereafter applied to confine binary PCM mixtures composed of a high-enthalpy long-chain polyethylene glycol (PEG4000) and its short-chain homologue (PEG200) to make the novel PPy@MF-PEG4000+200 composite PCM. At a high loading of up to 74.1% PEG4000 and a high latent heat energy storage density of 150.1 J/g, the composite PCM remained flexible at temperature (-20 °C) far below its phase transition point thanks to the plasticine effect of PEG200. The composite also demonstrated good Joule heating performance, providing fast heating from 28 to 70 °C at low applied voltages (4.5-6.0 V). The energy could be stored efficiently and released to maintain the composites at the proper temperature. The electrothermal performance of the composite remained undisturbed during curved or repeated bending, showing good potential to be used for personal thermal management and thermotherapy.

Antibacterial thyme oil-loaded zwitterionic emulsion hydrogels.

Emulsion hydrogels are structurally composite materials combining the advantages of emulsions and hydrogels with the ability to accommodate hydrophobic and hydrophilic components in one system. It is a promising strategy for the excellent encapsulation and delivery of many bioactive ingredients. In this work, the thyme oil-loaded zwitterionic emulsion hydrogels are constructed by the cellulose acetoacetate-horseradish peroxidase-hydrogen peroxide-initiated (CAA-HRP-H2O2-initiated) ternary enzyme-mediated polymerization of the thyme oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions stabilized by cellulose acetoacetate (CAA). CAA is the key component in the system, acting as the emulsifier and the polymerization mediator simultaneously. The formed zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) hydrogel network provides emulsion hydrogels with good hydration capacity and potential anti-fouling performance. The thyme oil-loaded zwitterionic emulsion hydrogels exhibit interconnected, uniform, and adjustable porous structures with tunable mechanical properties, antifouling performance, good biocompatibility, and excellent antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. These results all demonstrate that the ternary enzyme-mediated polymerization of zwitterionic monomers in the continuous phase of O/W emulsion templates is a facile and efficient strategy to encapsulate hydrophobic bioactive ingredients.

Antibacterial thyme oil-loaded organo-hydrogels utilizing cellulose acetoacetate as reactive polymer emulsifier.

Organo-hydrogels are widely used in various fields, due to functional organic ingredients immobilized by the gel network or stored and protected by the gels. Herein, cellulose acetoacetate (CAA) served as reactive natural polymer emulsifier to stabilize thyme oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. Hydroxypropyl chitosan (HPCS) was added to the continuous phase in emulsions to achieve the organo-hydrogel via the enamine bonds under mild conditions. The thyme@CAA emulsion with different loadings of the inner phase (up to 50%) displayed uniform droplets distribution (3-5 µm) and favorable stability. The organo-hydrogel was systematically analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, optical microscope, rheology analyses. The emulsion droplets evenly dispersed in the three-dimensional network. The modulus of organo-hydrogels depended on the viscosity of precursor emulsions and the crosslinking density. The resulting organo-hydrogel displayed favorable antibacterial activity against E. coli and S. aureus. CAA, as the reactive emulsifier and crosslinking agent, was a promising alternative candidate to fabricate a series of organo-hydrogel.