The Final Frontier of Sustainable Materials: Current Developments in Self-Healing Elastomers.

It is impossible to describe the recent progress of our society without considering the role of polymers; however, for a broad audience, "polymer" is usually related to environmental pollution. The poor disposal and management of polymeric waste has led to an important environmental crisis, and, within polymers, plastics have attracted bad press despite being easily reprocessable. Nonetheless, there is a group of polymeric materials that is particularly more complex to reprocess, rubbers. These macromolecules are formed by irreversible crosslinked networks that give them their characteristic elastic behavior, but at the same time avoid their reprocessing. Conferring them a self-healing capacity stands out as a decisive approach for overcoming this limitation. By this mean, rubbers would be able to repair or restore their damage automatically, autonomously, or by applying an external stimulus, increasing their lifetime, and making them compatible with the circular economy model. Spain is a reference country in the implementation of this strategy in rubbery materials, achieving successful self-healable elastomers with high healing efficiency and outstanding mechanical performance. This article presents an exhaustive summary of the developments reported in the previous 10 years, which demonstrates that this property is the last frontier in search of truly sustainable materials.

Development of Sustainable, Mechanically Strong, and Self-Healing Bio-Thermoplastic Elastomers Reinforced with Alginates.

New bio-thermoplastic elastomer composites with self-healing capacities based on epoxidized natural rubber and polycaprolactone blends reinforced with alginates were developed. This group of salts act as natural reinforcing fillers, increasing the tensile strength of the unfilled rubber from 5.6 MPa to 11.5 MPa without affecting the elongation at break (~1000% strain). In addition, the presence of ionic interactions and hydrogen bonds between the components provides the material with a thermally assisted self-healing capacity, as it is able to restore its catastrophic damages and recover diverse mechanical properties up to ~100%. With the results of this research, an important and definitive step is planned toward the circularity of elastomeric materials.

Sustainable mobility: The route of tires through the circular economy model.

Until nowadays, the concept of the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) has tried to develop responsible consumption habits. Nonetheless, the rise of ecological thinking has generated the appearance of four new Rs in addition to these basic 3Rs; the currently 7Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Redesign, Renew, Repair and Recover) which refer to the actions necessary to achieve the change towards a circular economy (CE) model. This model aims at extending the lifetime of the resources through their rational and efficient use to generate value repeatedly, reducing costs and waste. In this review, we examine the route followed by tires from the CE perspective, analyzing end-of-life strategies that aim to improve the circular flow of tire rubber materials. We discuss the most relevant studies on the "7Rs" concepts applied to tires, comparing different scientific approaches, as well as their industrial and commercial implementation. We also illustrate the drawbacks and feasibility of each of the R-hierarchy strategies. From the early stages of production to the post-consumption step, the path that tires trail within this CE model evidences the commitment and efforts towards the development of effective management schemes for achieving a real sustainable mobility.

Use of Novel Non-Toxic Bismuth Catalyst for the Preparation of Flexible Polyurethane Foam.

Foam products are one of the largest markets for polyurethane (PU) and are heavily used in many sectors. However, current PU formulations use highly toxic and environmentally unfriendly production processes. Meanwhile, the increasing environmental concerns and regulations are intensifying the research into green and non-toxic products. In this study, we synthesized flexible polyurethane foam (PUF) using different weight percentages (0.025%, 0.05% and 0.1%) of a non-toxic bismuth catalyst. The bismuth-catalyzed foams presented a well evolved cellular structure with an open cell morphology. The properties of the bismuth-catalyzed flexible PUF, such as the mechanical, morphological, kinetic and thermal behaviors, were optimized and compared with a conventional tin-catalyzed PUF. The bismuth-catalyst revealed a higher isocyanate conversion efficiency than the stannous octoate catalyst. When comparing samples with similar densities, the bismuth-catalyzed foams present better mechanical behavior than the tin-catalyzed sample with similar thermal stability. The high solubility of bismuth triflate in water, together with its high Lewis acidity, have been shown to benefit the production of PU foams.

Understanding the Molecular Dynamics of Dual Crosslinked Networks by Dielectric Spectroscopy.

The combination of vulcanizing agents is an adequate strategy to develop multiple networks that consolidate the best of different systems. In this research, sulfur (S), and zinc oxide ( ZnO) were combined as vulcanizing agents in a matrix of carboxylated nitrile rubber (XNBR). The resulting dual network improved the abrasion resistance of up to ~15% compared to a pure ionically crosslinked network, and up to ~115% compared to a pure sulfur-based covalent network. Additionally, the already good chemical resistance of XNBR in non-polar fluids, such as toluene and gasoline, was further improved with a reduction of up to ~26% of the solvent uptake. A comprehensive study of the molecular dynamics was performed by means of broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) to complete the existing knowledge on dual networks in XNBR. Such analysis showed that the synergistic behavior that prevails over purely ionic vulcanization networks is related to the restricted motions of rubber chain segments, as well as of the trapped chains within the ionic clusters that converts the vulcanizate into a stiffer and less solvent-penetrable material, improving abrasion resistance and chemical resistance, respectively. This combined network strategy will enable the production of elastomeric materials with improved performance and properties on demand.

Giving a Second Opportunity to Tire Waste: An Alternative Path for the Development of Sustainable Self-Healing Styrene-Butadiene Rubber Compounds Overcoming the Magic Triangle of Tires.

Current regulations demand tires with long lifetime and reduced fuel consumption without sacrificing car safety. However, tire technology still needs to reach a suitable balance between these three indicators. Here, we address them by developing a self-healing tire compound using styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) as the matrix and reclaimed tire waste as the sustainable filler. The addition of ground tire rubber (GTR) to the matrix simultaneously improved the rolling resistance and maintained both wet grip and healing ability. We provide an in-depth analysis of the healing behavior of the material at a scale close to the relevant molecular processes through a systematic dynamic-mechanical and dielectric analysis. We found that SBR and SBR/GTR compounds show a complete recovery of stiffness and relaxation dynamics after being damaged by cyclic deformation, resulting in a heterogeneous repaired rubber network. This new development could well overcome the so-called magic triangle of tires, which is certainly one of the key objectives of the tire industry.

Thermally reduced graphene is a permissive material for neurons and astrocytes and de novo neurogenesis in the adult olfactory bulb in vivo.

Graphene and graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs) are being investigated as potential substrates for the growth of neural stem cells (NSCs), neurons and glia in cell culture models. In contrast, reports testing the effects of graphene directly with adult neural cells in vivo are missing. Here we studied the biocompatibility of thermally reduced graphene (TRG) with neurons and glia, as well as with the generation of new neurons in the adult brain in vivo. TRG injected in the brain together with a retroviral vector expressing GFP to label dividing progenitor cells in the core of the adult olfactory bulb (OB) did not alter de novo neurogenesis, neuronal and astrocyte survival nor did it produce a microglial response. These findings indicate that TRG may be a biocompatible material with neuronal and glial cells in vivo and support its use in studies of brain repair and function.

In Vitro Evaluation of Biocompatibility of Uncoated Thermally Reduced Graphene and Carbon Nanotube-Loaded PVDF Membranes with Adult Neural Stem Cell-Derived Neurons and Glia.

Graphene, graphene-based nanomaterials (GBNs), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are being investigated as potential substrates for the growth of neural cells. However, in most in vitro studies, the cells were seeded on these materials coated with various proteins implying that the observed effects on the cells could not solely be attributed to the GBN and CNT properties. Here, we studied the biocompatibility of uncoated thermally reduced graphene (TRG) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes loaded with multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) using neural stem cells isolated from the adult mouse olfactory bulb (termed aOBSCs). When aOBSCs were induced to differentiate on coverslips treated with TRG or control materials (polyethyleneimine-PEI and polyornithine plus fibronectin-PLO/F) in a serum-free medium, neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes were generated in all conditions, indicating that TRG permits the multi-lineage differentiation of aOBSCs. However, the total number of cells was reduced on both PEI and TRG. In a serum-containing medium, aOBSC-derived neurons and oligodendrocytes grown on TRG were more numerous than in controls; the neurons developed synaptic boutons and oligodendrocytes were more branched. In contrast, neurons growing on PVDF membranes had reduced neurite branching, and on MWCNTs-loaded membranes oligodendrocytes were lower in numbers than in controls. Overall, these findings indicate that uncoated TRG may be biocompatible with the generation, differentiation, and maturation of aOBSC-derived neurons and glial cells, implying a potential use for TRG to study functional neuronal networks.

Poly(lactic acid)/natural rubber/cellulose nanocrystal bionanocomposites part I. Processing and morphology.

PLA/NR/cellulose nanowhisker composites were prepared using three types of cellulose nanocrystals (CNC), i.e. unmodified CNC obtained from acid hydrolysis of microcrystalline cellulose and two surface modified CNC. The two modification reactions, consisting on the grafting of long alkyl chains and of PLA chains onto the cellulose nanocrystals were carried out in order to facilitate the incorporation of the nanocrystals in the PLA/NR blend. A novel processing method was optimized combining solvent casting and extrusion in order to obtain a homogeneous dispersion of the nanofillers in the blend. The CNC modifications determined their location in the PLA/NR blend and influenced its morphology.

Poly(lactic acid)/natural rubber/cellulose nanocrystal bionanocomposites. Part II: properties evaluation.

The crystallization, mechanical and biodegradation properties of poly(lactic acid)/natural rubber/cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) bionanocomposites were evaluated. Three types of CNC were used in this study, one unmodified (CNC), long alkyl chain grafted CNC (C18-g-CNC) and PLA grafted CNC (PLA-g-CNC). The CNC modifications determined the affinity of the nanocrystals toward the polymers and reflected on the ultimate properties. Interestingly, PLA-g-CNC acted as a nucleating agent for the PLA matrix in the bio-based PLA/NR blend. Good mechanical properties were reported, as the bionanocomposites maintained a high elongation at break for a concentration up to 3 wt.% of cellulose nanocrystals. Moreover, the disintegration study confirmed that the materials completely disintegrated after one month in compost.

Thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes and graphene in epoxy nanofluids and nanocomposites.

We employed an easy and direct method to measure the thermal conductivity of epoxy in the liquid (nanofluid) and solid (nanocomposite) states using both rodlike and platelet-like carbon-based nanostructures. Comparing the experimental results with the theoretical model, an anomalous enhancement was obtained with multiwall carbon nanotubes, probably due to their layered structure and lowest surface resistance. Puzzling results for functionalized graphene sheet nanocomposites suggest that phonon coupling of the vibrational modes of the graphene and of the polymeric matrix plays a dominant role on the thermal conductivities of the liquid and solid states.PACS: 74.25.fc; 81.05.Qk; 81.07.Pr.