Pablo Froimowicz

Towards the Generation of Self-Healing Materials by Means of a Reversible Photo-induced Approach

Photo-induced reversibility as a tool for self-healing: a reversible photo-induced dendritic macromonomer was synthesized and proven to form networks with different features depending on the crosslinking conditions. While networks formed from aqueous systems exhibited a reversible change in their crosslinking degree, networks generated in bulk underwent fully reversibility. The latter was then exploited for generating self-healing materials by means of a photo-induced treatment.

Design, Synthesis, and Miniemulsion Polymerization of New Phosphonate Surfmers and Application Studies of the Resulting Nanoparticles as Model Systems for Biomimetic Mineralization and Cellular Uptake

Heterophase polymerizations have gained increasing attention in the past decades, especially as the decoration and functionalization of the particle surface for further applications gets more and more into focus. One promising approach for the functionalization exclusively on the particle surface is the use of surfmers (surfactant and monomer). Herein, we present the synthesis of a new family of surfmers and their use for decorating nanoparticles with phosphonate groups through miniemulsion polymerization. Furthermore the synthesis of a dye-labeled functional surfmer provided an elegant manner to evaluate and get deeper insights about its copolymerization. Additionally, potential applications of the synthesized particles in biological studies as well as their use as template for biomimetic mineralization are presented.

Photoreactive Nanoparticles as Nanometric Building Blocks for the Generation of Self-Healing Hydrogel Thin Films

The use of reversible photo-cross-linkable nanoparticles as nano building blocks for the formulation of nanostructured self-healing thin hydrogel films is shown for the first time. This strategy for the fabrication of autonomous self-healing coatings consisted of various microgels bearing surface cinnamate moieties. The nanoparticles were formed by miniemulsion copolymerization, which was followed by surface functionalization with the cinnamate groups. These nanoparticles were then used to form films by drop-casting, followed by interparticle photo-cross-linking polymerization through the light-induced forward dimerization reaction of the previously incorporated cinnamate groups. The reversibility of this macroscopic network formation was also demonstrated by photoinducing the backward dimerization reaction and carrying out several cycles of photoinduced cross-linking and de-cross-linking. The self-healing ability through swelling of these films following surface damage was also demonstrated. Finally, the ability of these self-healing macroscopic films to incorporate additives of different chemical nature before photo-cross-linking was evaluated.

Editorial (Hot Topic: The Importance of Organic Chemistry in Designing Novel and Enhanced Functional Materials)

Organic chemistry established itself long ago as a stand-alone discipline and counts with a large number of scientific subareas, showing its multidisciplinary character. After a necessary evolution time of the individual subareas, organic chemists bearing different backgrounds started to interact fruitfully by exploiting complementary knowledge thus establishing the first interdisciplinary investigations across the different sub-disciplines. These interactions resulted in a synergetic collaboration among chemists, and also helped in facing greater challenges by those who were able to incorporate different backgrounds. Due to these intensified number of interdisciplinary works a greater and deeper knowledge on the studied subjects is achieved, pushing the limits much further to face every complex system and design unprecedented topics.