Showing 152 results for Author: Jihua Chen
Sep, 2026
Journal
In this study, we developed a photocurable hydrogel resin incorporating a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) for 3D printing. Acrylamide-based monomers were formulated with varying PEC contents (0–15 wt %) in an aqueous KBr medium to fabricate patterned porous hydrogel structures. The morphology of printed hydrogels was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microsco…
Aug, 2025
Journal
Nanocomposites made from alginate and nanoclay are extensively applied for diverse biomedical applications. However, the lack of a clear understanding of the interactions between alginate and nanoclay makes it difficult to rationally design the nanocomposites for different material extrusion-based 3D bioprinting strategies. Here, a combined analytical model is proposed to…
Aug, 2025
Journal
Embedded ink writing (EIW) is an emerging 3D printing technique that fabricates complex 3D structures from various biomaterial inks but is limited to a printing speed of ∼10 mm s−1 due to suboptimal rheological properties of particulate-dominated yield-stress fluids when used as liquid baths. In this work, a particle-hydrogel interactive system to design advanced baths wit…
Mar, 2025
Journal
Melt reactive processing of lignin with nitrile rubber is a promising approach to synthesizing shape memory materials. The strong intramolecular interactions in lignin macromolecular structures, caused by π–π stacking in aromatic rings and hydrogen bonding, often result in large phase separation or low miscibility with rubbers. In this study, we investigated the chemical a…
Jan, 2025
Journal
To push upper boundaries of thermal conductivity in polymer composites, understanding of thermal transport mechanisms is crucial. Despite extensive simulations, systematic experimental investigation on thermal transport in polymer composites is limited. To better understand thermal transport processes, we design polymer composites with perfect fillers (graphite) and defect…
Sep, 2024
Journal
The outstanding mechanical properties, light weight, and biodegradability of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) make them promising components of renewable and sustainable next-generation reinforced composite biomaterials and bioplastics. Manufacturing CNFs at a pilot scale requires disc-refining fibrillation of dilute cellulose fibers in aqueous pulp suspensions to shear the fi…
Jun, 2024
Journal
Aqueous solutions containing polyzwitterions and polyelectrolytes were studied to probe the effects of chemical specificity on the complexation among different types of chains and resulting liquid–liquid phase separation (coacervation). Two kinds of blends were studied. A polyzwitterion, poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA), was blended with either (1) a polycation, pol…
Apr, 2024
Journal
Creating tissue and organ equivalents with intricate architectures and multiscale functional feature sizes is the first step toward the reconstruction of transplantable human tissues and organs. Existing embedded ink writing approaches are limited by achievable feature sizes ranging from hundreds of microns to tens of millimeters, which hinders their ability to accurately…
Feb, 2024
Journal
The use of block copolymers to compatibilize immiscible plastics is an important strategy for upcycling municipal plastic wastes. Multiblock copolymers (MBCPs) have been proven to be more effective compatibilizers than di- and tri-block copolymers. Herein, we probe the interface structure of an effective multiblock copolymer compatibilizer and compare that with an ineffect…
Dec, 2023
Journal
An ionomeric, leathery thermoplastic with high mechanical strength is prepared by a new thermal processing method from a soft, melt‐processable rubber. Compositions made by incorporation of equal‐mass lignin, a renewable oligomeric feedstock, in an acrylonitrile‐butadiene rubber often yield weak rubbers with large lignin domains (1–2 µm). The addition of zinc chloride (ZnC…
Dec, 2023
Journal
TiNb2O7 (TNO) is regarded as one of the promising next-generation anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) due to its high rate capabilities, higher theoretical capacity, and higher lithiation voltage. This enables the cycling of TNO-based anodes under extreme fast charging (XFC) conditions with a minimal risk of lithium plating compared to that of graphite anodes.…