• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.121-126
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• 2013

UV-curable high refractive index di-functional epoxy acrylate, 4,4'-thiodibenzenethiol diglycidyl ether diacrylate, was synthesized from acrylic acid and 4,4'-thiodibenzenethiol diglycidyl ether that was obtained by reacting 4,4'-thiodibenzenethiol and epichlorohydrin using a direct method (Taffy process). Its chemical structure was identified by $^1H$ NMR and FTIR. After its dilution with a reactive diluent, 2-phenoxythiol ethyl acrylate as 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 wt% content, the relationship between their viscosity and refractive index was investigated. Their degree of cure decreased with increasing the amount of reactive diluent, and the refractive index of UV-cured film increased with increasing the degree of cure.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.462-469
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• 2013

Catechin (CTEC) is well-known as a very powerful antioxidant, containing the effects of anti-inflammation and skin wound healing. In this study, CTEC/${\beta}$-cyclodextrin (${\beta}$-CD) nanoparticles were incorporated into poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/pectin (PT) hydrogel. The composite was designed for the induction of re-epithelializaton in skin wound. CTEC/${\beta}$-CD nanoparticles were prepared by a molecular complex method. The size of the CTEC nanoparticles formed in the hydrogel was in the range of $250{\pm}17.5$ nm. The incorporation efficiency of CTEC in the nanoparticles was 74%. The cumulative amounts of CTEC released from the hydrogel containing CTEC nanoparticles in the buffers of pH7.4 and 5.5 were $86.51{\pm}3.14%$ and $35.95{\pm}2.14%$ of total CTEC loaded in the hydrogel within 72 h, respectively. Also, in the wound healing test, the CTEC nanoparticles-loaded PVA/PT hydrogel showed faster healing of the wound made in rat dorsum than the CTEC gel.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.470-477
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• 2013

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) based nano-composite pastes having a high filler content are prepared for the facile fabrication of a counter electrode (CE) of dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). A polystyrene-based functional block copolymer is prepared through a controlled "living" radical polymerization technique, affording a surface modifier for the dispersion control of MWCNT in the paste. Physical dispersion through a ball-milling method additionally confirms the importance of the dispersion control, providing DSSC with enhanced processibility and improved solar-to-electricity energy conversion efficiency (${\eta}$) values. The performances of the DSSCs are further improved through the incorporation of minor amount of platinum (Pt) nanoparticles into the MWCNT pastes. The DSSC with the Pt/MWCNT hybrid CE exhibits very high ${\eta}$ values, which is superior to that of DSSC with the standard Pt CE.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.94-99
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• 2013

Polydiacetylene (PDA) is made by photopolymerization of self-assembled diacetylene monomers. If diacetylene monomers are arranged systematically and close enough with distance of atoms, 1,4-addition polymerization will occur by the irradiation of 254 nm ultraviolet rays and then PDA will have alternated ene-yne polymer chains at the main structure. Aqueous solutions of diffused PDA is tinged with blue which shows ${\lambda}_{max}$ 640 nm. Visible color changes from blue to red occurs in response to a variety of environmental perturbations, such as temperature, pH, and ligand-receptor interactions. In this study, we synthesized cationic peptides - PCDA(10,12-pentacosadyinoic acid) liposome using a solid phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) method and prepared liposome solutions at various molar ratios using MPEG-PCDA. When mammalian cells were treated with the liposomes, high transfection efficiency and low toxicity were observed.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.1
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• pp.15-21
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• 2013

Encapsulation of a paraffin wax core as a phase change material with polystyrene shell and the its thermal characteristics caused by the encapsulation were studied. For the nanoencapsulation, the miniemulsion polymerization method was selected. The factors affecting the thermal properties of prepared nanocapsule particles of phase change material were analysed in aspect of the structure of crosslinking agents, amounts of surfactant, ratio of paraffin wax to monomer, and hydrophilicity of initiators. It was assumed that Oswald ripening plays the most important role in the changes of particle size, particle morphology, and thermal capacity of nanocapsule core. It was elucidated that the thermal capacity was also dependent on the hydrophilicity and crosslinking density of polystyrene shell components.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.507-512
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• 2013

A graphene/waterborne polyurethane (WPU) nano composite was prepared by in-situ polymerization of PU and graphene having isocyanate (iGO) group in order to improve physicochemical/electrical characteristics. The properties of the graphene/WPU nanocomposite can effectively be enhanced as compared pristine WPU; up to 57% of tensile strength and $10^2$ fold of electrical conductivity with introduction of 2 wt% graphene. In addition, mechanical/electrical properties of the graphene/WPU nanocompsite were higher than those of graphene/WPU composite prepared by a simple physical blend method. It might attribute to homogeneous dispersion of iGO in the WPU matrix via covalent bonds and hydrogen bonds between WPU and iGO from the results of morphological analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.722-729
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• 2013

In order to enhance the thermal conductivity of poly(dimethyl siloxane) (PDMS), boron nitride (BN) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were incorporated as the thermally conductive fillers. The amount of BN was increased from 0 to 100 phr (parts per hundred rubber) and the amount of CNTs was increased from 0 to 4 phr at a fixed amount of the boron nitride (100 phr). The thermal conductivity of the composites increased with an increasing concentration of BN, but the incorporation of CNTs had only a slight effect on the enhancement of thermal conductivity. Unexpectedly, the thermal degradation of the composites was accelerated by the addition of CNTs in 100 phr BN filled PDMS. Activation energy for thermal decomposition of the composites was calculated using the Horowitz-Metzger method. The curing behavior, electrical resistivity, and mechanical properties of PDMS filled with BN and CNTs were investigated.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.784-793
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• 2013

A two-step method for obtaining poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) from poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) was investigated in order to find a feasibility of imparting thermo-responsive property onto textile fiber materials. PAN was converted to poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) by hydrolysis at a first-step, and then PAA was converted to PNIPAAm at a second step via an amidation reaction of PAA with isopropylamine (IPA) in DMF medium using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) as catalysts. High content of carboxylic groups at the first step was obtained by the successive alkaline and acid hydrolysis of PAN. The degree of conversion of PAA to PNIPAAm at the second step was dependent on the amount of catalysts EDC and NHS. PNIPAAm converted from PAA through amidation reaction showed a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior when the conversion was higher than about 53%.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.802-808
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to develop an aloin-loaded wound dressing with an enhanced healing effect. The cross-linked hydrogel films were prepared with poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and carboxyl methyl cellulose (CMC) using a freeze-thawing (F-T) method. Their gel properties, release of drug, in vivo wound healing effect and histopathology were then evaluated. In the wound healing test, this aloin loaded PVA/CMC hydrogel showed faster healing of the wound made in rat dorsum than the aloin carbomer 934 gel or the control (carbomer 934 gel) due to phytochemical activity of aloin and moisture of CMC. In conclusion, the aloin-loaded wound dressing composed of 5% PVA, 5% CMC and 0.125% aloin is a potential wound dressing with enhanced wound healing effect.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.9-15
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• 2012

We prepared a series of aromatic liquid crystals (LCs) based on wholly aromatic ester units with the reactive end group methyl maleimide by means of melt condensation method, and the resulting LCs were thermally crosslinked to produce liquid crystalline thermoset (LCT) films. The synthesized LCs and LCTs were characterized with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), thermomechanical analysis (TMA), and polarizing optical microscopy (POM) with a hot stage. The glass transition temperature ($T_g$) and coefficient of thermal expansion are strongly affected by the mesogen units in their main chain structures. The $p$-substituted biphenyl LC was found to have the highest thermal property value.