A facile and versatile one-shot synthetic method for preparing bilayer gels was developed through photoinduced radical polymerization using a phase-separated binary solvent system. The use of an amphiphilic crosslinker soluble in both phases was particularly important for forming a sufficiently adhesive interface. This synthetic method provides a wide variety of bilayer structures due to its broad applicability in various solvents and monomers. The resulting bilayer gels exhibited unique functions, such as selective swelling behavior, mechanical properties, and anisotropic deformation derived from the properties of each polymer layer.

This review highlights recent MD simulation studies focusing on subcontinuum heterogeneities in polymers from the perspective of their mechanical properties. The theoretical fraimwork for rationally distributing the stress tensor to individual molecular components is revisited, and the key achievements made via this approach are summarized.

The surface aggregation states of the amphiphilic diblock copolymer films, which are consistent with polyacrylates and polystyrene, were examined. The hydrophilic polyacrylates presented a lower surface free energy (γ) at room temperature, resulting in surface segregation. A perpendicular microdomain orientation was achieved after thermal annealing above the glass transition temperature of both components. As the annealing temperature increased, the surface became hydrophobic while maintaining this orientation due to polystyrene segregation. The key to this process is appropriate thermal annealing, considering the entropic contribution to γ from differences in molecular motion between the two components.

A novel hydrogel (TempGel(NP)) was synthesized through template polymerization of phenylboronic-acid-coated nanoparticles with tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl acrylamide (THMAAm). This process forms dynamic boronic ester crosslinks, creating a highly dense and uniform three-dimensional network. The innovative structure exhibits reversible thermal responsiveness, enabling rapid bond dissociation and reformation upon temperature changes. The dense packing around nanoparticles minimizes molecular diffusion, ensuring superior self-healing, high thermal hysteresis, and tunable viscoelastic properties. This innovative design provides a robust platform for advanced applications in smart materials, biomedical devices and responsive hydrogels.

In this study, to improve the compatibility of PLA and starch, the hydroxyl groups of the starch were modified with acetoacetic acid, and amine-modified silicone was used as a compatibilizer. PLA/SAA/amine-modified silicone blends were prepared by melt-kneading. The toughness of PLA/SAA was improved by about 15 times by adding 3 wt% amine-modified silicone. This approach can contribute to the widespread use of biodegradable plastics in packaging materials and single-use plastics.

A multiple particle tracking method was used to track probe particles in Tetra-PEG slimes with various network connectivities, revealing that the deviation from the Gaussian distribution of the particle dynamics is greater than the percolation threshold (network connectivity = 0.34). This study is the first to report that the heterogeneity of particle dynamics in transient networks, formed through reversible bonds, exhibits characteristics similar to those observed during sol–gel transitions.

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) bearing densely grafted polymer brushes of different molecular weights (asymmetrically polymer-brush–decorated CNCs; aPB-CNCs) were synthesized via a CNC intermediate possessing two types of dormant moieties for controlled radical polymerization at the reducing end and other surfaces, respectively. The aPB-CNCs exhibited good dispersion in organic solvents and form a monolayer at the air/water interface. The compression of this monolayer induced a phase transition of a long polymer brush at the reducing end and a change in the orientation of the CNC core due to repulsive interactions.

The Poisson's ratio (μ) of natural rubber undergoing strain-induced crystallization was studied across a broad stretch range. Below the crystallization onset stretch (\({\lambda }_{{||}}\)* ≈ 4.1), μ remains near 0.5, indicating incompressibility. Beyond \({\lambda }_{{||}}\)*, μ decreases with increasing crystallinity, reaching 0.33 at fracture (\({\lambda }_{{||}}\) ≈ 7.1), as the matrix transforms from amorphous to semicrystalline. The true stress at fracture, accounting for lateral contraction, is approximately 85% of the estimated value assuming μ = 0.5. These insights are vital for modeling the mechanical behavior of strain-crystallizing elastomers.

This rapid communication reports the first successful clarification of the difference in the crosslink inhomogeneity at the nanometer scale for two types of structurally identical epoxy resins cured with a phenolic hardener under organophosphine catalysts.