TY - GEN A1 - Kruse, Moritz A1 - Balk, Maria A1 - Neffe, Axel T. A1 - Ben Khalifa, Noomane T1 - Processing of reactive acrylic thermoplastic resin at elevated temperatures for rapid composite and fiber metal laminate manufacturing T2 - Journal of Thermoplastic Composite Materials N2 - Thermoplastic polymers are increasingly being used as matrix materials for composites because they offer the advantage of recyclability and joinability over thermoset matrix systems. The polymerization kinetics and gas formation of different precursor mixtures of the liquid acrylic matrix system Elium® were investigated with different initiator contents and at different temperatures for accelerated processing of composites and fiber metal laminates. The mechanical and thermal properties of the resulting polymers showed no significant difference between the investigated parameters. However, the polymerization time was successfully reduced to under 15 minutes with higher temperatures and initiator contents in laminates with 1 mm thickness. In bulk polymerization and thicker laminates, the right parameters must be chosen to balance polymerization time and matrix heating to avoid gas formation leading to voids in the matrix. A combination of 75 wt% Elium® 130 and 25 wt% Elium® 190 with 1.25 wt% peroxide initiator at 50 °C was found to be optimal for reducing gas formation while simultaneously accelerating the polymerization reaction in 3-5 mm thick layers. KW - Polymethylmethacrylate KW - Polymerization kinetics KW - Thermoplastic composites KW - Elium KW - Fiber metal laminates Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1177/08927057251314411 SN - 0892-7057 VL - 2025 IS - 0 (0) SP - 1 EP - 19 PB - SAGE Publications ER - TY - GEN A1 - Mandlule, Armando A1 - Liu, Yue A1 - Schwanz, Susanne A1 - Pieper, Yvonne A1 - Scharf, Heike A1 - Iskhakova, Kamila A1 - Conceição, Andre L. C. A1 - Wieland, D. C. Florian A1 - Zeller-Plumhoff, Berit A1 - Toma, Francesca M. A1 - Neffe, Axel T. T1 - Correlative characterization of stereocomplex formation in blends of aliphatic polyester P(PCLₘ-b-PLLAₙ) multiblock-copolymers and PDLA T2 - Materials advances N2 - In phase-separating multiblock copolymers it is a challenge to quantify the relationship between molecular structure and functional properties, yet this quantification is crucial for processing and applications. Here, we describe the molecular structure and phase behavior-properties relationships for a modular system of poly[(e-caprolactone)-b-poly(L-lactide)] multiblock copolymers with well-defined long/short block lengths and their blends with poly(D-lactide) (PDLA) of varying lengths. The formation of crystallite types and sizes as well as absolute and relative crystallinities of PCL, PLA homocrystallites (HC), and PLA stereocrystallites (SC) were studied by DSC and WAXS, and visualized by TEM, POM, and AFM. We reveal that SC formation occurs in blends containing a ratio between 1 : 1 and 1 : 4 ratio of PDLA and PLLA. In systems with much longer PCL than PLLA sequence length (113 : 18), SC formation is inhibited. Blend crystallinity was highest for a medium PDLA length. SC formation is preferred over HC formation, and SCs act as nucleation points for PCL crystallization. In our work the segment length had a trend to correlate with crystallite sizes. Tensile strength (from 0.5 to 8 MPa) and elongation at break (from 10% to >750% at room temperature) could be increased simultaneously by allowing SC formation, which in the studied blends correlated with low overall crystallinity. Our study shows strategic polymer synthesis and blending for the precise control of stereocomplex formation and fine-tuning in high-performance PLA-based materials. These findings support the knowledge-based choice of blend composition and segment length to tailor versatile materials with tunable mechanical and thermal properties. KW - Stereocomplex KW - Polymer blend KW - Phase structure KW - Crystallization Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ma00886g SN - 2633-5409 SP - 1 EP - 26 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) CY - Cambridge ER - TY - GEN A1 - Racheva, Miroslava A1 - Basalo Lourido, Javier A1 - Gurdal, Enise Ece A1 - Herbst, Martin A1 - Bayar, Seyhmus A1 - Radzik, Daniela A1 - Bähr, Elen A1 - Zwies, Constanze A1 - Neffe, Axel T. A1 - Pietzsch, Markus A1 - Lendlein, Andreas A1 - Wischke, Christian T1 - Tyrosinase cross-linked PEG hydrogels with DAT and DATT as artificial substrates : design, structure, and functions T2 - Biomacromolecules N2 - Enzymes such as oxidases are sustainable tools for hydrogel synthesis, but complex competing reactions have limited the mechanistic understanding and biomedical applications of these materials. Guided by molecular docking and MM-GBSA calculations, we identified two artificial substrates, desaminotyrosine (DAT) and desaminotyrosyltyrosine (DATT), that were experimentally more efficiently converted by mushroom tyrosinase (mTyr) than the natural substrate tyrosine. These substrates were used to synthesize hydrogels from DAT/DATT-functionalized star-shaped oligoethylene glycol (sOEG). Model reactions elucidated the chemical nature and functionality of the hydrogel netpoints. Material properties were systematically investigated depending on sOEG molecular weight (5, 10, 20 kDa), substrate type, and mTyr concentration. Functional mesh sizes and controlled release functions were investigated with fluorescent dextrans (4–500 kDa) and heparin. Cell culture studies with L929 fibroblasts and THP-1 monocytes suggested inertness of the material. These findings provide fundamental insight into mTyr-catalyzed hydrogel formation and support further exploration for in situ hydrogel synthesis. KW - Hydrogel KW - Enzymatic synthesis KW - Biomaterial Y1 - 2026 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.biomac.5c01929 SN - 1525-7797 VL - 27 IS - 2 SP - 1317 EP - 1336 PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) CY - Washington, DC ER - TY - GEN A1 - Balk, Maria A1 - Schroeter, Michael A1 - da Conceição, Eduardo A1 - Schneider, Nicole A1 - Heuchel, Matthias A1 - Pieper, Yvonne A1 - Schwanz, Susanne A1 - Khani, Navid A1 - Alkhamis, Hanin A1 - Polak-Kraśna, Katarzyna A1 - Neffe, Axel T. A1 - Toma, Francesca M. T1 - Room-temperature, aqueous-based 3D printing of fully recyclable wood-like Inks from upcycled lignin T2 - ACS sustainable chemistry & engineering N2 - Despite growing interest in sustainable additive manufacturing, most 3D printing inks rely on fossil-based polymers, require postprocessing, or lack recyclability. Here, we report a fully recyclable, water-based ink composed of 70 wt % lignosulfonate, an abundant industrial byproduct, formulated for high-resolution 3D printing via direct ink writing at room temperature. This ink eliminates the need for chemical cross-linkers, organic solvents, or energy-intensive postcuring. Its tailored rheology, governed by reversible hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, ensures excellent shape fidelity and print stability. Mechanical properties are tunable via glycerol content, and shape stability of up to 200 °C can be achieved. The material is fully recyclable by simple rehydration without a loss in performance. This sustainable and scalable formulation bridges biomass valorization, functional prototyping, and circular manufacturing on a unified platform. KW - Lignin KW - Upcycling KW - Biomass waste KW - 3D printing KW - Prototyping KW - Recycling Y1 - 2026 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.5c07974 SN - 2168-0485 SP - A EP - L PB - American Chemical Society (ACS) CY - Washington, DC ER -