Photoluminescent polymer dots (PDs) were prepared by a moderate hydrothermal treatment of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). A single excited state was established in the PL mechanism by ultrafast spectroscopy. Moreover, the applied method be used to prepare fluorescent polymer dots from other non-conjugated polymers, and shows general universality.

Electrospun poly (vinyl alcohol) [PVA] nanowebs functionalized with a commercially available microbiocidal solution ReputexTM 20 were prepared. The active ingredient of ReputexTM 20 is polyhexamethylene biguanides, a safe antiseptic. Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy confirmed the functionalization of PVA nanowebs. Functionalized nanowebs were characterized by evaluating their antimicrobi...

Chitosan is a cheap resource, which is widely used in biomedical applications due to its biocompatible and antibacterial properties. In this study, composite nanofibrous membranes of chitosan (CS) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) loaded with antibiotics at different ratios were successfully fabricated by electrospinning. The composite nanofibers were subjected to further analysis by scanning elect...

Biodegradable polyacrylates were produced by a series of novel copolymerization and/or crosslinking techniques using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) moieties modified by the incorporation of olefinic structures. PVA was modified by a tosylation and/or detosylation reaction. The functionalized PVA was copolymerized and/or crosslinked with acrylic acid or its partially neutralized form to give crosslin...

We report on the preparation of both porous and non-porous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hydrogels that can be used as carriers to release proteins. Non-porous gels were prepared by freezing and thawing of aqueous PVA solutions, while porous gels were formed by adding porosigens such as NaCl or ammonium carbamate into aqueous PVA solutions. Bovine serum albumin, a model protein, was loaded into non...

Random-type anion-exchange membranes (AEMs) have been prepared by blending poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and the random copolymer-type polycation, poly(vinyl alcohol-co-methacryloyl aminopropyl trimethyl ammonium chloride) at various molar percentages of anion-exchange groups to vinyl alcohol groups, Cpc, and by cross-linking the PVA chains with glutaraldehyde (GA) solution at various GA concentrat...

The utility of polymer-metal nanocomposite thin films with in situ generated silver nanoparticles as substrates for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) is demonstrated. Thin films of poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(vinyl butyral-co-vinyl alcohol-co-vinyl acetate) containing Ag nanoparticles generated in situ through thermal annealing and photoirradiation, respectively (Ag-PVA and Ag-PVVV), ar...

Poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels have a long and successful history of applications in biomedicine. Historically, these matrices were developed to be nondegradable-limiting their utility to applications as permanent implants. For tissue engineering and drug delivery, herein we develop spontaneously eroding physical hydrogels based on PVA. We characterize in detail a mild, noncryogenic method of pr...

We describe a transparent and flexible field-effect transistor (FET) made from graphene and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) hybrid system. Graphene and vertically aligned SWNTs simultaneously grown by alcohol catalytic chemical vapor deposition (ACCVD) were employed as channel and source-drain electrode, respectively. Gate electrode was also made of SWNTs separated with a thin poly(vinyl ...

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) is a water-soluble synthetic polymer with excellent film-forming, emulsifying, and adhesive properties. The aim of this study is to design a simple process for PVA cross-linking with sodium trimetaphosphate to form membrane devices suitable for biomedical applications. This procedure requires no organic solvent, nor melting process to obtain films with high mechanical ...