The present invention relates to a method of producing a supramolecular hydrogel which is formed by the mixing and gelation of at least two dispersions of different types of synthetic hydrogelators, said hydrogelators being formed of synthetic building blocks comprising one or more hydrogen bonding units, wherein each bonding unit comprises a ureido-pyrimidinone subunit and each bonding unit is conjugated with a hydrophilic polymer unit, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first dispersion of one type of hydrogelators, b) mixing the first dispersion with a second dispersion of another type of hydrogelators, and c) allowing the dispersions to form the hydrogel, wherein the types of hydrogelators are selected from multifunctional hydrogelators and monofunctional hydrogelators, wherein the steps of the method are conducted under biocompatible conditions, and wherein the hydrophilic polymer unit of the hydrogelators comprised in the first dispersion has a minimal hydrophilicity such that the first dispersion does not form a hydrogel under the biocompatible conditions applied.

A polyamide-based resin expanded bead comprising a foam layer formed by expanding a polyamide-based resin, wherein on a first DSC curve and a second DSC curve, the first DSC curve has a melting peak (intrinsic peak) having a peak top temperature on a low temperature side equal to or lower than a peak top temperature of a melting peak of the second DSC curve and a melting peak (high temperature peak) having a peak top temperature on a high temperature side exceeding the peak top temperature of the second DSC curve, and, the peak top temperature of the melting peak of the second DSC curve is 180° C. or higher and 280° C. or lower, and the polyamide-based resin expanded bead has an apparent density of 10 to 300 kg/m.sup.3 and a closed cell ratio of 85% or more.

A method for producing porous particles of a cross-linked polymer, and porous particles that can be produced according to the method are disclosed. The porous particles of a crosslinked hydroxy- or amino-group-containing polymer have a relatively low swelling factor. A composite material contains the porous particles dispersed in a continuous aqueous phase. The porous particles, or the composite material, are used for purifying organic molecules and for bonding metals from solutions. A filter cartridge contains the porous particles of a cross-linked polymer or the composite material.

An object of the present invention is to provide a polymer compound in which, by blending with a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystalline compound, alignment of the liquid crystalline compound in a phase difference layer to be obtained increases; and a liquid crystal composition, a phase difference layer, an optical film, a polarizing plate, and an image display device using the same. The polymer compound of the present invention is a polymer compound including a repeating unit represented by Formula (I), a repeating unit represented by Formula (II), a repeating unit represented by Formula (III), and a repeating unit represented by Formula (IV).

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[Problem] To provide a gel which can be produced in a short time, has controlled properties such as modulus and expansion pressure, and has a low polymer concentration. [Solution] A process for producing a polymer gel in which gel-precursor clusters have been crosslinked with one another to form a three-dimensional network structure, characterized by comprising a) a step in which monomer or polymer units that are present in a concentration less than a critical gelation concentration are crosslinked to form the gel-precursor clusters, the gel-precursor clusters having a storage modulus G and a loss modulus G which satisfy the relationship G<G, and b) a step in which the gel-precursor clusters are crosslinked with one another by a crosslinking agent to obtain a gel having a three-dimensional network structure.

A structured organic film (SOF) is disclosed. The structured organic film includes a plurality of segments, a plurality of linkers, and a plurality of capping segments. The structured organic film also includes a first surface of the SOF. The film also includes a parallel second surface of the SOF connected to the first surface by a thickness of the SOF, where a segment to capping segment ratio is greater at the first surface as compared to the parallel second surface. A membrane including a free-standing film comprised of a structured organic film is also disclosed.

A mesoporous organic material which makes it possible to extract, using the liquid-solid extraction technique, the uranium(VI) contained in an aqueous medium including phosphoric acid, with high efficiency and high selectivity for the iron that the medium can likewise contain. The material is likely to be obtained by cross-linking polymerisation of a monomer of formula (I) below, wherein: R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 are, independently from one another, H, a C.sub.1 to C.sub.12 saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched hydrocarbon group, or a polymerisable group, with the condition that at least one of R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.3 is a polymerisable group; R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 are, independently from one another, H or a C.sub.1 to C.sub.8 saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched hydrocarbon group; the cross-linking polymerisation being carried out in the presence of a cross-linking agent and one or more pore-forming agents.

In an example, a process for bonding a microcapsule having an encapsulating payload to a polymeric material. The process includes applying a microcapsule (having the encapsulated payload) that includes a dienophile functional group to a polymeric material that includes a diene functional group. The process further includes bonding the microcapsule having the encapsulated payload to the polymeric material via a chemical reaction of the dienophile functional group with the diene functional group.

In an example, a polymeric material includes a fibrous substrate, a cyclic compound chemically bonded to the fibrous substrate, and a microcapsule. The microcapsule has an encapsulated payload and is reversibly bonded to the fibrous substrate via the cyclic compound.

A molded body includes a non-foamed design layer, a foamed intermediate layer, and a non-foamed back layer, laminated in this order and formed of a first, second, and third resin compositions, respectively. The first, second, and third resin compositions contain a polyolefin as a main component. The first resin composition is an impact-resistant resin composition including a polyolefin, a polyamide, and a polyolefin-based modified elastomer having a reactive group reactive with the polyamide. A method of producing the molded body includes disposing a first support layer to serve as the design layer and a third support layer to serve as the back layer so as to be spaced apart from and face each other, interposing the second resin composition provided with foamability in a gap between the first and third support layers, and forming the intermediate layer by expanding the gap while causing the second resin composition to foam.