Volume 18, Issue 6

The detection of biogenic amines is important due to the their correlation with spoilage and toxicity. Polyaniline (PANI) is a polymer capable of changing color from blue to green and vice versa through acid-base reactions. This study tested the potential of PANI as a sensing material for the presence of cadaverine. PANI was fabricated on nylon cloths through the redox reaction of aniline and ammonium persulfate. The PANI-coated nylon cloths were exposed to different amounts of cadaverine in a fixed reaction time of 5 min. Through digital image colorimetry, plots of the different color values vs. concentration were prepared and the curve with the highest linearity was obtained using the yellow value. Values for limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were calculated to be 0.8816 m m and 2.9386 m m, respectively. An Android application which analyzes the color values of the PANI image in relation to the amount of cadaverine was also developed.

For slowing fast solubility and increasing the period of urea’s release in soil, urea-crosslinked starch (UcS) was prepared and applied as a slow release fertilizer. The higher environmental biodegradability of UcS is a major drawback for slow release of urea yet it provides an important challenge for large scale production and application on anaerobic farm lands. Hence, in order to reduce biodegradability of UcS, impregnation of UcS with 5–20 wt% of lignin is proposed. Lignin impregnated UcS was buried for a maximum period of 28–64 days under a constructed anaerobic soil environment. Hill’s model predicted that mineralization of UcS by lignin would be reduced by 5.48%. Microbial growth on UcS was inhibited by lignin at the rate of 0.84 day −1 . The α -amylase activity was retarded in response to UcS impregnation with lignin at the rate of 810.94 μg h −1 g −1 soil. Lignin also showed improvement in half-life of UcS up to 0.51 days. This work concluded that lignin impregnation was an efficient approach for improvement of UcS through increasing resistance against natural biodegraders.

Stereocomplex polylactide (scPLA) films were prepared by blending poly(L-lactide) (PLLA) and poly(D-lactide) (PDLA) solutions before solvent evaporation. The PLLA/PDLA ratios were 80/20 and 60/40 (w/w). PDLAs with low and high molecular weights (M.W.) were used as PDLA mixtures. The scPLA films with different low/high M.W. PDLA ratios were investigated for both the 80/20 and 60/40 (w/w) scPLA film series. Stereocomplexation, heat resistance and the mechanical properties of the scPLA films were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and tensile testing, respectively. The results indicated that low M.W. PDLA can enhance the stereocomplexation and heat resistance of scPLA films while the high M.W. PDLA can improve tensile properties of scPLA films. It was concluded that the stereocomplexation, heat resistance and tensile properties of scPLA films could be controlled by adjusting the low/high M.W. PDLA ratio in PDLA fraction.

In this study, polypropylene (PP) foams were prepared with 1.0 wt% of cucurbit[6]uril (Q[6]), zinc acetate (Zn(Ac) 2 ), Zn@Q[6] (a supramolecular compound synthesized from Q[6] and Zn(Ac) 2 ), or a mixture of Zn(Ac) 2 and Q[6] (weight ratio of 1:1) through injection molding in the presence of a chemical blowing agent, azodicarbonamide. The effect of the additions on the crystallization behavior and foaming performance of PP and the mechanical characterizations of the foaming samples were determined. The results showed that the additions can change the crystallization type from homogeneous to heterogeneous, increase the crystallization rate and shrink the size but increase the density of spherulites. Among the additions, Q[6] most significantly altered the crystallization properties. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images revealed that the PP foaming performance can be improved by Zn(Ac) 2 addition at a lower temperature (175°C); however, further increasing the temperature had an undesirable effect. Q[6] exhibited the optimum foaming improvement effect on PP in a wide temperature range (175–195°C). Adding nanoparticles also enhanced the tensile properties, flexural strength and impact strength of foaming PP at low temperatures. However, with increasing temperature, the poor cell structure demonstrated undesirable effects in terms of tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength.

In this study, a hybrid of titanium dioxide, benzophenone and ethylene vinyl acetate (TiO 2 -BP-EVA) was used as a novel catalyst to accelerate photo-oxidization reaction of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film under ambient conditions. The degradation of the LDPE films (thickness of ~25 μm) containing different catalyst concentrations were successfully investigated by different techniques, such as Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and mechanical tests. The results showed that the use of catalyst in which TiO 2 -BP content (1/3 w/w) is 0.5 phr (parts per hundred resin) and EVA content is 4.5 phr in a LDPE film provided the best degradation rate. The carbonyl index of the polymer film achieved the highest value without an equilibrium stage. Besides, the carbon-carbon backbone of the polymer was completely broken down consistent with the deformation of the surface. In addition, the mechanical properties impressively dropped after 3 months’ exposure. The obtained results imply that the TiO 2 -BP-EVA compound can be considered as an efficient catalyst for the photodegradation of LDPE polymer.

In the present work, a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)-based epoxy resin was modified with the help of a liquid rubber (LR) obtained from the pyrolysis of rubber. Tensile tests on samples of rubber modified epoxy resins (REs) containing varying rubber volume fractions (RVF) were conducted to obtain their tensile properties. Fractographic analysis of fractured samples using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) revealed the presence of phase separated rubber zones characterized by microvoids, distributed uniformly in the epoxy domain. Young’s modulus and yield strength of REs were observed to drop with RVF. A three-dimensional (3D) finite element model was employed to predict the elastic properties and stress distributions in REs. Various stress distributions and their dependence on the properties of rubber were examined in detail through the model. The effect of rubber properties on bulk elastic properties of the REs were also studied. Lastly, the effective stress-strain relationship was predicted with the help of an elastic-plastic analysis. Predicted results showed coherence with experimental results.

Dissipative particle dynamics and molecular simulations were carried out to investigate the phase behaviors of glycidyl azide polymer (GAP)/hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) polymer blend in dioctyl sebacate (DOS), and mixture of DOS and bis(2,2-dinitropropyl)formal/acetal (A3), respectively. The rheology of GAP/HTPB propellant slurry plasticized by A3/DOS was studied. First, single-phase aggregations of GAP and HTPB appear slightly in A3/DOS whereas it is conspicuous in DOS, which results from the small surface tension between the GAP/HTPB plasticized by A3/DOS and the weak thermal diffusion of this blend. Furthermore, with the plasticizing ratio (p o /p l ) increasing to 1.2, the GAP/HTPB propellant slurry plasticized by A3/DOS exhibits small viscosity and yield stress, and the Newtonian-like behavior of slurry improves its manufacturability. Finally, integral GAP/HTPB-based propellant can be obtained using A3/DOS as plasticizers.

In this work, the thermal stability, rheological properties and mechanical properties of ethylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer (ETFE)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) blends were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis, rheometer and the tensile test. Thermal results indicated that blends had better thermal oxidation resistance than pure ETFE. Particularly, the initial thermal decomposition temperature ( T d 0 ) and the temperature at maximum decomposition rate ( T d max ) of PVDF/ETFE (10/90 wt%) blends were at 374.49°C and 480°C, which were 52.6°C and 34°C higher than pure ETFE. The activation energy of thermal degradation ( E d ) of ETFE was 66 kJ/mol, while the PVDF/ETFE (10/90 wt%) blends presented a higher E d , near 187 kJ/mol. Furthermore, rheological measurements demonstrated that the shear-thinning tendency of blends became stronger with increasing PVDF content. PVDF/ETFE (10/90 wt%) blends had somewhat lower mechanical properties than ETFE, which was still high enough for various applications. Blends with PVDF provided an efficient method to extend the application area of ETFE.

In this work, the P4VP was synthesized by radical polymerization. The quaternization of this polymer by octyl bromide leads to the two copolymers [poly(N-octyl-4-vinylpyridinium bromide] named P4VPC 8 Br 48.8% and P4VPC 8 Br 72%. The thermodynamic behavior associated with the potentiometric titration of the copolymers, was reported in the temperature range (293.16–333.16 K) and as a function of the concentrations (0.25×10 −4 mmol/dm 3 12.3×10 −4 mmol/dm 3 ). The free energy of dissociation ΔG diss variation versus the neutralization degree shows the negative value due to the steric and electrostatic effect of the alkyl chains. The positive values of ΔH and ΔS confirmed the spontaneity and disorder of the reaction. The critical concentration C * of the two copolymers was determined from the enthalpy ΔH 0 and entropy ΔS 0 changes. The transition in conformation of the copolymer chains was influenced by the presence of hydrophobic-hydrophilic and hydrophobic-hydrophobic interactions.

Based on the combination of the “arm-first” and “core-first” strategies, the miktoarm star-shaped copolymer PLLA 2 PCL 2 and the inverse star-block copolymer (PCL- b -PLLA) 2 - core -(PCL- b -PLLA) 2 were designed and synthesized by the combination of ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and a click reaction. The miktoarm star-shaped copolymer PLLA 2 PCL 2 was synthesized by a click reaction of an azido macroinitiator PLLA 2 (N 3 ) 2 and HC≡C-PCL. The inverse star-block copolymer (PCL- b -PLLA) 2 - core -(PCL- b -PLLA) 2 was synthesized by a click reaction of an azido macroinitiator (PCL- b -PLLA) 2 (N 3 ) 2 and HC≡C-PCL- b -PLLA. The structures of these star polymers were confirmed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and gel permeation chromatograph (GPC). The inverse star-block copolymer could be used to study the potential relationship between polymer structure and properties, which has a unique structure and good crystallization properties.

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers are very important to achieve high performance carbon nanofibers. In this work, co-polyacrylonitriles (co-PANs) with different molecular weights were synthesized by a simple free-radical polymerization. The effect of the initiator amount on the molecular weight of co-PAN was investigated. The co-PANs with different molecular weight were electrospun into aligned nanofibers by adjusting the absolute viscosity of co-PAN solution into ~1.0 Pa·s. All the co-PAN nanofibers showed smooth surfaces and homogeneous fiber diameters of ~450 nm. Tensile tests were applied to evaluate the mechanical properties of electrospun aligned co-PAN nanofibers. The results indicated that higher molecular weight led to better mechanical performance of electrospun aligned co-PAN nanofibers. When the molecular weight was 2.3×10 5 , the highest strength of 153 MPa, strain of 0.148, and toughness of 16.0 J/g were obtained. These electrospun aligned co-PAN nanofibers could be good candidates for the preparation of high performance carbon nanofibers.