Surface plasmon resonance-induced Ag-BaTiO3 composites for catalytic performance

Ferroelectric BaTiO₃ was combined with Ag nanoparticles for piezocatalytic and photocatalytic viewpoints. Microstructural characterization (X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy images) revealed that the Ag was successfully bounded with BaTiO₃. X-ray photoelectron spectrum also confirmed the presence of Ag. Further, its performance was examined for dye degradation under visible light (for photocatalysis) and ultrasonication (for piezocatalysis). In both the catalysis processes, there was a significant improvement in Ag-loaded BaTiO₃ sample-based catalytic reactions. Catalytic performance was evaluated for multiple cycles and was found consistent. Scavenger tests were also performed to understand catalytic reactions.     

Effect of zirconia content and particle size on the properties of 3D-printed alumina-based ceramic cores

Alumina-based ceramic cores are used to manufacture the internal structures of hollow alloy blades, requiring both high precision and moderate properties. In this work, zirconia is regarded as a promoter to improve the mechanical properties of sintered ceramic. The effect of zirconia content and particle size on the microstructure and mechanical properties of ceramics was evaluated. The results indicate that the flexural strength of sintered ceramics reached the maximum of 14.5 ± 0.5 MPa when 20 wt% micron-sized (10 μm) zirconia (agglomerate size, consistent with the alumina particle size) was added, and 26.5±2.5 MPa when 15 wt% 0.3 μm zirconia was added. Zirconia with submicron-sized (0.3 μm) particles effectively filled the pores between alumina particles, thus leading to the maximum flexural strength with a relatively low content. The corresponding sintered ceramics had a bulk density of 2.0 g/cm³ and open porosity of 59.6%.     

Electro-reduction of Cu2O to Cu in urea/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride

Journal of Applied Electrochemistry - Urea/1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (urea-EMIC) was developed to electrodeposit Cu from Cu2O at room temperature. Density, viscosity and conductivity of...     

Investigation of packaging adhesive properties by molecular dynamics and experiments

Adhesive polymer is a common and important material used for packaging of microelectronics and microsystem by attaching dies onto packaging shell, and its mechanical property plays a vital role in isolating dies from the thermal stress of substrate. Therefore, it is extremely significant to evaluate the polymer property in a specific packaging process. The molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is conducted in this article to investigate the material properties of the cross-linked epoxy resin formed by epoxy resin component diglycidyl ether bisphenol A (DGEBA) and curing agent 1,6-Diaminohexane. The polymer network with conversion up to 87.5% is successfully generated and simulated by constant pressure-constant temperature ensemble (NPT) and canonical ensemble (NVT) at different temperatures of curing process. Glass transition temperature (T_g) and Young's modulus are extracted and the predicted material properties are in great agreement with the experimental data. The conclusion provides a guideline to design the special curing process for different adhesive requirements.     

Self-assembly of telechelic polymers bearing adamantane groups via host-guest inclusion complexes with cyclodextrin polymer

Self-assembly and supramolecular inclusion complexations between telechelic polymers bearing one or double adamantane groups and linear poly(β-cyclodextrin) (P(β-CD)) were investigated in water. An adamantane (Ada) attached to poly (acrylic acid) (PAA) was prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization using s-1-dodecyl-s″ -(α,α′-dimethyl-α″-acetic acid) trithio-carbonate functionalized Ada with tert-butyl acrylate, followed by functional modification. Additionally, two Ada groups capped triblock copolymer F127 were obtained via an esterification reaction. The dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscope and ¹H 2D NOSEY NMR spectroscopy were conducted to characterize the self-assembly behaviors. With the inclusion complexation of Ada/CD in 1:1 M ratio in water, the spherical micelles were enlarged at 25°C than that of the adamantyl polymer precursors. Due to the PPO segment of Ada-F127-Ada, the micelles aggregation showed temperature dependence from 4 to 37°C for precursor and corresponding inclusion complexation; while in Ada-PAA/P(β-CD) system, the hydrodynamic diameters decreased with pH decreasing.     

Prestructured MXene fillers with uniform channels to enhance CO2 selective permeation in mixed matrix membranes

The packing pattern of two-dimensional (2D) sheet-like fillers in membranes is relatively random, leading to the unfavorable permeability from tortuous diffusion pathway. A new strategy that using prestructured materials with uniform channels as fillers was proposed. In this work, Ti₃AlC₂ is etched to prepare multilayered MXene (m-MXene), the channels aggregate as a whole unit, ensure the impossibility of ineffective packing compared with traditional individual sheets, largely facilitating the selective permeation. Then, the m-MXene/Poly (amide-6-b-ethylene oxide) (Pebax) MMMs are synthesized. SEM images demonstrate the accordion shaped structure of filler, which is the multi-channels laminates. Furthermore, the results of gas permeation test exhibit enhanced performance of m-MXene/Pebax MMMs. MMM with 0.5 wt.% m-MXene behaved best, CO₂ permeability of 86.22 Barrer as well as CO₂/N₂ selectivity of 104.85, transcending the Robeson upper bound (2008). Having distinct enhancement for CO₂ separation, the m-MXene/Pebax MMMs in this work offer prospective practical applications.     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(hexamethylene terephthalate/hexamethylene oxamide) alternating copolyamide (alt-PA6T/62)

As a representative polyoxamide, poly(hexamethylene oxamide) (PA62) has good comprehensive performance. However, the high T_m (330°C) creates an obstacle for processing. To improve the processability of PA62, poly(hexamethylene terephthalate/hexamethylene oxamide) alternating copolyamide (alt-PA6T/62) was synthesized by hexamethylene diamine-terminated 6T6-diamine and dibutyl oxalate via solution/solid state polycondensation. Random copolyamide (ran-PA6T/62) was also synthesized for comparison. The structure and properties of the copolymer were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and the saturated water absorption test. The NMR results confirm the alternating structure of alt-PA6T/62. The DSC and TGA results demonstrate that the novel alternating copolyamide alt-PA6T/62 (T_m = 321°C, T₅ = 420°C) exhibited better thermal properties than those of ran-PA6T/62 (T_m = 294°C, T₅ = 412°C). The saturated water absorption of alt-PA6T/62 was found to be 3.2 wt%. These results revealed that the novel alt-PA6T/62 had an alternating sequence distribution, showed a high melting point as well as good processability and thermal stability, and possessed low saturated water absorption and excellent dimensional stability.     

Hierarchically porous N-doped carbon nanofibers derived from ZIF-8/PAN composites for benzene adsorption

Coupling with electrospinning technique, metal–organic-frameworks (MOFs)-derived porous carbon fibers exhibit a great potential application in the adsorption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) because of their huge surface area, high porosity, as well as sufficient heteroatom-doped active sites. In this work, the hierarchically porous N-doped carbon nanofibers are obtained after the pyrolysis of zeolite imidazole framework-8 and polyacrylonitrile (ZIF-8/PAN) composite fibers synthesized by electrospinning method. The N-doped carbon nanofibers fabricated in N₂ atmosphere (N-CF-N₂) present an enhanced adsorption capacity of 694 mg/g for benzene because of the synergistic effect of the hierarchically porous structure and the abundant N-species-containing active sites. It is also interesting that the N-doped hierarchical carbon nanofibers fabricated in Ar atmosphere (N-CF-Ar) exhibit a low benzene adsorption as compared with the N-CF-N₂, which can be attributed to the porous structure damage caused by the bombardment of heavy Ar atoms on the pore shells during the pyrolysis. These results not only show a promising application of the as-fabricated N-CF-N₂ in adsorption of VOCs for air purification due to its merit of cost-efficient, large-scale production, and excellent adsorption capacity, but also expand the potential of electrospinning technology and composite fibers in volatile organic gas adsorption.     

Preparation and properties of styrene ethylene butylene styrene / polypropylene thermoplastic elastomer powder for selective laser sintering 3D printing

As one of the most important thermoplastic elastomer materials, the application of styrene ethylene butylene styrene (SEBS) in selective laser sintering (SLS) has not been reported. In this study, SEBS and polypropylene (PP) are blended and then pulverized at low temperatures. We find that SEBS with high molecular weight and styrene segment content is difficult to melt and flow under laser irradiation, which is not suitable for SLS 3D printing. SEBS with low molecular weight can be printed, and its tensile properties can reach 2.1Mpa and 134% elongation at break. We test the enhanced absorption effect of two different infrared absorbers and find that graphene (GE) can enhance absorption mainly rely on its special structure to increase the optical path of the laser. The absorption enhancement effect of each enhancer rises first and then decreases. 0.4‰ addition of GE can bring 22.5% enhancement. With the enhancement of GE, we get a product of 2.8 MPa tensile strength and 176% elongation at break.     

Sustainability-guided life-cycle design and assessment for bio-based composite foams: Integrate flame retardancy/lightweight in usage and energy utilization after service

Sustainable development strategy has aroused a great interest in biomass resources as alternative raw materials. A kind of biomass-derived poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), has been developed as porous foams to reduce resource exhaustion and meet lightweight demands. For fire-safety in-service, graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized by 9,10-dihydro-9-oxa-10-phosphaphenanthrene-10-oxide (DOPO) to combine flame-retardant elements and heat-barrier function. Hence, a very low loading level of P-containing GO as only 5 wt% could reduce peak heat release rate (pHRR) and total heat release (THR) of PBS-based foams by 58.5% and 22.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, N-/P-doped mesoporous char with a specific surface area of 136 m²/g, which derived from combustion of flame-retardant foaming PBS, contributes to a potential of energy storage applications in the capacitor or the anode of Li-ion battery with long-term stability. Overall, the sustainability of bio-based polyester could integrate lightweight of foaming, and be extended to utilization after use via facile combustion inspired by flame-retardancy design.