Synthesis and properties of biophenol-furfural based bioresin for curing of styrene butadiene rubber

In the present work, biophenol and furfural-based resol resin was synthesized and utilized for the very first time to cure styrene butadiene rubber (SBR). The reaction was studied over a range of times, temperatures, pH, and furfural to biophenol ratios to fix the optimum conditions. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy revealed the functional groups and chemical structure of the synthesized resin, respectively. An exothermic peak for the resin curing appeared at 143°C in the differential scanning calorimetry thermogram of the resin. Then, the biophenol-furfural resin was utilized for the curing of SBR. The synthesized resin increased the tensile strength of the raw rubber from 0.20 ± 0.01 MPa to 1.22 ± 0.10 MPa at 10 phr loading, and the crosslink density was 2.56 × 10⁻⁵ mol/mL. The activation energy for curing SBR containing 10 phr resin was 97 kJ/mol. The storage modulus of the resin-cured compound was improved. The glass transition temperature of the raw SBR was also shifted from −43.8 to −42.3°C when 10 phr resin was used for the curing. Hence, for the first time, this work reported the utilization of biophenol-biosourced furfural resin to cure rubbers.     

Hydrogen economy: hope or hype?

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy -     

Application of novel pretreatment technologies for intensification of drying performance and quality attributes of food commodities: a review

Food Science and Biotechnology - Drying is an energy-intensive process that can be reduced by the application of pretreatment prior to drying to enhance mass transfer and minimize energy...     

Industrial decarbonization: A revolution ahead

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy -     

Self-Healing and -Repair of Nanomechanical Damages in Lead Halide Perovskites

Recovery from damage in materials helps extend their useful lifetime and of devices that contain them. Given that the photodamages in HaP materials and based devices are shown to recover, the question arises if this also applies to mechanical damages, especially those that can occur at the nanometer scale, relevant also in view of efforts to develop flexible HaP-based devices. Here, this question is addressed by poking HaP single crystal surfaces with an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip under both ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and variably controlled ambient water vapor pressure conditions. Sequential in situ AFM scanning allowed real-time imaging of the morphological changes at the damaged sites. Using methylammonium (MA) and cesium (Cs) variants for A-site cations in lead bromide perovskites, the experiments show that nanomechanical damages on methylammonium lead bromide (MAPbBr₃) crystals heal an order of magnitude faster than Cs-based ones in UHV. However, surprisingly, under ≥40% RH conditions, cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr₃) shows MAPbBr₃-like fast healing kinetics. Direct evidence for ion solvation on CsPbBr₃ is presented, leading to the formation of a surface hydration layer. The results imply that moisture improves the ionic mobility of degradation components and leads to water-assisted improved healing, i.e., repair of nanomechanical damages in the HaPs.