Eumelanin for nature‐inspired UV‐absorption enhancement of plastics

In the human body, the black‐brown biopigment eumelanin blocks harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation. In the plastics industry, additives are often added to polymers to increase their UV‐absorption properties. We herein report an assessment of the biopigment eumelanin as a nature‐inspired additive for plastics to enhance their UV absorption. Since eumelanin is produced by natural sources and is nontoxic, it is an interesting candidate in the field of sustainable plastic additives. In this work, the eumelanin‐containing films of commercial ethylene–vinyl acetate copolymer, a plastic used for packaging applications, were obtained by melt compounding and compression molding. The biopigment dispersion in the films was improved by means of the melanin free acid treatment. It was observed that eumelanin amounts as low as 0.8 wt% caused an increase of the UV absorption, up to one order of magnitude in the UVA range. We also evaluated the effect of eumelanin on the thermal stability and photostability of the films: the biopigment proved to be double‐edged, working both as UV‐absorption enhancer and photo‐prooxidant, as thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy revealed. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Influence of a long‐side‐chain‐containing reactive diluent on the structure and mechanical properties of UV‐cured films

The dimethacrylate reactive diluent (HEMA‐DDSA), a long‐side‐chain‐containing reactive diluent, was prepared by reacting 2‐dodecen‐1‐ylsuccinic anhydride with two equivalents of hydroxyethyl methacrylate. Its structure was characterized by IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. This new diluent was added into the formulation of UV‐curable epoxy acrylate networks. Results show that the formulation with the addition of HEMA‐DDSA has massively reduced viscosity and shows several attractive properties of epoxy acrylate oligomers. The mechanical resistance of the films is dramatically enhanced with the incorporation of long alkyl groups derived from HEMA‐DDSA, the plastic deformation zone expands, thus decreasing the inner stress of the polymer structure. Moreover, the cured coatings have a higher glass transition temperature as the percentage of HEMA‐DDSA is increased up to 5 wt%. Due to the excellent integrated performance of the polymeric films, HEMA‐DDSA proved to be an effective reactive diluent, which is of potential interest for applications in high performance materials. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Growth and characterization of 4-methyl benzene sulfonamide single crystals

Single crystals of 4-methyl benzene sulfonamide (4MBS) were successfully grown from aqueous solution by low temperature solution growth technique. The grown crystal was characterized by single crystal XRD and powder XRD methods to obtain the lattice parameters and the diffraction planes of the crystal. UV–vis–NIR absorption spectrum was used to measure the range of optical transmittance and optical band gap energy. The optical transmission range was measured as 250–1200 nm. FTIR spectral studies were carried out to identify the presence of functional groups in the grown crystal. The thermal behavior of the crystal was investigated from thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) study. The absence of SHG was noticed by Kurtz and Perry powder technique. The third order NLO behavior of the material was confirmed by measuring the nonlinear optical properties using Z-scan technique and it was found that the crystal is capable of exhibiting saturation absorption and self-defocusing performance.     

Evaluation of intermodel agreement using ISO 13655 M0, M1, and M2 measurement modes in commercial spectrophotometers

Spectrophotometers are routinely used for color measurement and color management in many commercial printing and proofing workflows. In the case of media containing optical brightening agents, ultraviolet (UV)‐induced fluorescence has led to poor levels of agreement between models from different manufacturers, and different models from the same manufacturer. A relevant standard, ISO 13655, has been revised and now clearly defines measurement modes and conditions for the UV component in spectrophotometers. ISO 13655:2009—Graphic Technology—Spectral Measurement and Colorimetric Computation for Graphic Arts Images now defines four measurement modes: M0, M1, M2, and M3. The intermodel difference between 10 commercially available spectrophotometers is evaluated for different substrate types in measurement modes (M0, M1, and M2) as allowed by each instrument. In particular, the authors compare devices using M0 legacy mode versus newer instruments that are compliant with the new M1 and M2 (UV‐included and UV‐excluded) measurement modes. A finding with significant practical applications is that there is greatly improved intermodel agreement between the new generation of ISO 13655‐compliant instruments in M1 (D50) mode when compared with the previous generation of hand‐held spectrophotometers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 42, 27–37, 2017     

Synthesis and characterization of ceria quantum dots using effective surfactants

The stable and crystalline phase of different surfactants (CTAB, PEG and SDS) capped CeO₂ nanoparticles were directly synthesized by chemical precipitation method at room temperature. The effects of surfactants on the structural and optical properties of nanoparticles are characterized. The optical properties of the nanoparticles were investigated by UV–visible and PL spectroscopy. The effects of surfactants with observed band shifts are due to quantum confinement effect. The optical band gap values are determined by simple energy wave equation and Tauc plot method. The observed particle sizes are very closer to the Bohr exitonic radius. The emission bands such as violet, blue, green and orange are observed in PL spectra. The PL integrated intensity ratio of the UV emission to the deep-level green emission (I_UV/I_DLE) for CTAB, PEG and SDS capped CeO₂ nanoparticles are observed. The XRD measurement shows that CeO₂ has cubic fluorite structure having the particle size 6–10 nm. The lattice strains were detected by Williamson–Hall plot method. The surface morphology of the nanoparticles is studied by SEM and FESEM analysis. TEM images show that the particles are nearly spherical in shape with diameter of 5–10 nm. Using FTIR spectra, the functional groups of the ceria are identified.     

PET包装材料中紫外吸收剂迁移研究进展

PET包装材料广泛应用于食品包装中,为了提高对应的抗光氧化能力,会添加一定量的紫外吸收剂于其中,而紫外吸收剂在长期贮存过程中存在迁移溶出隐患。对PET包装材料中紫外吸收剂的种类、迁移机制及国内外迁移研究进展进行综述,并进行展望。     

UV‐cured epoxy/graphene nanocomposite films: preparation,structure and electric heating performance

UV‐cured epoxy/graphene nanocomposite films with ca 100 µm thickness were manufactured by a facile cationic photopolymerization of 3,4‐epoxycyclohexylmethyl‐3′,4′‐epoxycyclohexane carboxylate mixtures including graphene sheets of 0.3 ? 10.0 wt%, which was initiated by triarylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate salts. The microstructure and thermal and electrical properties of the UV‐cured epoxy/graphene nanocomposite films were investigated as a function of the graphene content. X‐ray diffraction patterns and TEM images confirm that graphene sheets are well dispersed in the UV‐cured epoxy resin matrix even with a high graphene content of 10.0 wt%. The electrical resistance of the nanocomposite films decreased dramatically from ca 10¹² Ω to ca 10² Ω with increasing graphene content, especially at a percolation threshold of 2.0 ? 3.0 wt%. Accordingly, the UV‐cured nanocomposite films including 5.0 ? 10.0 wt% graphene showed excellent electric heating performance in terms of temperature response as well as electric power efficiency at a given applied voltage. For a nanocomposite film with 10.0 wt% graphene, the maximum temperature of ca 138 °C was attained at an applied voltage of 15 V and a high electric power efficiency of ca 3.0 ± 0.3 mW °C^?1 was achieved. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry