Characterization and CO2 sorption properties of poly[methacryloxypropylheptacyclopentyl‐T8‐silsesquioxane‐ co‐3‐methacryloxypropyltris(trimethylsiloxy)silane]

Poly[methacryloxypropylheptacyclopentyl‐T8‐silsesquioxane (MAPOSS)‐co‐3‐methacryloxypropyltris(trimethylsiloxy)silane (SiMA)] was synthesized through free radical polymerization. The physical and carbon dioxide (CO₂) sorption properties of the copolymer membranes were investigated in terms of the MAPOSS content. As the MAPOSS content increases, the membrane density increased, suggesting a decrease in the fractional free volume. In addition, the thermal stability was improved with increasing the MAPOSS content. These are because of the polyhedraloligomericilsesquioxane (POSS) units that restrict the high mobility of poly(SiMA) segments. The glass transition temperature, T_g of the copolymers was single T_g based on the differential scanning calorimetry, suggesting that the copolymers were random and not phase separation. Based on the CO₂ sorption measurement, the POSS units play a role in reducing Henry's dissolution by suppressing the mobility of the poly(SiMA) component, while POSS units increase the nonequilibrium excess free volume, which contributes to the Langmuir dissolution. Based on these results, the introduction of MAPOSS unit is one of the effective ways to improved the thermal stability and CO₂ sorption property due to the enhancement of the polymer rigidity. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Effect of 2‐ethylhexyl acrylate and N‐acryloylmorpholine on the properties of polyurethane/acrylic hybrid materials

A hybrid synthesis technology was used to prepare waterborne polyurethane/acrylic hybrid emulsions by polymerization of methyl methacrylate, butyl acrylate, 2‐ethylhexyl acrylate(EHA), and N‐acryloylmorpholine (AMCO) in presence of acrylic‐terminated PU dispersion. Various characterization methods were used to investigate the effect of EHA and ACMO content on the properties of the hybrid emulsions and their resultant films. The research results show that the introduction of EHA can enhance the elasticity of their films, meanwhile, ACMO endows the film with high gloss, adhesion on substrate, toughness, and hardness. Mixing the two monomers leads to yield the hybrid materials with moderate properties. While increasing the weight ratio of ACMO/EHA, the average particle size of the hybrid emulsions increases and their viscosity decreases. For the resultant films, their surface water contact angle, adhesion on substrates, tensile strength, and hardness increase, but the water resistance and elasticity decrease. It has been found that EHA and ACMO have a synergistic effect on gloss of the hybrid films and the hydrogen bond interaction increases with an increase in the ACMO content. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41463.     

Radiation‐induced graft copolymerization of α‐methyl styrene and butyl acrylate mixture into polyetheretherketone films

Radiation‐induced graft copolymerization of α‐methyl styrene (AMS), butyl acrylate (BA) monomers, and their mixture was investigated on poly(etheretherketone) films. The graft polymerization was carried out using ethyl methyl ketone as the medium for the copolymerization and the maximum degree of grafting of 27% was achieved. It was observed that the grafting is significantly influenced by the reaction conditions, such as reaction time, preirrradiation dose, monomer concentration, monomer ratio, and the reaction temperature. The degree of grafting increases as the monomer concentration increases up to 30%, beyond which a decrease in the grafting was observed. The degree of grafting showed a maximum at 40% BA content in the monomer mixture. The temperature dependence of the grafting process shows decreasing grafting with the increase in the reaction temperature. The presence of AMS and BA grafts in the film was confirmed by FTIR spectra. The relative change in the PBA/PAMS fraction with respect to the reaction temperature has been found in this study. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Effect of DMDBS (3 : 2, 4‐bis(3,4‐dimethyldibenzylidene) sorbitol) and NA11 (sodium 2,2′‐methylene‐bis(4,6‐di‐tertbutylphenyl)‐phosphate) on electret properties of polypropylene filaments

Polypropylene (PP) composite filaments containing two different nucleating agents—DMDBS (3 : 2, 4‐bis(3,4‐dimethyldibenzylidene) sorbitol) and NA11 (sodium 2,2′‐methylene‐bis(4,6‐di‐tertbutylphenyl)‐phosphate) were melt spun to modify polymer electrostatic charging characteristics. Sample filaments were charged with a corona instrument and their surface potentials were measured. Initial surface potential as well as potential stability was monitored through an accelerated decay procedure. NA11 was found to be more efficient as an electret additive leading to a 50% increase in charge stability. Filaments with DMDBS exhibited a faster decay. Charging at elevated temperatures resulted in enhanced charge density and stability for both additives. The fiber microstructure was examined by Wide Angle X‐ray Diffraction and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. Rather than reducing the crystal sizes, X‐Ray diffractograms suggest that the crystal size increases with the addition of nucleating agents, while the degree of crystallinity appears to remain unaltered. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2068–2075, 2013     

Immobilized metal ions cellophane–PGMA‐grafted membranes for affinity separation of β‐galactosidase enzyme. I. Preparation and characterization

Immobilized Cu²⁺ ions affinity cellophane–poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA)‐grafted membranes have been prepared through three steps. The first step was introducing of epoxy groups to its chemical structure through grafting process with PGMA. Factors affecting the grafting process have been studied and grafting percentage (GP) up to 233% has been obtained. The second step was converting the introduced epoxy groups to sulfonic ones. It was found that maximum amount of sulfonic groups (2.7 mmol/g) was obtained with minimum GP (46.08%). The third and last step was the immobilization of Cu²⁺ ions into sulfonated grafted membranes obtained from the previous step. Maximum amount of immobilized Cu²⁺ ions was found to be 60.9 ppm per gram of polymer. The verification of the grafting and sulfonation steps has been performed through characterization of the obtained membranes using FTIR, TGA, and EDAX analysis. Finally, Cu²⁺‐immobilized membranes have been evaluated in separation of β‐galactosidase (β‐Gal) enzyme from its mixture with bovine serum albumin (BSA) in different pH medium. Maximum protein adsorption, for both proteins, has been obtained at pH range 4–4.5; as 90 and 45% for β‐Gal and BSA, respectively. The results showed high affinity toward β‐Gal separation although BSA concentration (0.5%) is 20‐folds of β‐Gal (0.025%). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Application of polymeric high‐internal‐phase‐emulsion‐coated stationary‐phase columns in open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography

The application of polymeric high‐internal‐phase emulsion (polyHIPE) capillary coatings for open‐tubular analytical separation columns was demonstrated in this study for the first time. Multiple polystyrene‐co‐divinylbenzene polyHIPE layers with an average total depth of 1.73 µm were coated onto internal capillary surfaces to create open‐tubular columns (20 cm coating and 32.5 cm effective length). With these columns for open‐tubular capillary electrochromatography, ethylbenzene and pentylbenzene were separated. Although the overall separation capacity of the produced columns was low, the polyHIPE coatings improved the analyte peak shape, decreased the total run time, and improved the peak symmetries relative to comparable unmodified open‐tubular columns. In addition, the use of these novel polyHIPE columns led to the use of 30% less organic modifier. These columns have the potential to improve the shelf life of open‐tubular columns typically used in capillary electrochromatography. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44237.     

A biaxial stretched β‐isotactic polypropylene microporous membrane for lithium‐ion batteries

In this article, microporous polypropylene (PP) membranes were produced with TMB‐5 as β‐crystal nucleating agent by biaxial stretching. Influences of different concentration of TMB‐5 were studied using differential scanning calorimetry and X‐ray diffraction. It was found that the highest crystallinity was reached when the nucleating agent content was 0.5 wt %. The effect of stretching temperature and stretching ratio on pore size distribution and porosity of the membranes were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and mercury porosimeter, respectively. And physical properties, such as tensile strength, permeability, and puncture resistance of the microporous membrane prepared at the optimized conditions, were evaluated. Compared with commercial PP separator membrane, the as‐prepared microporous membrane shows similar uniform pore size distribution and exhibits slightly higher porosity and ionic conductivities. When used as lithium‐ion separator, the experimental film shows more stable cycling performance than the commercial one. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 45825.     

Preparation and characterization of polyaniline–1‐hydroxyethane 1,1‐diphosphonic acid salt and its application as a catalyst for the synthesis of N‐benzylidine‐2‐phenyl imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridines

A novel, efficient, and easily synthesizable catalyst, an emeraldine form of polyaniline (PANI)?1‐hydroxyethane 1,1‐diphosphonic acid salt (HEDP), was successfully synthesized and demonstrated as a reusable polymer‐based solid acid catalyst in the synthesis of N‐benzylidine‐2‐phenyl imidazo[1,2‐a]pyridines with 2‐aminopyridine with aromatic aldehydes and trimethyl silylcyanide at room temperature. PANI–HEDP was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and conductivity measurements. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2995–3000, 2013     

Semicontinuous emulsion copolymerization of 3‐O‐methacryloyl‐1,2:5,6‐di‐O‐isopropylidene‐α‐D‐glucofuranose (3‐MDG) and butyl acrylate (BA). Monomer feed addition

New polymer colloids based on the saccharide monomer, using of 3‐O‐methacryloyl‐1,2:5,6‐di‐O‐isopropylidene‐α‐D ‐glucofuranose (3‐MDG), were prepared by semicontinuous emulsion polymerization, a widely used industrial process. The copolymerization of 3‐MDG and butyl acrylate (BA), by the monomer‐addition technique, at 70°C, using sodium persulfate (Na₂S₂O₈) as an initiator, was investigated. The influence of some reaction parameters, such as the type and concentration of the surfactants as well as the monomer addition rate (R_m) on the polymerization rate (R_p), the colloidal properties, and the stability of the latexes, was studied. It was found that under starved‐feed conditions the polymerization rate and the particle size (D) increased with an increasing rate of monomer addition. The weight‐average molecular weight (M _w) also increased by enhancing R_m and a narrower molecular weight distribution was obtained. Furthermore, the type and the concentration of the surfactants strongly influenced the particle size and its distribution. The effect of the seed stage on the particle size and its distribution was also investigated. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 2091–2102, 2003     

Thermal and gas permeation properties of copolymers derived from 3‐methacryloxypropyltris(trimethylsiloxy)silane and adamantyl group‐containing methacrylate derivatives

Novel copolymer membranes derived from three types of adamantyl group‐containing methacrylate derivatives and 3‐methacryloxypropyltris(trimethylsiloxy)silane (SiMA) were synthesized via free radical polymerization. The thermal and permeation properties of these copolymer membranes were investigated. Copolymer membranes with less than 11.9 mol % adamantane content exhibited good membrane forming abilities that are suitable for permeation measurement. The decomposition temperature of all copolymers increased up to approximately 40–80°C with increasing adamantane content compared with poly(SiMA). Moreover, the glass transition temperature (T_g) of all copolymers increased up to approximately 46–60°C with increasing adamantane content compared with the theoretical value, which was estimated from Fox equation. 1‐Adamantyl methacrylate copolymer had the highest fractional free volume among the three types of adamantly group‐containing methacrylate derivatives. The gas permeability coefficient of this copolymer increased by 22–45% with increasing adamantane content compared with that of poly(SiMA). © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43129.     

Preparation of bi‐continuous poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐methyl acrylate) microporous membranes by a thermally induced phase separation method

Poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐methyl acrylate) [P(AN‐MA)] flat microfiltration membranes were successfully prepared via the thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) method, by using low polar caprolactam (CPL) and methoxypolyethylene glycol 550 (MPEG 550) as the mixed diluent. In this work, P(AN‐MA) membranes exhibit bi‐continuous networks, porous surfaces, high porosity, and big pore size, when membrane fabricated from a high MPEG 550 content, low P(AN‐MA) concentration, and small cooling rate, it can be dry state preservation and do not need to be impregnated by any solvent. When the ternary system was composed of 15 wt % P(AN‐MA), 12.5 wt % CPL, and 87.5 wt % MPEG 550, formed at 25 °C air bath, membrane has the highest water flux of 4420 L m^?2 h^?1. The obtained P(AN‐AN) membrane displays a high carbonic black ink rejection ranging from 83.7 to 98.5 wt %. Moreover, P(AN‐MA) polymer not only retains the advantages of PAN but also reduces the polar component from 16.2 to 10.77 MPa^0.5. It can be used membrane matrix to obtain pore structure and excellent mechanical property membrane via TIPS. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46173.     

Characterization of molecular structure of acrylic copolymers prepared via emulsion polymerization using A4F‐MALS technique

The study is primarily focused on the possibility to utilize organic asymmetric flow field‐flow fractionation (A4F) coupled to a multi‐angle light scattering (MALS) detector for the characterization of copolymers of methyl methacrylate with various acrylates prepared by emulsion polymerization. The effects of acrylate monomer type and content on the molar mass distribution and degree of branching of acrylic copolymers have been studied by A4F‐MALS using tetrahydrofuran as a carrier solvent. It has been found that the growing amount of acrylate results in the increase of molar mass, polydispersity, and branching degree as a result of chain transfer to polymer. Highly branched compact macromolecules with ultra‐high molar mass were identified in all copolymers containing a high level of acrylate. In contrast to size traditionally used exclusion chromatography, organic A4F‐MALS has been proved as a very efficient technique for the characterization of high molar mass acrylic emulsion copolymers. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40995.     

Curing behaviors and thermal properties of benzoxazine and N,N′‐(2, 2, 4‐trimethylhexane‐1, 6‐diyl) dimaleimide blend

A blend of bisphenol‐A based benzoxazine (BA‐a)/N, N′‐(2, 2, 4‐Trimethylhexane‐1, 6‐diyl) dimaleimide (TBMI) with the ratio of 1:1 was prepared and its curing behaviors were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The curing mechanism was proposed based on the semiquantitative analysis from FTIR spectra. The model compound was used to study the catalysis effect of BA‐a on the curing reaction of TBMI. It was found the curing reactions of BA‐a and TBMI not only proceeded simultaneously, but their coreactions also occurred. The research further indicated that negative oxygen ions from ring opening of benzoxazine mainly promoted the polymerization of maleimide groups, even though the amine group of benzoxazine had a positive effect on the reaction of maleimide groups. Besides, BA‐a and TBMI blends showed improved thermal properties based on the results from DMA and TGA. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Natural and synthetic polymers for water treatment against dissolved pharmaceuticals

Dissolved pharmaceuticals were removed by adsorption on some natural and synthetic polymers. Cellulose, chitosan, and sodium alginate were selected as examples of natural polymers while a synthetic copolymer of epichlorohydrin and urea was prepared for comparison. Water contaminated with some antibiotics was treated with these polymers using stirred flask and column methods. The particles size of the investigated materials was increased up to 2 mm diameter by converting them into beads. Combinations of polymers, natural or synthetic, were used together to improve their behavior. The synthetic polymer has shown better removal effect than that of natural ones. It has removed up to 75% of the drug in 6 h. Chitosan was the best natural polymers in removing dissolved drugs; up to 13% of the drug has been removed by it. The recycling properties of the polymers loaded with drugs were examined and up to 9% of the drug was successfully restored. In addition, fully loaded dry beads with drugs were grounded and recycled in an ointment as blends. Moreover, the swelling behavior of the beads in different mediums and under different conditions was examined. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40458.     

Acrylate–vinylidene chloride copolymers derived from corresponding water‐borne latexes: Influence of acrylate units on their potential as heavy‐duty anticorrosive coating materials

A series of aqueous latexes with solid contents of 56%–59% were synthesized by binary emulsion copolymerization of vinylidene chloride (VDC) with an acrylate, namely methyl acrylate (MA), ethyl acrylate (EA), butyl acrylate (BA), hexyl acrylate (HA), or 2‐ethylhexyl acrylate (EHA). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed that the acrylate units with short ester side‐chains, such as MA and EA, made the copolymers hard and the crystallization tendency of their PVDC segments was reduced. Hydrophobic acrylates with relatively long ester groups, such as HA and EHA, gave flexible copolymers, and favored the crystallization of their PVDC segments. BA endowed the copolymers with medium flexibility and crystallization tendency. As coating materials, the copolymers bearing MA and EA adhered poorly to the tinplate before or after 100 hr of salt‐spray corrosion, whereas those bearing BA, HA, or EHA showed good adhesion to tinplate when they had little or no crystallinity. After 100 hr of salt‐spray corrosion, only BA–VDC80, containing 80% VDC, retained both excellent adhesion to metal and excellent barrier performance. Further study demonstrated that BA–VDC80 could protect tinplate from rusting for at least 250 hr under harsh salt‐spray corrosion. Scanning electron microscopy, FTIR‐attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy and DSC were used to evaluate the corroded BA–VDC80 film. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40192.     

Synthesis and evaluation of fluorosilicone‐modified starch for protection of historic stone

Starch is sensitive to moisture and is weak to durability in the protection application to ancient relics. Therefore, two fluorosilicone‐modified starches are firstly prepared and evaluated for the protection of historic stones. The fluoro‐silicone copolymer grafted starch of P(VTMS/12FMA)‐g‐starch is synthesized by grafting copolymer of vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) and dodecafluoroheptyl methacrylate (12FMA) onto starch. While the fluoro‐silicone starch latex of VTMS‐starch@P(MMA/BA/3FMA) is obtained by emulsion polymerization of VTMS primarily grafted‐starch (VTMS‐starch) with methyl methacrylate (MMA), butyl acrylate (BA) and 2,2,2‐trifluoroethyl methacrylate (3FMA). The grafting fluorosilicone copolymer onto starch improves obviously their hydrophobic and thermal properties. Comparatively, VTMS‐starch@P(MMA/BA/3FMA) film performs higher water contact angle (107°) and thermal stability (350–430°C) than p(VTMS/12FMA)‐g‐starch film (72°, 250–420°C) due to the migration of fluorine‐containing group onto the surface of film during the film formation. Therefore, VTMS‐starch@P(MMA/BA/3FMA) shows much better protective performance in water‐resistance, and salt/freeze‐thaw resistance for stone samples. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41650.     

Styrene/acrylate copolymer emulsions as strengthening agents for kraft bagasse pulp: A way for enhancing the mechanical properties of paper

Although styrene acrylate emulsions (SAE) have demonstrated promising applications as surface sizing agents for paper, their strengthening effect on pulp fibers in papermaking is not clear. In this study, bagasse fibers, an agricultural waste, were treated with SAE to study the influences on the mechanical properties of the produced papers. SAE copolymers with hard chain (H-PSA) and soft chain (S-PSA) were prepared and added to bagasse pulp slurry at concentrations of 1%–4% by weight. The findings indicated that for the soft and hard copolymers, the glass transition temperatures were 19.5 and 26.8°C and their emulsion particle sizes were 166 and 182 nm, respectively. The copolymers strengthened the produced paper by wrapping around and forming a network of chemical and physical bonds with the pulp fibers. Papers treated with 3% H-PSA exhibited the optimum improvement in tensile strength (38 MPa) and breaking length (67 m) by 13% and 64%, respectively. Treated papers were negatively affected by UV radiation due to phenyl groups spread along the chains. The copolymers demonstrated good wet-strength properties achieved by self- and co-crosslinked networks. The prepared paper sheets showed a preference for the mechanical properties of treated samples over the untreated ones.     

pH and organic solvent‐sensitive properties of crosslinked polymeric spheres formed by a soap‐free emulsion polymerization

Narrowly distributed poly (styrene‐co‐(4‐vinylpyridine)) microspheres are facilely prepared by a soap‐free emulsion polymerization, and their structures and properties are investigated by TEM, FTIR spectra, DSC, and DLS, respectively. The sizes and glass transition temperatures of the polymeric spheres increase with an increase of 4‐vinylpyridine in the reactive system. In addition, these polymeric spheres show good stability in water and a series of organic solvents due to their crosslinked structures. When poly(styrene‐co‐(4‐vinylpyridine)) microspheres are obtained in the reactive system where the weight ratio of 4‐vinyl pyridine to styrene is less than 4/6, they can be well dispersed in water as well as in organic solvents such as ethanol, toluene and DMF, and show obvious pH sensitive and organic solvent‐sensitive characteristics. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Modification of β‐cyclodextrin for rapidly decolorizing the dye‐containing wastewaters by flocculation

To strengthen the role of polymer bridging during the flocculation process and thus raise the speed of decolorizing the dye‐containing wastewaters, β‐cyclodextrin–acrylamide–[2‐(Acryloyloxy)ethyl] trimethyl ammonium chloride copolymer (poly[AM(β‐CD)‐AETAC]) with relatively high intrinsic viscosity (84.3 mL g^?1) and cationicity (24.5%) was prepared by solution polymerization. The successful preparation of copolymer was demonstrated by FT‐IR and ¹H‐NMR characterizations. Its excellent decolorization performances as a new flocculant were evaluated with the C.I. reactive orange 5 (RO 5) and C.I. reactive blue 19 (RB 19) solutions using a jar test method. Both the nature of anionic dyes and the pH of dye solutions influence the decolorization effectiveness. For both the RB 19 and RO 5 solutions (0.10 g L^?1), it can be rapidly decolorized in a wide range of pH (2–7) and flocculant concentration (0.12–0.26 g L^?1). For the given dye/flocculant solution system, both charge neutralization and polymer bridging contribute to the decolorization mechanism. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2014 , 131, 39940.     

A recyclable β‐cyclodextrins‐based supramolecular adsorbent for removal of organic dyes

In this article, a novel recyclable β‐cyclodextrins (β‐CDs)‐based supramolecular adsorbent had been fabricated. With Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles as core, the adsorbent could be separated from water conveniently. Moreover, the hydrophobic β‐CDs caving had strong host‐guest interaction with organic compounds to form complexes. With the pH value changing, the stable complexes would disassemble to recover the adsorbent. Fourier transform infrared analysis, X‐ray diffraction measurement, transmission electron microscopy measurements, thermogravimetric analysis, and vibrating sample magnetometer analysis had been explored to confirm the structure and properties of supramolecular adsorbent. Congo red and Rhodamine B were used to characterize the adsorption capacity of adsorbent. By changing the parameters such as temperature, time, adsorbent dosage, and pH value indicated that the designed adsorbent could rapidly remove organic dyes from water with satisfactory removal effects and adsorbent recycling capacity. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45084.