Processing,Structure, and Properties of PAN/MWNT Composite Fibers

Conventional dry‐jet wet fiber spinning techniques were used to fabricate continuous PAN/MWNT composite fibers with up to 20 wt.‐% nanotube loading. PAN at the MWNT interface exhibited lower solubility under thermodynamically favorable conditions than in bulk PAN, indicating good interfacial interaction. Due to the PAN/MWNT interaction at the interface, thermal shrinkage decreases with increasing MWNT loading (5 to 20 wt.‐%). For high MWNT loadings, PAN/MWNT composite fiber at 15 wt.‐% MWNT loading showed an axial electrical conductivity of 1.24 S · m^?1. For all loadings, PAN/MWNT composite fibers exhibited higher tensile moduli than theoretically predicted by rule‐of‐mixture calculations, suggesting good reinforcement of the PAN by MWNT.

     

Synthesis of SiC ceramics from processed cellulosic bio-precursor

Synthesis of SiC ceramic from processed cellulosic bio-precursor was investigated. Bamboo (Bambusa tulda Roxb.) plants abundantly available in the Jorhat district of Assam, India, were selected for extraction of fibers following Kraft pulping method and bleached bamboo pulp fibers were suitably cast in the form of rectangular boards. Coir fibers available in the Alleppy district of Kerala, India, were initially digested with dilute alkali, mixed with cellulose acetate solution, air dried and then hot-pressed at 140 ± 5 °C under 2.0–2.5 MPa pressure to make rectangular boards. Well-characterized processed bio-precursors were pyrolysed at ～800 °C under flowing N₂ atmosphere to prepare the bio-carbonaceous preforms (carbon templates) which showed nearly uniform shrinkages in all directions. Coir fiber composite board carbon showed lower pyrolytic weight loss (～66%), higher density (0.49 g cm^?3), lower porosity (～58%) and narrower pore diameter (10 μm) compared to the cast bamboo pulp fiber board carbon. The carbon samples showed perfect retention of fibrous morphological features of hierarchically grown bio-structures. Ceramization of carbon templates could be done by reactive melt silicon infiltration into porous channels at ～1600 °C under vacuum. The final ceramics were adequately dense (%theoretical density > 99%), showed negligible linear dimensional changes (indicating net-dimension formation capability), presence of crystalline Si and SiC phases and duplex microstructure with complete preservation of fibrous architecture of plant bio-structure. The Si/SiC ceramic composite synthesized from coir fiber board gave room temperature 3-point flexural strength and Young's modulus values of 121 MPa and 276 GPa, respectively. Both the ceramic composites showed adequate oxidation resistance during heating at 1300 °C for 7 h in air.     

Manganese stearate initiated photo‐oxidative and thermo‐oxidative degradation of LDPE,LLDPE and their blends

This study is an attempt to investigate the effect of a representative pro‐oxidant (manganese stearate) on the degradation behavior of 70 ± 5 μ thickness films of LDPE, LLDPE and their blends. Films were prepared by film blowing technique in the presence of varying quantities of manganese stearate (0.5–1% w/w) and subsequently subjected to accelerated degradative tests: xenon arc exposure and air‐oven exposure (at 70°C). The physico–chemical changes induced as a result of aging were followed by monitoring the mechanical properties (Tensile strength and Elongation at break), carbonyl index (CI), morphology (SEM), melt flow index (MFI), oxygen content (Elemental analysis), and DSC crystallinity. The results indicate that the degradative effect of pro‐oxidant is more pronounced in LDPE than LLDPE and blends, due to the presence of larger number of weak branches in the former. The degradation was also found to be proportional to the concentration of the pro‐oxidant. Flynn‐Wall‐Ozawa iso‐conversion technique was used to determine the kinetic parameters of degradation, which were used to determine the effect of the pro‐oxidant on the theoretical lifetime of the polymer. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

The effect of glycidyl methacrylate treatment of empty fruit bunch (EFB) on the properties of ultra‐violet radiation cured EFB‐unsaturated polyester composite

In this study, biofiber composites cured by ultra‐violet, were produced using pulp made from empty fruit bunch (EFB) as the reinforcing agent and unsaturated polyester as the matrix. The conversion of EFB fibers into pulp was carried out using organosolv pulping process. The EFB pulp was then chemically treated with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) to different percentage of weight percent gain and the composites were made with different percentages of pulp loading. Results showed that the Kappa number of EFB decreased as the NaOH concentration in organosolv pulping increased. Composites which were made from GMA‐treated EFB showed better mechanical properties (tensile, flexural, and impact strength) than those of the unmodified. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed peaks that proved the occurrence of grafting between GMA and OH from EFB pulp. Scanning electron microscope analysis showed the evidence of the enhancement of the compatibility between EFB and matrix. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Current efficiency in electro-winning of lanthanum and cerium metals from molten chloride electrolytes

The objective of this study is to prepare lanthanum and cerium metals by fused salt electrolysis of their anhydrous chloride in molten media such as LiCl-KCl, NaCl-KCl, KCl, NaCl, and LiCl and to characterize the metal deposit by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence, and inductive coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy. Deposit metal of purity more than 99 % was obtained in each of the experiments. The entire process starting from preparation of anhydrous lanthanum/cerium chloride to electrolysis yielding of metal deposits has been described. The effect of process parameters such as temperature, electrolyte composition, and current density on the current efficiency was studied. All these parameters were varied to get the highest current efficiency and metal yield. The major non-rare earth impurities with the deposit are found to be Fe, Cr, and Ni along with ～1×10-3 of total gaseous impurities.     

Effect of cutting process on the stress corrosion susceptibility of AISI 304L stainless steel

During manufacturing of a component, cutting, turning, grinding, and milling operations are inevitable and these operations induce surface residual stresses. In this study, it is shown that, depending on the process employed for cutting, residual stresses generated at the cut surfaces can vary widely and they can, in turn, make the cut surfaces of austenitic stainless steel (SS) prone to stress corrosion cracking (SCC). An austenitic SS 304L plate was cut using three different procesess: bandsaw cutting, cutting using the cut-off wheel, and shearing. Surface residual stress measurement using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique is carried out close to the cutting edges and on the cross-section. SCC susceptibility studies were carried out as per ASTM G36 in 45% boiling magnesium chloride solution. Optical microscopic examination showed the presence of cracks, and confocal microscopy was used to measure the depth of cracks. The study confirmed that high tensile residual stresses present in the cut surfaces produced by cut-off wheel and shear cutting make the surfaces susceptible to SCC while the surfaces produced by bandsaw cutting are resistant to SCC. Hence, it is shown that there is a definite risk of SCC for product forms of austenitic SS with cut surfaces produced using cutting processes that generate high tensile residual stresses stored for a long period of time in a susceptible environment.     

Evidence for quantum confinement effects in CdSe/ZnSe multilayer thin films prepared by the physical vapor deposition method

CdSe/ZnSe heterostructure multilayer thin films were prepared with different sublayer thicknesses of CdSe using the physical vapor deposition method. X-ray diffraction studies were used to calculate the average size of the particles and confirmed the (1 1 1) plane of ZnSe. Due to the stacking of alternate CdSe and ZnSe layers, stress was created in the multilayer systems. This results in quantum size effects. Experimentally measured energy values from (hν) vs. (αhν)² dependence confirm the presence of spin–orbit split in the valence band of CdSe. The calculated band gap energies are greater than that of bulk CdSe. Crystallite sizes (12–4 nm) were calculated based on the predictions of the effective mass approximation model (i.e. Brus model). Results show that the diameters of crystallites are smaller than the Bohr exciton diameter (11.2 nm) of CdSe. Upon particle size decrease, the photoluminescence peak is shifted from the green region to the blue region. Analysis shows that the sublayer thickness of CdSe material changes the properties of CdSe/ZnSe multilayer systems.