The role of basecoat pigmentation on the biological resistance of an automotive clearcoat

This work aims to study the effect of various natural and artificial biological compounds on an automotive acrylic/melamine clearcoat applied over silver and black basecoats containing pigments. The visual performance of the coating system was evaluated at different aging conditions. To this end, analytical techniques including optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, gonio-spectrophotometery, gloss measurement, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, and DMTA analysis were utilized to investigate the optical and mechanical response of the system upon exposure to the biological materials. Results indicated different effects produced by gums and bird droppings on both silver and black systems at all aging processes. In addition, a more severe effect of biological attacks was observed on the clearcoat samples applied on the black basecoat which had experienced postaging conditions. However, it was found that pancreatin and bird droppings influence the coating systems more severely compared to the natural and synthetic Arabic gums.     

Synthesis, characterization, and biological activities of organosoluble and thermally stable xanthone-based polyamides

A series of polyamides, poly (xanthone-amide)s (PXAs) were prepared by direct polycondensation of 2,7-diaminoxanthone with various available aliphatic and aromatic dicarboxylic acids. The monomer and all the PXAs were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR. The prepared polyamides showed inherent viscosities in the range of 0.41–0.68 dL g^?1 in NMP at 25 °C. The PXAs with low crystallinity were soluble in aprotic polar solvents such as DMF, NMP, DMSO, and DMAc at room temperature. These PXAs showed low glass transition temperatures (T _g) (200–310 °C) and high thermal stability, the 10 % weight loss temperature was up to 432 °C under nitrogen. These polymers exhibited strong UV–Vis absorption maxima at 301–316 nm in NMP solutions. Their photoluminescence showed fluorescence emission maxima around 433–444 and 503–521 nm for aliphatic and aromatic polyamides, respectively. The resulting polymers were analyzed for their antioxidant activities using DPPH assay and the antibacterial activities against some bacterial strains (S. aureus, B. subtilis, E. coli and P. aeruginosa). The results revealed that the antioxidant and antibacterial activities of PXAs were more than xanthone nucleus and used standard, respectively. It showed that these polymers can be used in pharmaceutical and food industries (food packaging).     

Preparation of sol–gel-based nanostructured hybrid coatings; part 1: morphological and mechanical studies

Attempts have been made using sol–gel-based precursors to produce hybrid organic–inorganic clearcoats. To this end, a typical automotive acrylic/melamine clearcoat with tetramethyl ortosilicate (TEOS) and methacryoloxy propyltrimethoxysilane (MEMO) were used to obtain nanostructured silica clusters produced in situ embedded in the polymeric matrix. Microscopic techniques including scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and transmission electron microscope (TEM) were utilized to investigate the morphology of coatings. The effect of each precursor on coating mechanical properties was also studied using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) as well as micro and nanoindentation techniques. It was found that using TEOS and MEMO (in non-hydrolyzed state), the mechanical properties of the resulting films were negatively influenced. The decreased hardness, lower T _g and cross-linking density, and reduced elastic modulus were observed with non-hydrolyzed precursors. In addition, the phase separation of organic and inorganic domains occurred in the presence of pristine sol–gel precursors. However, using hydrolyzed precursors (HTEOS and HMEMO), the mechanical properties were notably improved. While HTEOS resulted in an increase in coating T _g, and cross-linking density as well as improved elastic modulus and hardness, HMEMO caused an increase in coating hardness but lowered coating T _g and cross-linking density.     

Visual study of flow patterns during condensation inside a microfin tube with different tube inclinations

In this paper, flow patterns and their transitions for refrigerant R-134a condensing in a microfin tube are visually observed and analyzed. The microfin tube has been provided with different tube inclination angles of the direction of fluid flow from horizontal, α. The experiments were performed for seven different tube inclinations, α, in a range of − 90° to + 90° and refrigerant mass velocities in a range of 53 to 212 kg/m²s for each tube inclination angle during condensation of R-134a vapor. From analysis of acquired data, it was found that the tube inclination strongly influenced the vapor and condensate liquid distribution. Annular flow was the dominant flow pattern for vertical downward flow, α = − 90°. Annular flow, semi annular flow and stratified flow were observed for α = − 60°and − 30°. Annular flow, wavy-annular flow and stratified-wavy flow exist in sequence for horizontal tube. Annular flow and wavy-annular flow were observed for α = + 30°and + 60°. Annular flow, annular-wavy flow, churn flow and slug flow occurred for α = + 90°.     

Modeling and experimental evaluation of vacuum-UV photoreactors for water treatment

Vacuum-UV (VUV) radiation is a promising and effective technology for the oxidation of organic contaminants. The VUV-induced degradation of a model pollutant, Formic Acid (FA), was modeled and experimentally investigated. Experimental work involved an annular flow-through reactor operated in batch mode with complete recycle of the reactants. Ozone-producing low-pressure Hg lamps were used as the source of VUV radiation. FA concentrations of up to 0.55 mmol L⁻¹ were completely degraded after 40 min of irradiation. FA degradation was accompanied by the formation of H₂O₂ at concentrations of about 0.3 mmol L⁻¹. Kinetic and radiation models were combined with the corresponding mass balances to describe the experimental results. The kinetic model accounted for the most important reactions occurring in the system, including photolysis of water and H₂O₂, side reactions between radicals, and degradation of FA. The radiation model, which was solved using the Monte Carlo method, described the propagation of photons in the reactor volume and took into account the optical properties of the solution and the emission power of the lamps, obtained by actimometry. Modeling simulations fit experimental data of FA degradation using VUV, H₂O₂/VUV, and H₂O₂/UV with a root mean square error of 7.4%. According to modeling and experimental results, the VUV-induced degradation of FA followed an apparent zero order kinetics, a fact that may suggest the reaction was limited by the availability of hydroxyl radicals (HO).