Temperature dependency of gas barrier properties of biodegradable PP/PLA/nanoclay films: Experimental analyses with a molecular dynamics simulation approach

Polypropylene (PP)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/clay nanocomposite films with various compositions (PP‐rich and PLA‐rich) were prepared. Their structural and barrier properties against CO₂, O₂, and N₂ were investigated. The microstructure of the nanocomposites was studied by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and wide angle X‐ray scattering. The PP‐rich with 75/25 composition revealed the best barrier properties against all the gases which could be justified according to its microstructure. Selectivity of O₂/N₂ and CO₂/N₂ was also measured. It was found that the addition of nanoclay as a gas barrier component reduced the permeability in both systems. The permselectivity was also reduced in the PP‐rich films while it was increased in the PLA‐rich system. Moreover, the temperature dependency of permeability, selectivity, and permselectivity for PP, PLA, and PP/PLA (75/25) samples was examined. The results showed that the temperature dependence of permeability obeyed an Arrhenius equation and order of activation energy of permeability for O₂, CO₂, and N₂ gases was found to be E_P < E_P/PLA < E_PLA. According to solubility measurements, the order of solubility coefficient for gases was as follows: CO₂ > O₂ > N₂. Finally, the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was performed to estimate the diffusivity coefficients of the gases and showed that solubility increases with increasing temperature, which was in accordance with the experiments. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46665.     

Fabrication and modification of polyvinylchloride based heterogeneous cation exchange membranes by simultaneously using Fe-Ni oxide nanoparticles and Ag nanolayer: Physico-chemical and antibacterial characteristics

Polyvinylchloride-blend-styrene butadiene rubber based nanocomposite cation exchange membranes were prepared by solution casting technique. Iron-oxide nanoparticles and Ag-nanolayer were simultaneously utilized as filler and surface modifier in membrane fabrication. The effects of Ag-nanolayer film thickness on membrane physicochemical and antibacterial characteristics of nanocomposite PVC-blend-SBR/Iron-oxide nanoparticles were studied. SEM images showed membrane roughness decreasing by Ag nanolayer thickness increasing. Membrane charge density and selectivity declined by Ag nanolayer coating up to 5 nm in membranes and then showed increasing trend by more nanolayer thickness. Ionic flux also showed increasing trend. Membranes showed good ability in E-Coli removal. 20 nm Ag-nanolayer coated membrane showed better performance compared to others.     

Electrooxidation of alcohols at a nickel oxide/multi-walled carbon nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrode

Electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol and some other primary alcohols on a glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes and nano-sized nickel oxide (GCE/MWNT/NiO) was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in alkaline medium. The results were compared with those obtained on a nickel oxide-modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE/NiO). Both the electrodes were conditioned by potential cycling in the range of 0.1–0.6 V versus Ag/AgCl in a 0.10 M NaOH solution. The effects of various parameters such as scan rate, alcohol concentration, thickness of NiO film, and real surface area of the modified electrodes were also investigated and compared. It was found that the GCE/MWNT/NiO-modified electrode possesses an improved electrochemical behavior over the GC/NiO-modified electrode for methanol oxidation.     

Effect of process variables on product yield distribution in thermal catalytic cracking of naphtha to light olefins over Fe/HZSM-5

The effect of temperature, WHSV and Fe loading over HZSM-5 catalyst in thermal-catalytic cracking (TCC) of naphtha for the production of light olefins has been studied. The response surface defined by three most significant parameters is obtained from Box-Behnken design method and the optimal parameter set is found. The results show that ethylene increases with temperature, while propylene shows an optimum at 650 °C. Moderate WHSV is favorable for maximum production of light olefins. Addition of Fe to HZSM-5 has a favorable effect on the production of light olefins up to 6% of loading. Excess amount of loading decreases the conversion of naphtha, which leads to a drop in light olefin yields. The yield of light olefins (ethylene and propylene) at 670 °C, 44 hr⁻¹ and 6 wt% Fe has been increased to 5.43 wt% compared to the unmodified HZSM-5 and reaches to 42.47 wt%.     

Effectiveness of polypyrrole and polyaniline composites for the removal of lead salts from aqueous solution

The effect of polyaniline and polypyrrole composites and the influence of type and concentration of stabilizer, pH of solution, and type of adsorbent on lead salt removal from aqueous solution were studied. The results indicated that the extents of removal of lead in alkaline solution (pH = 10) were 99.95 and 99.23%, respectively, when polyaniline and Polyaniline/(sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate) composite were used as adsorbents. The results were compared with those obtained by using cation exchangers such as Purolite and Amberjet, and the observations indicated that Purolite and Amberjet were the better lead removal agents. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2010. © 2010 Society of Plastics Engineers     

High-density polyethylene membranes embedded with carboxylated and polyethylene glycol-grafted nanodiamond to be used in membrane bioreactors

In this work, neat and modified nanodiamond (ND) particles were embedded into high-density polyethylene (HDPE) membranes to improve hydrophilicity and antifouling properties. The membranes were prepared via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS) method and used for pharmaceutical wastewater treatment in membrane bioreactors (MBR) system. To prevent the agglomeration of ND, it was modified using two methods: thermal carboxylation (ND-COOH) and grafting with polyethylene glycol (ND-PEG). Membranes with different concentration of ND-COOH and ND-PEG nanoparticles ranging from 0.00 to 1.00 wt % were prepared and characterized using a set of analyses including water contact angle, pure water flux, tensile strength, differential scanning calorimeter, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. It was found that the optimum contents of ND-COOH and ND-PEG nanoparticles were 0.50 wt % and 0.75 wt %, respectively. The interfacial interaction between nanoparticles and HDPE matrix was studied based on Pukanzsky model. To examine the performance of membranes, critical flux, filtration experiment in the MBR, and fouling analysis of membranes were carried out. The results showed that among the fabricated membranes, 0.75 wt % HDPE/ND-PEG membrane had the highest water flux and the best antifouling properties. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47914.     

Novel composite nanofibers based on polyamide 66/graphene oxide- grafted aliphatic- aromatic polyamide: preparation and characterization

New polyamide 66/graphene oxide (GO)-grafted aliphatic-aromatic polyamide (polyamide-imide) (PAI) (PA66/GOF) composites nanofibers were successfully prepared via electrospinning method for the first time. An polyamide imide (PAI) was synthesized using polycondensation reaction from a dicarboxylic acid and a diamine based on 4,4′-(4,4′-isopropylidenediphenyl-1,1′-diyldioxy) dianiline, and characterized by ¹HNMR and FTIR. Morphological, structural, thermal and mechanical characteristics of the nanocomposite fibers were investigated by means of SEM, TEM, WAXD, DMTA and TGA techniques. Composites nanofibers of PA66/GO, PA66/PAI and PA66/GOF with smooth surface, uniform structure as well as with diameter ranging from 195 to 784 nm were obtained. The GO incorporation caused a reduction in the nanofibers diameters. The TEM images showed that the GO was well dispersed in the PA66 nanofibers without significant aggregation. An approximately 10 °C temperature increase in the glass transition temperature of PA66 was achieved by addition of 0.5 wt% of PAI, resulting from aliphatic-aromatic structure of PAI. By the TGA results, an increase about 40 °C was observed in the thermal stability of PA66/PAI composite nanofibers in comparison with that of pure PA66 nanofibers.     

Impact of non‐solvent on regeneration of cellulose dissolved in 1‐(carboxymethyl)pyridinium chloride ionic liquid

Cellulose dissolved in ionic liquid (1‐(carboxymethyl)pyridinium chloride)/water (60/40 w/w) mixture is regenerated in various non‐solvents, namely water, ethanol, methanol and acetone, to gain more insight into the contribution of non‐solvent medium to the morphology of regenerated cellulose. To this end, the initial and regenerated celluloses were characterized with respect to crystallinity, thermal stability, chemical structure and surface morphology using wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. According to the results, regardless of non‐solvent type, all regenerated samples have the same chemical structure and lower crystallinity in comparison to the initial cellulose, making them a promising candidate for efficient biofuel production based on enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose. The reduction in crystallinity of regenerated samples is explained based on the potential of the non‐solvent to break the hydrogen bonds between cellulose chains and ionic liquid molecules as well as the affinity of water and non‐solvent which can be evaluated based on Hansen solubility parameter. The latter also determines the phase‐separation mechanism during the regeneration process, which in turn affects surface morphology of the regenerated cellulose. The pivotal effect of regenerated cellulose crystallinity on its thermal stability is also demonstrated. Regenerated cellulose with lower crystallinity is more susceptible to molecular rearrangement during heating and hence exhibits enhanced thermal stability. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Unique microstructure analysis of ethylene-propylene copolymer synthesized using catalytic system based on α-diimine nickel complexes: a comparative study by 13C NMR technique

The microstructure of rubber-like ethylene-propylene copolymer (MN4) produced by a mixed nickel-based system (MN) containing catalysts of dibromo[N,N′-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-2,3-butanediimine]nickel(II) n1 and dibromo[N,N′-(phenanthrene-9,10-diylidene)bis(2,6-diisopropylaniline)]nickel(II) n2 was determined by ¹³C NMR technique. Sequences distribution of ethylene (E), propylene (P), EP, inverted propylene and uninterrupted methylene and also methylene number-average sequence lengths for the copolymer (MN4) were estimated. The results obtained from the MN4 EP copolymer were compared with reported copolymers which had been synthesized using constrained geometry catalyst (CGC) and vanadium-based Ziegler-Natta catalyst. The results demonstrated that the MN4 EP copolymer had fewer alternating comonomer sequences than ethylene-propylene elastomers obtained by CGC and vanadium-based (V) catalysts. A large number of the inversion structures (66 %) and high mole percent of sequences containing a long branch (3.2 mol%) were also observed in unique microstructure of the copolymer (MN4).     

Direct synthesis of bi-modal porous structure MCM-41 and its application in CO2 capturing through amine-grafting

A bi-modal porous structure MCM-41 (BPS-MCM-41) was synthesized and functionalized by 3-[2-(2-Aminoethylamino)ethylamino]propyltrimethoxysilane (TRI); also, its performance in amine grafting and CO₂ capturing was compared with that of pore-expanded MCM-41 [1]. To create larger pores beside the mesoporous structure of MCM-41, carbon black nanoparticles were used as the solid template. Characterizing the BPS-MCM-41 using the BET and BJH techniques resulted in the surface reduction of 29.3 percent and volume increase of 68.46 percent. The pore size distribution showed two peaks: a narrow peak at 2.24 nm diameter, which belonged to micelles, and a wide one at about 50 nm due to the presence of used nanoparticles. The functionalization confirmed that BPS-MCM-41 is capable of accommodating a large quantity of amine groups. The CO₂ adsorption measurement indicated that internal volume of the adsorbent was a critical factor affecting the adsorption capacity of the amine grafted adsorbents.