Effect of titanate coupling agents on mechanical properties of mica-filled polypropylene

The application of titanate coupling agents for the surface modification of mica filler and its reinforcement in polypropylene (PP) has been directed towards improvement in mechanical properties. Four titanate coupling agents, namely neoalkoxy tri(dioctylpyrophosphato) titanate (C₁), neoalkoxy trineodecanoyl titanate (C₂); bis-(acetylacetonato)distearato titanate (C₃), and bis-(acetylacetonato)dipalmitato titanate (C₄) were used in the present investigation. Mica powder (10 μm particle size) was coated with these coupling agents of varying concentration (0.5 to 1 % on the weight of filler) and then blended with polypropylene powder of 10 melt flow index. The mica (10 to 50 wt. %) filled polypropylene samples with and without coupling agents, were injection molded and the mechanical properties of the specimens tested. There is an improvement in the tensile, flexural, and impact strength of PP/mica samples coupled with titanates. The best performance in terms of yield stress and flexural strength was observed in PP/mica samples having 0.7% C₁, titanate coupling agent. The fracture behavior of mica filled PP has also been studied using a scanning electron microscope.     

Thermal behavior of acrylonitrile carboxylic acid copolymers

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and copolymer of acrylonitrile–vinyl acids prepared by solution polymerization technique have been characterized by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) (under dynamic as well as isothermal conditions), themograviemetric analysis (TGA), and on‐line DSC‐FTIR spectroscopy. The DSC of copolymers was carried out at 5°C/min in nitrogen and air. In nitrogen atmosphere the DSC exotherm show a very sharp peak, whereas, in air atmosphere DSC exotherm is broad, and starts at a much lower temperature compared to what is observed in nitrogen atmosphere. The initiation temperature of PAN homopolymer is higher than that for the copolymers. For instance, the initiation temperature of PAN in air is 244°C, whereas, the onset of exothermic reaction is in the range of 172 to 218°C for acrylonitrile–vinyl acid copolymers. As the vinyl acid content increases the ΔH value reduces. The ΔH value of PAN in air was 7025 J/g, whereas, for P(AN‐AA) with 5.51 mol % of acid it was 3798 J/g. As the content of acrylic acid comonomer is increased to 17.51 mol % the value of ΔH decreases further to 1636 J/g. The same trend was observed with MAA and IA as well. DSC‐FTIR studies depict various chemical changes taking place during heat treatment of these copolymers. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 685–698, 2003     

Effect of coupling agents on the mechanical properties of mica/epoxy and glass fiber/mica/epoxy composites

The effect of coupling agents, two silane and one zirconate, on the mechanical properties of mica/epoxy and glass fiber/mica/epoxy composites has been investigated. The results showed that tensile modulus and flexural strength and modulus values were improved by the surface treatment of the coupling agents. The property retention was also found to be better in the case of coupling agent-treated mica/epoxy samples after boiling in water for 2h. In the case of glass fiber/mica/epoxy composites, the flexural modulus and interlaminar shear strength values improved with increase in mica content, but the effect of coupling agents was not pronounced.     

Preparation of MgO nano-rods with strong catalytic activity via hydrated basic magnesium carbonates

MgO nano-rods of several microns in length and 50–100 nm in width were prepared by calcining nesquehonite phase, obtained by simple precipitation using (NH₄)₂CO₃ under ambient condition. The MgO nano-rod with reasonably high surface area (75–120 m² g⁻¹) exhibits strong activity in solvent-free base catalyzed Claisen-Schmidt condensation giving 99% conversion in 2 h and is easily recyclable with no significant change in catalytic activity. Presence of numerous basic sites of different strengths (surface hydroxyl groups, low coordinate O²⁻ sites) is attributed to the observed effect.     

Non-resonant and resonant chaotic dynamics in externally excited cyclic systems

Summary The present work studies the vibratory response of geometrically nonlinear cyclic structures to harmonic excitations. These cyclic structure, in their linear approximations, possesses pairwise double degenerate natural frequencies with orthogonal normal modes. The dynamic response of such systems, when excited near primary resonance, is studied using the method of averaging. The averaged equations, representing the evolution of the amplitudes and phases of the interacting normal modes, are known to exhibit complex dynamics including period-doupling bifurcations and Silnikov type chaos. The higher-dimensional Melnikov method and its extensions by Kovacic and Wiggins, and Haller and Wiggings, to dissipative and nondissipative singular systems are utilized to detect the transversal intersection of stable and unstable manifolds of periodic orbits. Such intersections imply the existence of Smale horseshoes and, hence, chaotic dynamics for the averaged system.     

Hydrogen sorption in transition metal modified NaETS-4

Transition metals nickel (Ni), rhodium (Rh) and palladium (Pd) both exchanged and in situ loaded in NaETS-4 samples were synthesized and characterized. Hydrogen adsorption studies in the synthesized NaETS-4 samples were performed at 77.4 K up to 1 bar and at 303 K up to 40 bar pressure. The reversible adsorption isotherms at 77.4 K showed physisorption of hydrogen but at 303 K chemisorption was the major mechanism for hydrogen uptake, which is clear from the irreversible nature of adsorption isotherms at 303 K. Rhodium loaded NaETS-4 showed the highest hydrogen adsorption capacity of 66 cc/g at 77.4 K and 35 cc/g at 303 K. The hydrogen adsorption in transition metal modified NaETS-4 at 303 K is driven by the chemical interactions leading to the formation of transition metal hydrides inside the micropores of NaETS-4. The absorbed hydrogen at 303 K can be desorbed by heating the modified titanosilicates up to 423 K.     

Gellan gum for reducing oil uptake in sev,a legume based product during deep-fat frying

Gellan gum, a high molecular weight anionic linear polysaccharide produced by pure culture fermentation from Sphingomonas paucimobilis ATCC 31461 is used in a variety of food applications that are based on its unique gelling profile. The present work reports on the effective use of gellan gum on the oil uptake of a traditional Indian deep-fat fried product, sev that is based on chickpea flour. The effect of addition of gellan gum at 0.25–0.75% (w/w) (based on chickpea flour) on the dough texture, and that of the sev prepared was also evaluated using TA.XT2i Texture Analyzer. Addition of gellan gum at 0.25% (w/w) markedly reduced the oil content in the sev from 37.02% in the control to 27.91%. The reduction in oil content beyond 0.25% gellan gum addition was not significant (P = 0.05). Furthermore, while addition of gellan gum significantly altered the texture of dough, it did not significantly affect the texture of sev (P = 0.05). Addition of 0.25% gellan gum in combination with sodium alginate (0.25–1.00%), carboxymethylcellulose (0.25–1.00%) or soy protein isolate (2.5–10.0%) did not affect oil uptake significantly (P = 0.05) as compared to that prepared by the addition of 0.25% gellan gum alone.     

Cell alignment using patterned biocompatible gold nanoparticle templates

Biocompatible structures are produced for cellular patterning. The biocompatible surfaces are generated to provide protein nonfouling patterns, offering direct communication to the cells for controlling cell adhesion and proliferation. These biofunctional surfaces provide a platform for aligning the cells in the direction of patterns, indicating potential application in the field of tissue engineering.     

Microwave-assisted epoxidation of styrene with molecular O2 over sulfated Co–Y–ZrO2 solid catalyst

The microwave-assisted styrene epoxidation reaction with molecular O₂ as an oxidant was studied over a sulfated Co–Y-doped ZrO₂ solid catalyst. The microwave irradiation (400 W) resulted in similar styrene conversion and styrene oxide selectivity, in reduced time, as compared to conventional thermal heating. Higher power (800 W) of microwave irradiation decreased the styrene oxide selectivity as well as leading to the formation of styrene glycol. DMF was found to be the most suitable solvent for epoxidation of styrene with molecular O₂ under microwave irradiation and yielded maximum oxide selectivity (91%) at 120 °C. The microwave-assisted oxidation reaction resulted in time saving and is energy conserving method.