Mechanical and barrier properties of cardboard and 3D packaging coated with microfibrillated cellulose

Microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) is increasingly used with cellulosic substrates and especially with paper materials. Its use with cardboard remains not reported and the study of mechanical and barrier properties of MFC‐coated cardboard has been investigated in this article. The influence of coating process as well as the effect of MFC have been highlighted by comparing different MFC‐coated cardboard samples with PE‐coated cardboard samples. MFC was coated using bar coating process. Their distribution and homogeneity onto cardboard was observed using techniques such as SEM and FE‐SEM. Tests such as oxygen and air permeability, bending stiffness, and compressive strength have been carried out. The coating process used impacts significantly cardboard properties by two opposite ways: on one hand it damages the structure cohesion of cardboard decreasing its compressive strength; on the other hand it increases its bending stiffness by increasing considerably the samples thickness. The addition of MFC counterbalances the negative effects of the coating process: bending stiffness and compressive strength are indeed improved by 30% in machine direction. On the contrary, MFC does not enhance much cardboard barrier properties, although it considerably increases their water absorption. Within a framework of packaging application, MFC will rather have consequent effects on cardboard's properties as blend or as part of the multilayer structure. Other applications have to be considered for its use as top layer. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40106.     

Synthesis and properties of fluorescent light‐emitting polyamide hybrids with reactive nanosilica by epoxide functionalization

A series of poly(carbazole‐quinoxaline‐amide)s (PCQAs) containing phenyl and long alkyl chain as pendants was synthesized from polycondensation between a new diamine with a synthesized and several commercial dicarboxylic acids using Yamazaki's method. PCQAs had inherent viscosities and weight average molecular weights ( ) in the range of 0.48–0.62 dL g^?1 and 51,600–58,500 g mol^?1, respectively. These luminescent polymers are readily soluble in a variety of organic solvents and formed low‐colored and tough thin films. In this study, silane modified SiO₂ (mSiO₂) nanoparticles were prepared, characterized and used with PCQAs in preparation of nanocomposites via solution blending method. The interfacial interaction strength between mSiO₂ and the polymer–matrix enhanced thermal stability (T_10%, from 463°C to 500°C) and mechanical strength (from 100 MPa to 150 MPa) for composite containing 30 wt % mSiO₂ in comparison with the pure polyamide. These materials showed good ability for extraction–elimination of metal ions such as Cr⁶⁺, Cr³⁺, Co²⁺, Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Hg²⁺ from aqueous solutions either individually or in the mixture at various pH. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40219.     

Enhanced performance by polyaniline/tailored carbon nanotubes composite as supercapacitor electrode material

Polyaniline/tailored carbon nanotubes composite (PANI/TCN) synthesized via situ polymerization of aniline monomer in the presence of tailored carbon nanotubes (TCN) is reported as electrode material for supercapacitors. The morphology, structure, and thermostability of the composite were characterized by scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared, and thermogravimetric analysis. The electrochemical property of the resulting material was systematically studied using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge. The results show that the short rod‐like PANI dispersed well in the TCN with three‐dimensional network structure. The as‐prepared composite shows high specific capacitance and good cycling stability. A specific capacitance of 373.5 F g^?1 at a current density of 0.5 A g^?1 was achieved, which is much higher than that of pure PANI (324 F g^?1). Meanwhile, the composite retains 61.7% capacity after 1000 cycles at a scan rate of 50 mV s^?1. The enhanced specific capacitance and capacity retention indicates the potential of composite as a promising supercapacitor electrode material. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2014 , 131, 39971.     

CO2 Adsorption capacity of activated N‐doping porous carbons prepared from graphite nanofibers/polypyrrole

In this study, N‐doping porous carbons (NPCs) with a 3D aperiodic hierarchical and layered structure were prepared by the sodium hydride (NaOH) activation of graphite nanofibers (GNFs)/polypyrrole (PPY) composites. The effects of the N groups and structural features on the CO₂ adsorption capacity of NPCs were investigated by N₂ full isotherms, XRD, SEM, and TEM. The CO₂ adsorption capacity was measured by the CO₂ isothermal adsorption at 25°C and 1 atm. It was found that GNFs served as a substrate and layered graphitic carbons were formed by the thermal annealing of PPY. The content of N groups and textural properties of NPCs were enhanced with increasing activation temperature, resulting in improved CO₂ adsorption capacity. The CO₂ adsorption isotherms showed that GPK‐600 exhibited the best CO₂ adsorption capacity of 88.8 mg/g when the activation temperature was 600°C. The result indicates that the pore size and its distribution of NPCs lead to feasible contact CO₂, and the presence of high N groups on the NPCs could have resulted in further stabilization of the surface effect. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40517.     

纤维素纳米晶荧光探针的制备及其对Fe3+荧光传感检测

将纤维素纳米晶（CNC）与N-（4-氨基苯基）-4-（N,N-二甲基乙二胺基）-1,8-萘酰亚胺（EADANI）进行共价键结合,制备得到纤维素纳米晶荧光探针（FCNC）,并应用于Fe³⁺的荧光传感检测。结果表明,由于表面羧基和羟基的存在,FCNC具有较好的水分散性,在水溶液中呈现良好的黄色荧光发射性能;Fe³⁺对FCNC具有荧光增强效果,荧光增强因子达9.5,同时在竞争性离子存在情况下,FCNC表现出良好的选择性。     

纳米微晶纤维素的表面基团及其改性

纳米微晶纤维素(Nanocrystalline Cellulose,NCC)是一种纤维素经酸水解后获得的棒状晶体,由于其原料丰富、可再生、生物兼容性好以及机械性能优良等特点,已成为纳米材料研究领域的热点。本文为探索其进一步改性应用,重点分析了NCC表面存在的基团种类,对其化学改性方法进行了概括,并对其进一步发展应用进行了展望。     

纤维素纳米晶体提升柚皮素抗氧化活性的研究

柚皮素是一种黄酮类化合物,具有广泛的药理活性,具有抗炎、抗氧化、抗癌、降血脂等药理作用。然而,柚皮素在水中溶解性能差,生物利用度低,限制了其在临床中的应用。本研究以纤维素纳米晶体(Cellulose nanocrystals,CNCs)为载体,以柚皮素为疏水药物模型,利用反溶剂重结晶法成功制备了CNCs/柚皮素纳米复合物,并表征了所得纳米复合物的性能,分析了纳米复合物中柚皮素的溶出性能和抗氧化活性。结果表明,形成CNCs/柚皮素纳米复合物后,柚皮素得到充分的纳米化和稳定分散,从结晶态转变为无定型态。负载CNCs的柚皮素在水中的溶出性能得到显著提升,120min时累积溶出度达到93.4%;经CNCs负载后,当柚皮素浓度为50μg/mL时,羟基自由基清除率达44.3%,柚皮素的体外抗氧化活性显著提高。     

纳米纤维素及其在水性涂料中的应用研究进展

纳米纤维素具有高长径比、高结晶度、高杨氏模量、高强度等优点,加之其具有生物质材料的轻质、可降解及可再生等特性,使其成为一种改善水性涂料机械、光学、耐水等性能的优异选择。本文综述了纳米纤维素制备和改性方法,详细论述了纤维素纳米纤丝（CNF）和纤维素纳米晶体（CNC）对水性聚氨酯和水性丙烯酸涂料的性能改善机理及其应用研究进展。最后总结了纳米纤维素复合水性涂料研究现存的问题,并总结了未来的研究方向。     

Controllable synthesis of glass ceramics containing YF3:Eu3+ nanocrystals: Well-preserved Eu and prolonged lifetime

Monolithic luminescent glass-ceramic (GC) embedded with fluoride-based nanocrystals (NCs) has drawn much attention as it is stable and possesses long fluorescent lifetime, while only small partial of optically active ions could enter the fluoride NCs prepared by conventional crystallization process. In this work, YF₃:Eu³⁺ embedded GCs have been controllably synthesized by Spark Plasma Sintering at a relatively low sintering temperature (960°C) within 10 minutes. The GC samples show typical sharp reddish-orange emissions peaking at λ = 590 nm and 620 nm, which can be ascribed to the ⁵D₀ → ⁷F_j transitions of Eu³⁺ located in the tetrahedral coordination sites of the YF₃ NCs. Significantly, a small R/O ratio (photoluminescence intensity ratio of ⁵D₀ → ⁷F₂/⁵D₀ → ⁷F₁) suggests that majority of Eu³⁺ ions are well preserved in YF₃ NCs, which is confirmed by the EDS and TEM results that highly crystallized YF₃:Eu³⁺ NCs are homogeneously dispersed into the silica glass matrix without interfacial reaction. Hence, the lifetime of GC sample is prolonged to 6.8 ms These results demonstrate that Eu³⁺ could be well protected and resided in YF₃ low phonon crystal by this method to fabricate GC composites with high optical performance.     

Investigation of improved dielectric and thermal properties of ternary nanocomposite PMMA/MXene/ZnO fabricated by in-situ bulk polymerization

Electric power system applications demand for high-temperature dielectric materials. The improved performance of polymer nanocomposites requires improvement in their thermal conductivity & stability, dielectric stability and processing technique. However, they often lose their dielectric properties with a rise in temperature. Here, we offer a solution by incorporating electrically conducting material (MXene) and semiconducting inorganic nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) into an insulating PMMA polymer matrix to maintain high dielectric constant, both at the room and high temperature. Therefore, to achieve desirable thermal and dielectric properties is the main objective of the present study based on the homogeneous distribution of the nanofillers by in-situ bulk polymerization assisted by strong sonication in the corresponding polymer. The introduction of MXene and ZnO NPs into the PMMA not only acquires a substantial increment in the dielectric constant, to attain a value 437, with minimum energy loss of 0.36 at 25 Hz, but also improves the thermal conductivity of PMMA up to 14 times by causing the reduction of thermal resistance, which is actually responsible for the poor thermal conductivity of amorphous pure PMMA polymer. More importantly, hybrid PMMA/4:2 wt% MXene:ZnO nanocomposite leads to an excellent thermal stability. Moreover, further characterization of the synthesized nanocomposites by FTIR, SEM and XRD leads to the evaluation of strong interaction of ternary components with PMMA matrix.