Starch‐poly(acrylamide‐co‐2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid) graft copolymers prepared by reactive extrusion

Graft copolymers of starch with acrylamide and 2‐acrylamido‐2‐methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) were prepared by reactive extrusion in a twin‐screw extruder. The weight ratio of total monomer to starch was fixed at 1 : 3, while the molar fraction of AMPS in the monomer feed ranged from 0 to 0.119. Monomer to polymer conversions were 85% or greater, with grafting efficiencies of 68% (highest AMPS content) to 85% (no AMPS). Absorbency in distilled water at pH 7 increased linearly with the mole fraction AMPS in the grafted polymer, while absorbencies in 0.9% NaCl were independent of AMPS content. When swollen in water/ethanol mixtures, swelling decreased gradually with increasing ethanol volume fraction, followed by a large decrease over a narrow ethanol concentration. This behavior is similar to that observed for AMPS‐acrylamide gels. The swelling properties suggest these graft copolymers may have applications as responsive materials. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42405.     

Poly(methyl methacrylate)‐grafted cellulose nanocrystals: One‐step synthesis,nanocomposite preparation,and characterization

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are ideal reinforcing agents for polymer nanocomposites because they are lightweight and nano‐sized with a large aspect ratio and high elastic modulus. To overcome the poor compatibility of hydrophilic CNCs in non‐polar composite matrices, we grafted poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) from the surface of CNCs using an aqueous, one‐pot, free radical polymerization method with ceric ammonium nitrate as the initiator. The hybrid nanoparticles were characterized by CP/MAS NMR, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, contact angle, thermogravimetric analysis, X‐ray diffraction, and atomic force microscopy. Spectroscopy demonstrates that 0.11 g/g (11 wt %) PMMA is grafted from the CNC surface, giving PMMA‐g‐CNCs, which are similar in size and crystallinity to unmodified CNCs but have an onset of thermal degradation 45 °C lower. Nanocomposites were prepared by compounding unmodified CNCs and PMMA‐g‐CNCs (0.0025–0.02 g/g (0.25–2 wt %) loading) with PMMA using melt mixing and wet ball milling. CNCs improved the performance of melt‐mixed nanocomposites at 0.02 g/g (2 wt %) loading compared to the PMMA control, while lower loadings of CNCs and all loadings of PMMA‐g‐CNCs did not. The difference in Young's modulus between unmodified CNC and polymer‐grafted CNC composites was generally insignificant. Overall, ball‐milled composites had inferior mechanical and rheological properties compared to melt‐mixed composites. Scanning electron microscopy showed aggregation in the samples with CNCs, but more pronounced aggregation with PMMA‐g‐CNCs. Despite improving interfacial compatibility between the nanoparticles and the matrix, the effect of PMMA‐g‐CNC aggregation and decreased thermal stability dominated the composite performance.     

Cardanol grafted natural rubber: A green substitute to natural rubber for enhancing silica filler dispersion

Natural rubber (NR) usage is wide‐spread from pencil erasers to aero tyres. Carbon black and silica are the most common reinforcing fillers in the rubber industries. Carbon black enhances the mechanical properties, while silica reduces the rolling resistance and enhances the wet grip characteristics. However, the dispersion of polar silica fillers in the nonpolar hydrocarbon rubbers like natural rubber is a serious issue to be resolved. In recent years, cardanol, an agricultural by‐product of the cashew industry is already established as a multifunctional additive in the rubber. The present study focuses on dispersion of silica filler in natural rubber grafted with cardanol (CGNR) and determination of its technical properties. The optimum cure time reduces and the cure rate increases for the CGNR vulcanizates as compared to that of the NR vulcanizates at all loadings of silica varying from 30 to 60 phr. The interaction between the phenolic moiety of cardanol and the siloxane as well as silanol functional groups present on the silica surface enhances the rubber–filler interaction which leads to better reinforcement. The crosslink density and bound rubber content are found to be higher for the silica reinforced CGNR vulcanizates. The physico‐mechanical properties of the silica reinforced CGNR vulcanizates are superior to those of the NR vulcanizates. The CGNR vulcanizates show lower compression set and lower abrasion loss. The dynamic‐mechanical properties exhibit less Payne effect for silica reinforced CGNR vulcanizates as compared to the NR vulcanizates. The transmission electron photomicrographs show uniform dispersion of silica filler in the CGNR matrix. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43057.     

Use of polyethylene films photografted with 2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate as a potential adsorbent for removal of chromium (VI) from aqueous medium

A new polymeric adsorbent material based on polyethylene (PE) was prepared by photografting of 2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) as a positively chargeable monomer to a PE film. The effects of the experimental parameters, such as the pH value, temperature, and grafted amount on adsorption of chromium(VI) (Cr(VI)) ions were investigated for the DMAEMA‐grafted PE (PE‐g‐PDAMEMA) films. The maximum adsorption capacity was obtained at the initial pH value of 3.0 for a PE‐g‐PDMAEMA film with 1.8 mmol/g and the maximum adsorption capacity obtained was higher than or compatible to those of many of the other polymeric adsorbents prepared for Cr(VI) ions. The adsorption kinetics obeyed the mechanism of the pseudo‐second order kinetic model and adsorption of Cr(VI) ions on PE‐g‐PDMAEMA films was well expressed by the Langmuir isotherm model. A high Langmuir adsorption constant suggests that the adsorption of Cr(VI) ions occurs between protonated dimethylamino groups and ions mainly through the electrostatic interaction. Cr(VI) ions adsorbed were successfully desorbed from a PE‐g‐PDMAEMA film in solutions of NaCl, NH₄Cl, NH₄Cl containing NaOH, and NaOH and a PE‐g‐PDMAEMA film was regenerated and repeatedly used for adsorption of Cr(VI) ions without appreciable loss in the adsorption capacity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43360.     

Synthesis of aminated glycidyl methacrylate grafted rice husk and investigation of its anion‐adsorption properties

In this study, we focused on the synthesis, characterization, and adsorption capacity testing of aminated glycidyl methacrylate grafted rice husk (RH‐g‐GMA–Am). Our goal was to obtain a high‐performance surface for the adsorption of various anions. Glycidyl methacrylate grafted rice husk (RH‐g‐GMA) was prepared by the graft copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate with rice husk; the product was further subjected to an amination reaction. The surface properties, sorption characteristic functional groups, isotherm and kinetic studies, pore diffusion models, and effects of the temperature and pH on the material properties were studied under batch conditions. The IR spectroscopy results show additional surface functional groups for RH‐g‐GMA–Am. The adsorptions of and on RH‐g‐GMA–Am were found to follow pseudo‐second‐order kinetics; this indicated a possible dominant role played by chemisorption. The rate‐limiting step for mass transfer was found to be boundary layer diffusion. Furthermore, the sorption isotherms for and fit the Langmuir model. The amination of RH‐g‐GMA drastically increased the removal efficiency from 3 to 82% and from 6 to 93% for and , respectively. Moreover, RH‐g‐GMA–Am exhibited a better removal efficiency in the pH range of 4–6.5. Regeneration studies revealed that the surface of RH‐g‐GMA–Am could be regenerated repetitively by simple acid washing with an insignificant decrease in the active surface for consecutive adsorptions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43002.     

Montmorillonite as support for peroxide in the melt grafting of maleic anhydride onto polypropylene

Grafting of maleic anhydride onto polypropylene was performed in a Haake torque rheometer, in the presence of organically modified montmorillonite, MMT (used as support for the peroxide), according to a 2³ factorial design, where the maleic anhydride concentration (C_MA), peroxide concentration (C_per) and reaction time (t_r) were varied. For comparison, the reaction in the absence of MMT was also conducted. Polypropylene degradation was assessed by parallel plate rheometry and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and percentage of reacted maleic anhydride (%MA_g) was obtained by titration and FTIR spectroscopy. The results showed differences in both systems, conventional and in the presence of MMT. The structure of polypropylene grafted with maleic anhydride, PP‐g‐MA, indicates longer branches are formed in the presence of MMT compared to in its absence, demonstrated by FTIR analysis. As in conventional reaction systems, an increase in C_per caused an increase in %MA_g and a reduction in molar mass. The variable C_MA showed to be not significant in the grafting reaction in the presence of MMT, even at high DCP levels, at a 5% significance level. On the other hand, increase in C_MA resulted in significant increase in viscosity. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44134.     

Thin film composite forward osmosis membranes with poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) grafted nano‐TiO2 as additive in substrate

The poly(2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate) grafted titanium dioxide nanoparticles were synthesized and added to the substrate of flat‐sheet thin film composite forward osmosis (TFC‐FO) membranes. The hydrophilicity of substrate was improved, which was advantageous to enhance the water flux of TFC‐FO membranes. The membranes containing a 3 wt % TiO₂‐PHEMA in the substrate exhibited a finger‐like structure combined with sponge‐like structure, while those with lower or without TiO₂‐PHEMA content showed fully finger‐like structures. As for FO performance, the TFC‐FO membranes with 3 wt % TiO₂‐PHEMA content achieved the highest water flux of 42.8 LMH and 24.2 LMH against the DI water using 2M NaCl as the draw solution tested under the active layer against draw solution (AL‐DS) mode and active layer against feed solution (AL‐FS) mode, respectively. It was proven that the hydrophilic property of membrane substrates was a strong factor influencing the water flux in FO tests. Furthermore, the structural parameter was remarkably decreased with an increase of TiO₂‐PHEMA content in membrane substrate, indicating the reducing of internal concentration polarization. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43719.     

Polyolefin elastomer grafted unsaturated hindered phenol esters: synthesis and antioxidant behavior

Monomeric antioxidants are synthesized from esterification of 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid and 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid with unsaturated fatty alcohols. The antioxidant activity is evaluated both in blending and radical grafting processes. The effect of chain length and phenolic group is investigated on efficiency of antioxidants. It is demonstrated that the esters of 3-(3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyphenyl)propionic acid exhibit significantly longer induction time. The results of radical grafting reaction shows synthesized antioxidants can be successfully grafted onto polymer chains and the phenolic moiety is functional after extraction process, while pure and commercially stabilized samples are degraded instantaneously. Also, different initiator systems are utilized to enhance the extent of grafting. Among MEK, DCP, and DHBP peroxides, DHBP can be more effective in increasing the antioxidant grafted onto polymer. In addition, possibility of rising in graft content is investigated in presence of redox initiator. Using this approach, polymer-bound antioxidant with prolonged thermal stability can be achieved.     

Design of Phosphonated Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids Grafted on γ-Alumina: Potential Model for Hybrid Membranes

Imidazolium bromide-based ionic liquids bearing phosphonyl groups on the cationic part were synthesized and grafted on γ-alumina (γ-Al₂O₃) powders. These powders were prepared as companion samples of conventional mesoporous γ-alumina membranes, in order to favor a possible transfer of the results to supported membrane materials, which could be used for CO₂ separation applications. Effective grafting was demonstrated using energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (EDX), N₂ adsorption measurements, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and special attention was paid to ³¹P and ¹³C solid state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR).     

PET薄膜的亲水改性研究

目的 探索对聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯(PET)薄膜亲水改性的制备工艺,研究其是否能有效提高PET薄膜表面的亲水性。方法 将PET薄膜裁剪成1 cm×4 cm的矩形样条,样条放入盛有无水乙醇的离心管中超声清洗,经烘干后再放入叔丁基过氧化氢(TBHP)溶液中进行引发反应,引发完成的PET薄膜样条依次用无水乙醇、水超声清洗后放入PVP溶液进行改性,最后超声清洗并烘干放置24 h进行接触角测试与红外光谱测试,分别评价PET薄膜的亲水性与表面成分变化。结果 使用不同PVP进行改性,PVP-K90对PET薄膜的改性效果最佳,接触角下降最明显,其接触角为21.3°。研究不同浓度TBHP对接触角的影响,随着TBHP浓度增加,接触角逐渐减小,TBHP浓度为1%时,其接触角为28°。探究不同浓度PVP-K90对接触角的影响,随着PVP-K90浓度增加,接触角呈现先减小后略有增大的变化趋势,PVP-K90浓度为5%时达到最小值(24.2°)。最佳配方和工艺为：5%PVP-K90+1%TBHP,温度80℃,转速600 r/min,反应时间1 h。PET薄膜的接触角从改性前的81.7°下降到改性后的29.5°,亲水...