Microbial susceptibility of various polymers and evaluation of thermoplastic elastomers with antimicrobial additives

The incursion of microbial growth on polymeric products can deteriorate their performance and lead to the development of undesirable staining and odors. A growing trend in the industry has aimed to reduce microbial populations on high-touch surfaces via the use of antimicrobials to protect material aesthetics and durability or to prevent the spread of pathogenic microorganisms. In this study, a variety of plastic substrates (30 unique polymer compounds), including poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene-co-styrene), poly(butylene terephthalate), poly(etherimide), various thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs), poly(carbonates), and poly(amides), were screened for susceptibility to microbial attack using American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) G21 (fungi susceptibility), Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS) Z2801, and modified ASTM E1428-15a (bacterial susceptibility) test standards. TPEs were determined to be most susceptible to microbial attack under the appropriate environmental conditions. Subsequent studies assessed the use of an antimicrobial additive, zinc pyrithione (ZPT), for potential efficacy in a variety of TPE blends for diverse target market applications. ZPT proved to be very effective in protecting TPEs, reducing Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli populations by 99.9% or more in JIS Z2801 testing and inhibiting fungal growth (rating = 0) according to the ASTM G21 standard.     

Structural silicone sealants after exposure to laboratory test for durability assessment

During the service life of structural sealant glazing (SSG) facades, the load-bearing capacity of the silicone bonds needs to be guaranteed. Laboratory tests can assess the durability of SSG-systems based on mechanical characteristics of the bond after simultaneous exposure to both climatic and mechanical loads. This article studies how the material characteristics of two common structural sealants are affected by laboratory and field exposure. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) confirms a reduction in the dynamic modulus of exposed silicone samples. Results from thermogravimetric analysis, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and small-angle X-ray scattering/wide-angle X-ray scattering show differences between the two sealants and indicate no/minor changes in the composition and morphology of the laboratory and field exposed sealants. Mechanical characterization methods, such as DMA, and tensile and shear testing of the structural bond, are shown to be sensitive toward the combined climatic and mechanical loadings, and are hence suitable for studying degradation mechanisms of structural sealants.     

Ternary Blends of Renewable Fast Pyrolysis Bio-Oil,Advanced Bioethanol,and Marine Gasoil as Potential Marine Biofuel

An alternative for reducing emissions from marine fuel is to blend bio-oil from lignocellulose non-edible feedstocks to diesel fossil fuels. Phase diagrams of the ternary systems were built to represent the transition from heterogeneous regions to homogeneous regions. Four homogeneous blends of bio-oil of eucalyptus-bioethanol-marine gasoil were experimentally characterized with respect to the most important fuel parameters for marine engines: water content, flash point, low heating value, viscosity, and acidity. Blends with closer properties to marine gasoil replacement, lower costs, and environmental impacts should be tested for large engines.     

Inverse identification of constitutive parameters from heat source fields: A local approach applied to hyperelasticity

In this paper, a new inverse identification method of constitutive parameters is developed from full kinematic and thermal field measurements. It consists in reconstructing the heat source field from two different approaches by using the heat diffusion equation. The first one requires the temperature field measurement and the value of the thermophysical parameters. The second one is based on the kinematic field measurement and the choice of a thermo-hyperelastic model that contains the parameters to be identified. The identification is carried out at the local scale, ie, at any point of the heat source field, without using the boundary conditions. In the present work, the method is applied to the challenging case of hyperelasticity from a heterogeneous test. Due to large deformations undergone by the rubber specimen tested, a motion compensation technique is developed to plot the kinematic and the thermal fields at the same points before reconstructing the heterogeneous heat source field. In the present case, the constitutive parameter of the Neo-Hookean model has been identified, and its distribution has been characterized with respect to the strain state at the surface of a cross-shaped specimen.     

Diffuse color patterning using blended electrochromic polymers for proof‐of‐concept adaptive camouflage plaques

A study using three different pairs of electrochromic polymers (ECPs) synthesized onto plaques by means of a modified vapor phase polymerization (VPP) technique is presented. Restriction of the respective polymerization times, allowed both faster and slower polymerizing monomers to be controlled, and produced blended plaques with visually diffuse interfaces. The ECPs within the blended plaques retain their individual electrochromic behavior and when encapsulated into an electrochromic device, show outstanding optical switching performance with little degradation evident over 10,000 cycles, coupled with a switching time of the order of 1 second. Blends also allow multiple diffuse color changes within an electrochromic device, due to the difference in oxidation potentials of the individual ECPs, making them candidates for adaptive camouflage use. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42158.     

Use of heat-moisture treated maize starch to modify the properties of wheat flour and the quality of noodles

Waxy, normal and high-amylose maize starches were subjected to heat-moisture treatment (HMT) and then added to wheat flour (WF) in different ratios (1%, 5% and 10%). The properties of blends and their cooked noodles were studied to investigate the effects of HMT starches. The incorporation of HMT starch in WF led to an increase in swelling power, peak viscosity and breakdown and to a decrease in setback, thus inhibiting retrogradation, hence enhancing resultant noodle softness. Compared to the same addition ratio of native starch to WF, HMT starch led to higher tensile strength and extensibility in resultant noodles. WF with added HMT starch had higher resistant starch than with native starch. This study showed that addition of HMT maize starch has potential to bring nutritional benefits. However, it is necessary to select the proper blending ratio and amylose content of starch to add, in consideration of its effect on noodle quality.     

The overall crystallization behavior of polyethylene/wax blends as phase change materials for thermal energy storage: A mini review

This review paper deals with the overall crystallization behavior of polyethylene/wax blends as phase change materials (PCMs) for thermal energy storage with the determination of their thermal properties. The addition of molten wax to the polyethylenes decreases the crystallization and melting temperatures of the blends. However, incorporating fillers to the polyethylene/wax blends can either decrease or increase the crystallization and melting temperatures of the composites depending on the filler type. The normalized enthalpy values of linear low-density polyethylene showed no significant change when increasing the wax content. On the contrary, the normalized enthalpy values of the wax in the blends were lesser than that of pure wax and increased with increasing wax content. Since the wax in the blend had a lower crystallinity compared to pure wax, this influences its effectiveness as a PCM for thermal energy storage. The effect of different polyethylenes on the wax morphology gave rise to enhance phase separation when wax was blended to high-density polyethylene as compared to the other polyethylenes. On the contrary, the effect of various waxes on the morphology of polyethylene resulted in different morphologies due to the molecular weight of the wax used and the structure of the polyethylene chain. The addition of fillers to the polyethylene (PE)/wax samples resulted in enhanced phase separation. The overall isothermal crystallization rate and the equilibrium melting temperature of PEs in the PEs/wax blends were depressed by wax addition due to the wax dilution effect.     

Preparation and characterization of Fe‐Tetranitro phthalocyanine/polyurethane blends

In this article, Fe‐Tetranitro phthalocyanine (Fe‐TNPc)/polyurethane (PU) blends were prepared by solution blending. The mechanical properties of the samples were studied by tensile tests. The results showed that the tensile strength and the elongation at break of the samples increased with increasing Fe‐TNPc content. The improved mechanical properties for the samples containing Fe‐TNPc was attributed to the increased microphase separation degree of PU, which was further investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and Fourier transform infrared analysis. The lower T_g of the soft segments and the higher T_g of the hard segments for the samples containing Fe‐TNPc indicated an increase of microphase separation degree of PU. The increased hydrogen bonded carbonyl groups in the samples with increasing Fe‐TNPc content also proved the conclusion. Quantitative evaluation of the interaction between Fe‐TNPc and PU was also investigated by analyzing the physical crosslinking density of the samples. The results indicated that the physical crosslinking density of the samples increased with increasing Fe‐TNPc content. The antibacterial properties of the samples were investigated. The results showed that the percentage bacterial inactivation toward S. aureus and E. coli of the samples were 98.9% and 90.9%, respectively, when Fe‐TNPc was added to 1%. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41284.     

软印刷技术

软印刷技术是基于弹性体印章/模具来转移图形结构的微纳加工技术。详细介绍了软印刷技术中转移图形结构的多种方式,并探讨软印刷技术在微纳电子学、光学、传感器、生物等领域的广泛应用。对软印刷技术的弹性体印章/模具制备、聚二甲基硅氧烷的属性、理论研究等进行了探讨。