Effect of surface properties on the adhesion between PVC and wood veneer laminates

Functional organic cation induced 3D-to-0D phase transformation and surface reconstruction of CsPbI3 inorganic perovskite

Efficiency and stability are the main research focuses for perovskite solar cells. Inorganic perovskites like CsPbI₃ possess higher chemical stability than those with organic A-site cations, while they also exhibit higher defect density. Nonetheless, it is highly challenging to induce orderly secondary arrangement or reconstruction of inorganic perovskites with reduced defects because of their unique chemical properties. In this work, in-situ three-dimension-to-zero-dimension (3D-to-0D) phase transformation and surface reconstruction on CsPbI₃ film is achieved as induced by a functional organic cation, benzyldodecyldimethylammonium (BDA), a process of which that is similar to phase-transfer catalysis. With the help of BDABr salt treatment, 0D Cs₄PbI₆ perovskites are secondarily formed along CsPbI₃ grain boundaries with Cs-related cationic defects passivated, yielding structures of higher stability. The BDA-CsPbI₃ films exhibit reduced non-radiative recombination and promoted charge transfer, leading to inorganic perovskite solar cells with a high power conversion efficiency of 20.63% and good operational stability.

Scalable Production of Ambient Stable Hybrid Bismuth-Based Materials: AACVD of Phenethylammonium Bismuth Iodide Films*

Large homogeneous and adherent coatings of phenethylammonium bismuth iodide were produced using the cost-effective and scalable aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition (AACVD) methodology. The film morphology was found to depend on the deposition conditions and substrates, resulting in different optical properties to those reported from their spin-coated counterparts. Optoelectronic characterization revealed band bending effects occurring between the hybrid material and semiconducting substrates (TiO2 and FTO) due to heterojunction formation, and the optical bandgap of the hybrid material was calculated from UV-visible and PL spectrometry to be 2.05 eV. Maximum values for hydrophobicity and crystallographic preferential orientation were observed for films deposited on FTO/glass substrates, closely followed by values from films deposited on TiO2 /glass substrates.

Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate Interface Modification of Methylammonium Lead Iodide for Surface Passivation of Perovskite Solar Cells

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have been developed as a promising photovoltaic technology because of their excellent photovoltaic performance. However, interfacial recombination and charge carrier transport losses at the surface greatly limit the performance and stability of PSCs. In this work, the fabrication of high-quality PSCs based on methylammonium lead iodide with excellent ambient stability is reported. An anionic surfactant, sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS), is introduced to simultaneously passivate the defect states and stabilize the cubic phase of the perovskite film. The SDBS located at grain boundaries and the surface of the active layer can effectively passivate under-coordinated lead ions and protect the perovskite components from water-induced degradation. As a result, a champion power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 19.42% is achieved with an open-circuit voltage (V_OC) of 1.12 V, a short-circuit current (J_SC) of 23.23 mA cm^-2, and a fill factor (FF) of 74% in combination with superior moisture stability. The SDBS-passivated devices retain 80% of their initial average PCE after 2112 h of storage under ambient conditions.

Properties of Thermoplastic-Bonded Plywood: Effects of the Wood Species and Types of the Thermoplastic Films

There are a lack of proper adhesives that meet the wood industry requirements of being environmentally friendly, low cost, and easy to use; thus, the application of thermoplastic polymers, especially films, is promising. This work expands our knowledge about the possibility of using thermoplastic films for the production of environmentally friendly plywood. The effects of the adhesives type and wood species on the properties of plastic film bonded plywood were studied. Sliced veneers of two hardwoods (birch and beech) and one softwood (spruce) were used in the experiments. Three types of thermoplastic films—low-density polyethylene (LDPE), co-polyamide (CoPA), and co-polyester (CoPE)—were used as an adhesive for bonding plywood samples. Melamine–urea–formaldehyde (MUF) resin was used as a reference. The influence of the type of adhesive and wood species as well as their interaction on the properties of plywood was significant. The lowest bonding strength demonstrated plywood samples bonded by LDPE, and the highest bonding strength in the samples was shown in those bonded by CoPA. A significant difference was found between softwoods and hardwoods in terms of their influence on the physical and mechanical properties of plywood samples. From the obtained data, it follows that softwoods provide much lower values of bending strength (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), and bonding strength than hardwoods. The obtained bonding strength values of plastic-bonded plywood panels ranged from 1.18 to 2.51 MPa and met the European standard EN 314-2 for Class 1 (dry conditions) plywood.

Reaction Mechanism of Etherification of Rice Straw with Epichlorohydrin in Alkaline Medium

Wood plastic composites (WPCs) made from plant fibres and plastics have gained more and more attention. Studies have been focused on preparation and mechanical performance of WPCs. While mechanism of chemical modification of cereal straw has rarely been reported. In the present work, rice straw was etherified with epichlorohydrin (EPI) and the mechanism of etherification was investigated. Natural rice straw (NRS) was pretreated with NaOH to move most of hemicellulose and lignin. The alkali treated rice straw (ARS), whose dominant component being cellulose, was etherified with EPI at 120 °C for 1–8 h in toluene with NaOH as catalyst. NRS, ARS and etherified rice straw (ERS) were characterized and analyzed by FT-IR, solid CP/MAS ¹³C-NMR, elemental analysis and neutral sugar analysis. The etherification reaction was finished within 5 h, and C₃H₆O units were introduced into the structure of cellulose, leading to the increase of contents of C and H in ERS. The etherification process of ARS in alkaline medium was divided into three stages, during which two hydroxyl groups were replaced by two ether bonds successively, and a new hydroxyl group was formed in the last step. The number of hydroxyl groups in ERS was reduced, and reduction of hydrophilicity of ERS could be expected.

Plasma Treatment and TEOS Modification on Wood Flour Applied to Composite of Polyvinyl Chloride/Wood Flour

In this work, the effects of wood flour and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) content on the fusion time, fusion torque, fusion temperature, and fusion energy of polyvinyl chloride/wood flour (PVC/WF) composites were studied. Plasma-assisted surface treatment of WF before modifying with TEOS to form the silica nanoparticles on the surface of wood flour plays a role as a reinforcement of the phase interaction. This modification was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) techniques. Moreover, BET data showed that specific surface area and volume of plasma treated WF and TEOS modified WF (WS) were considerably improved in comparison with original WF. By increasing WF, a remarkable increase in time, temperature, and energy of mixing process led to the enhancement of fusion torque. In the case of composite using WS, the increase of TEOS content resulted in shorter fusion time, whereas the other fusion characteristics of composites increased. The investigation of mechanical and rheological properties such as Young’s modulus and dynamic storage modulus G′ showed the stiffness of the PVC/WF composites has been significantly improved with increasing wood flour and modifier contents. The research showed an application of nanoparticles in the industrial production of polymer composite materials.

Environmentally-Friendly High-Density Polyethylene-Bonded Plywood Panels

Thermoplastic films exhibit good potential to be used as adhesives for the production of veneer-based composites. This work presents the first effort to develop and evaluate composites based on alder veneers and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) film. The effects of hot-pressing temperature (140, 160, and 180 °C), hot-pressing pressure (0.8, 1.2, and 1.6 MPa), hot-pressing time (1, 2, 3, and 5 min), and type of adhesives on the physical and mechanical properties of alder plywood panels were investigated. The effects of these variables on the core-layer temperature during the hot pressing of multiplywood panels using various adhesives were also studied. Three types of adhesives were used: urea–formaldehyde (UF), phenol–formaldehyde (PF), and HDPE film. UF and PF adhesives were used for the comparison. The findings of this work indicate that formaldehyde-free HDPE film adhesive gave values of mechanical properties of alder plywood panels that are comparable to those obtained with traditional UF and PF adhesives, even though the adhesive dosage and pressing pressure were lower than when UF and PF adhesives were used. The obtained bonding strength values of HDPE-bonded alder plywood panels ranged from 0.74 to 2.38 MPa and met the European Standard EN 314-2 for Class 1 plywood. The optimum conditions for the bonding of HDPE plywood were 160 °C, 0.8 MPa, and 3 min.

Ultrahydrophobic 3D/2D fluoroarene bilayer-based water-resistant perovskite solar cells with efficiencies exceeding 22

Preventing the degradation of metal perovskite solar cells (PSCs) by humid air poses a substantial challenge for their future deployment. We introduce here a two-dimensional (2D) A₂PbI₄ perovskite layer using pentafluorophenylethylammonium (FEA) as a fluoroarene cation inserted between the 3D light-harvesting perovskite film and the hole-transporting material (HTM). The perfluorinated benzene moiety confers an ultrahydrophobic character to the spacer layer, protecting the perovskite light-harvesting material from ambient moisture while mitigating ionic diffusion in the device. Unsealed 3D/2D PSCs retain 90% of their efficiency during photovoltaic operation for 1000 hours in humid air under simulated sunlight. Remarkably, the 2D layer also enhances interfacial hole extraction, suppressing nonradiative carrier recombination and enabling a power conversion efficiency (PCE) >22%, the highest reported for 3D/2D architectures. Our new approach provides water- and heat-resistant operationally stable PSCs with a record-level PCE.

Effect of PVC film pretreatment on performance and lamination of wood-plastic composite plywood

In order to solve the practical problem of heat transfer during the hot pressing process of a novel wood-plastic composite plywood, this paper investigates the perforation treatment of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic films and their plywood composites. The PVC films were pretreated by the physical punching method, and the effects of PVC perforation diameter, hot pressing time and hot pressing temperature on the mechanical properties of the plywood composites were investigated by orthogonal experimental design. The results showed that the optimum hot pressing time was 7 min, the hot pressing temperature was 170 °C, and the PVC perforation diameter was 15 mm for the optimum mechanical properties. The punching pretreatment of PVC films gave rise to a reduction of the hot pressing time by 51 s due to improved heat transfer and heat loss by 5.06%, and allowed an increase in the initial moisture content of the veneer by 2–3%, thereby cutting down the drying cost in the veneer production process, which is conducive to energy conservation and environmental protection.

This paper investigates the perforation treatment of polyvinylchloride (PVC) plastic films and their plywood composites.

A Novel System Design for Continuous Processing of Plastic/Wood-Fiber Composite Foams with Improved Cell Morphology

It is believed that the moisture that is inherently present in nondried wood-fibers adversely affects the cell morphology of plastic/wood-fiber composite foams processed in extrusion. Based on this hypothesis, achieving a continuous extrusion-based production of fine-celled plastic/wood-fiber composite foams witha desirable quality would be strongly conditioned by the efficiency of the system designed for uninterrupted wood-fiber moisture elimination. This paper presents an innovative approachin addressing this problem by implementing the well-known cascade devolatilizing system in a chemical blowing agent (CBA) based production of plastic/wood-fiber composite foams. It comprises a moisture-evaporation tandem extrusion system equipped witha vent at the interconnection of the two extruders to serve for purging the moisture in the atmosphere. In order to check the performance of the newly developed system, an experimental study has been carried out for comparing the cell morphology and the volume expansion ratios of the foams obtained by processing identically formulated foamable plastic/wood-fiber composite mixtures using simultaneously the cascade devolatilizing tandem extrusion system and a corresponding single extruder withno vent. The experimental results revealed that the foams produced by using the cascade devolatilizing tandem system exhibited significantly improved cell morphologies and surface quality.

Instantaneous room temperature bonding of a wide range of non-silicon substrates with poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) elastomer mediated by a mercaptosilane

This paper introduces an instantaneous and robust strategy for bonding a variety of non-silicon substrates such as thermoplastics, metals, an alloy, and ceramics to poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) irreversibly, mediated by one-step chemical modification using a mercaptosilane at room temperature followed by corona treatment to realize heterogeneous assembly also at room temperature. The mercapto functional group is one of the strongest nucleophiles, and it can instantaneously react with electrophiles of substrates, resulting in an alkoxysilane-terminated substrate at room temperature. In this way, prior oxidation of the substrate is dispensed with, and the alkoxysilane-terminated substrate can be readily oxidized and irreversibly bonded with oxidized PDMS at room temperature. A commercially available Tesla coil was used for surface oxidation, replacing a bulky and expensive plasma generator. Surface characterization was conducted by water contact angle measurement and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. A total of fifteen non-silicon substrates including polycarbonate (PC), two types of poly(vinylchloride) (PVC), poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), polyimide (PI), two types of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), polypropylene (PP), iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), copper (Cu), brass, alumina (Al2O3), and zirconia (ZrO2) were bonded successfully with PDMS using this method, and the bond strengths of PDMS-PMMA, PDMS-PC, PDMS-PVC, PDMS-PET, PDMS-Al, and PDMS-Cu assemblies were measured to be approximately 335.9, 511.4, 467.3, 476.4, 282.2, and 236.7 kPa, respectively. The overall processes including surface modification followed by surface oxidation using corona treatment for bonding were realized within 12 to 17 min for most of the substrates tested except for ceramics which required 1 h for the bonding. In addition, large area (10 × 10 cm(2)) bonding was also successfully realized, ensuring the high reliability and stability of the introduced method.

One-step surface modification for irreversible bonding of various plastics with a poly(dimethylsiloxane) elastomer at room temperature

Here, we introduce a simple and facile method for bonding poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) to various plastics irreversibly via a one-step chemical treatment at room temperature. This was mediated by poly[dimethylsiloxane-co-(3-aminopropyl)methylsiloxane] (amine-PDMS linker), a chemical composed of a PDMS backbone incorporating an amine side group. Room temperature anchoring of the linker was achieved via a reaction between the amine functionality of the linker and the carbon backbone of the plastics, thereby producing urethane bonds. This resulted in the PDMS functionality being exposed on the plastic surface, mimicking the surface properties of bulk PDMS. Following corona treatment of the PDMS-modified plastic and a sheet of PDMS, the two surfaces were placed in contact with each other and heated at 80 °C for 1 h. This resulted in permanent bonding between PDMS and the plastic. To examine the effectiveness of the amine-PDMS linker coating procedure, the surfaces were characterized by measuring water contact angles and by employing X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Polycarbonate (PC), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(vinylchloride) (PVC), and polyimide (PI) were bonded successfully to PDMS using this method, with bond strengths of PC, PET, and PVC with PDMS measured to be approximately 428.5 ± 17.9, 361.7 ± 31.2, and 430.0 ± 14.9 kPa, respectively. The bond strength of a PC-PC homogeneous assembly, also realized using the proposed method, was measured to be approximately 343.9 ± 7.4 kPa. Delamination tests revealed that the PC-PC assembly was able to withstand intense introduction of a liquid whose per-minute injection volume was approximately 278 times greater than the total internal volume of the microchannel fabricated in PC. This demonstrated the robustness of the seal formed using the proposed technique.

High Density Polyethylene Composites Reinforced with Hybrid Inorganic Fillers: Morphology, Mechanical and Thermal Expansion Performance

The effect of individual and combined talc and glass fibers (GFs) on mechanical and thermal expansion performance of the filled high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites was studied. Several published models were adapted to fit the measured tensile modulus and strength of various composite systems. It was shown that the use of silane-modified GFs had a much larger effect in improving mechanical properties and in reducing linear coefficient of thermal expansion (LCTE) values of filled composites, compared with the use of un-modified talc particles due to enhanced bonding to the matrix, larger aspect ratio, and fiber alignment for GFs. Mechanical properties and LCTE values of composites with combined talc and GF fillers varied with talc and GF ratio at a given total filler loading level. The use of a larger portion of GFs in the mix can lead to better composite performance, while the use of talc can help lower the composite costs and increase its recyclability. The use of 30 wt % combined filler seems necessary to control LCTE values of filled HDPE in the data value range generally reported for commercial wood plastic composites. Tensile modulus for talc-filled composite can be predicted with rule of mixture, while a PPA-based model can be used to predict the modulus and strength of GF-filled composites.

Rheology and Processing of HDPE/Wood Flour Composites

Rheological and mechanical properties of extruded wood plastic composites have been investigated for the purpose of providing a better understanding of processing conditions in profile extrusion for this novel class of thermoplastics composites. The basic formulations prepared for the study were comprised of 60 wt.% HDPE, with or without LLDPE-MAH as coupling agent, compounded with up to 40 wt.% of wood flour and lubricant. Capillary and rotational rheometers were employed to measure the rheological properties of the melt composite. A cooled die at the end of a single screw extruder was used for the extrusion of rectangular profiles having smooth surfaces and edges. Finite element flow simulation was used for the interpretation of the experimental data. Once extrusion steady conditions were achieved in the die, linear output was monitored and profile samples were cut for determination of flexural modulus and strength. The results showed that flexural properties can be influenced by many factors such as, coupling agents, lubricants, processing conditions, die pressure drop and cooling at the die. Linear speed of HDPE wood-plastic profile extrusion and end-use properties are strongly influenced by combination of these factors.

Determination of thermal properties and morphology of eucalyptus wood residue filled high density polyethylene composites

Thermal behaviors of eucalyptus wood residue (EWR) filled recycled high density polyethylene (HDPE) composites have been measured applying the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Morphology of the materials was also studied using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Addition of the EWR into the recycled HDPE matrix reduced the starting of degradation temperature. EWR filled recycled HDPE had two main decomposition peaks, one for EWR around 350 °C and one for recycled HDPE around 460 °C. Addition of EWR did not affect the melting temperature of the recycled HDPE. Morphological study showed that addition of coupling agent improved the compatibility between wood residue and recycled HDPE.

A Factorial Design Applied to the Extrusion Foaming of Polypropylene/Wood-Flour Composites

A factorial design was performed to determine the statistical effects of material compositions and extrusion processing variables on the foamability of polypropylene (PP)/wood-flour composites. Two levels with centrepoint values of wood flour content, chemical foaming agent (CFA) content, extruder's die temperature and screw speed were employed. The isolated main and interaction effects of these variables on the void fraction of foamed composite samples were analysed using Design Expert software. Statistical analysis of data revealed that the void fraction data was best fit with a linear model. The extruder's screw speed showed no discernible effect within the narrow range studied (20 to 50 rpm) whereas the other three main factors showed significant effects (values of “Prob > F” less than 0.0001) on the void fraction. Wood flour content/CFA content and wood flour content/die temperature constitute the important interaction effects. The experimental results indicate that void fraction of extrusion foamed composites is a strong function of the extruder's die temperature. A large amount of gas molecules available for the cell growth is not the only requirement for the production of composite foams with a high void fraction. Processing at a high die temperature is also very important for the development of proper viscoelastic properties of the matrix suitable for cell growth.