Modification of hydrophilic cellulose fibers by monolayer growth of polystyrene chains using ATRP

Corn stalk as starting material to prepare a novel adsorbent via SET-LRP and its adsorption performance for Pb(II) and Cu(II)

Corn stalk was used as the initial material to prepare a corn stalk matrix-g-polyacrylonitrile-based adsorbent. At first, the corn stalk was treated with potassium hydroxide and nitric acid to obtain the corn stalk-based cellulose (CS), and then the CS was modified by 2-bromoisobutyrylbromide (2-BiBBr) to prepare a macroinitiator. After that, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was grafted onto the macroinitiator by single-electron transfer living radical polymerization (SET-LRP). A novel adsorbent AO CS-g-PAN was, therefore, obtained by introducing amidoxime groups onto the CS-g-PAN with hydroxylamine hydrochloride (NH2OH · HCl). FTIR, SEM and XPS were applied to characterize the structure of AO CS-g-PAN. The adsorbent was then employed to remove Pb(II) and Cu(II), and it exhibited a predominant adsorption performance on Pb(II) and Cu(II). The effect of parameters, such as temperature, adsorption time, pH and the initial concentration of metal ions on adsorption capacity, were examined in detail during its application. Results suggest that the maximum adsorption capacity of Pb(II) and Cu(II) was 231.84 mg g-1 and 94.72 mg g-1, and the corresponding removal efficiency was 72.03% and 63%, respectively. The pseudo-second order model was more suitable to depict the adsorption process. And the adsorption isotherm of Cu(II) accorded with the Langmuir model, while the Pb(II) conformed better to the Freundlich isotherm model.

Tuning surface properties of poly(butylene terephthalate) melt blown fibers by alkaline hydrolysis and fluorination

The wetting properties of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) melt blown fibers were tuned by alkaline hydrolysis and subsequent fluorination. Fiber mats were exposed to a NaOH methanol solution for controlled periods of time at several temperatures, resulting in surface hydrolysis (h-PBT). Subsequent simple solution chemistry was applied to the h-PBT fibers, leading to fluorination of the surface (f-PBT) and the transformation of the wetting properties of the material. Electron microscopy revealed that hydrolysis leads to a textured surface that is retained in the fluorinated product. Sessile drop wetting measurements demonstrated superhydrophilicity for the h-PBT fiber mats and sticky superhydrophobicity with the f-PBT fiber mat.

The preparation of graft copolymers of cellulose and cellulose derivatives using ATRP under homogeneous reaction conditions

Atom transfer radical polymerisation (ATRP) is used to modify cellulose and cellulose derivatives under homogeneous conditions, yielding novel materials for application in areas such as drug delivery.