Effect of Organo-Modified Nanoclay on the Thermal and Bulk Structural Properties of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-Epoxidized Natural Rubber Blends: Formation of Multi-Components Biobased Nanohybrids

Experimental study on fabrication, biocompatibility and mechanical characterization of polyhydroxybutyrate-ball clay bionanocomposites for bone tissue engineering

The poly (3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB)/ball clay nanocomposites (B1-B10) were synthesized using solvent casting method with different weight percentage of ball clay in PHB matrix. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) showed maximum root mean square roughness (188.73 μm) for 10% ball clay loading. Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed establishment of intercalated structure and formation of hydrogen bond between ball clay and PHB matrix. Contact angle values (67.3 - 51.3°) exhibited that the nanocomposites (B1-B10) are more hydrophilic than neat PHB (70.30°). Thermogravimetric (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) revealed maximum T_max (278 °C) and T_m (175 °C) for the nanocomposite B10 (PHB/PEG/ball clay: 80%/10%/10%). Maximum tensile strength (38.21 ± 0.15 MPa) and Young's modulus (1.74 ± 0.016 GPa) was observed for B10 nanocomposite. The values of protein adsorption, platelet adhesion, PT, APTT and complement activation for B10 nanocomposites were 165 ± 2 μg/cm², 72 ± 3 × 10⁹ platelets/cm², 23 ± 1 s, 44 ± 2 s, 102 ± 2 mg/dL and 631 ± 3 mg/dL, respectively. Hydroxyapatite formation was also observed for nanocomposite (B10) in in vitro simulated body fluid (SBF) study. Finally, the nanocomposite (B10) showed no harmful effect on MG-63 cells, indicating that they are physiologically safe.

Synthesis, Physical Properties and Enzymatic Degradation of Biodegradable Nanocomposites Fabricated Using Poly(Butylene Carbonate-Co-Terephthalate) and Organically Modified Layered Zinc Phenylphosphonate

A new biodegradable aliphatic-aromatic poly (butylene carbonate-co-terephthalate) (PBCT-85) with the molar ratio [BC]/[BT] = 85/15, successfully synthesized through transesterification and polycondensation processes, was identified using 1H-NMR spectra. Various weight ratios of PBCT/organically modified layered zinc phenylphosphonate (m-PPZn) nanocomposites were manufactured using the solution mixing process. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy were used to examine the morphology of PBCT-85/m-PPZn nanocomposites. Both results exhibited that the stacking layers of m-PPZn were intercalated into the PBCT-85 polymer matrix. The additional m-PPZn into PBCT-85 copolymer matrix significantly enhanced the storage modulus at −70 °C, as compared to that of neat PBCT-85. The lipase from Pseudomonas sp. was used to investigate the enzymatic degradation of PBCT-85/m-PPZn nanocomposites. The weight loss decreased as the loading of m-PPZn increased, indicating that the existence of m-PPZn inhibits the degradation of the PBCT-85 copolymers. This result might be attributed to the higher degree of contact angle for PBCT-85/m-PPZn nanocomposites. The PBCT-85/m-PPZn composites approved by MTT assay are appropriate for cell growth and might have potential in the application of biomedical materials.

Structure Evolution of Epoxidized Natural Rubber (ENR) in the Melt State by Time-Resolved Mechanical Spectroscopy

In this work, time-resolved mechanical spectroscopy (TRMS) was used to accurately characterize the rheological behavior of an epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) containing 25 mol% of epoxy groups. Conventional rheological tests are not suitable to characterize with accuracy the frequency-dependent linear viscoelastic behavior of materials, such as ENR, in a transient configurational state. For this reason, TRMS was used to determine the true rheological behavior of ENR, as well as to gain some insights into the changes of its macromolecular architecture under the dynamic conditions experienced during the measurements. The constructed master curves for the moduli revealed a gradual transition of the ENR rheological state from liquid-like to solid-like through the formation of an “elastic gel” throughout the bulk of the polymer. Furthermore, the evolution of the stress relaxation modulus revealed a slow relaxation mechanism, resulting from thermally activated reactions in the molten state attributed to the formation of crosslinks. Finally, the crosslink density evolution was estimated from the TRMS data and compared with results derived from equilibrium solvent-swelling measurements. These demonstrated the accuracy of the TRMS data in the prediction of the structural changes that can take place in polymers during processing.

Temperature Dependence of Mechanical, Electrical Properties and Crystal Structure of Polyethylene Blends for Cable Insulation

There is a long-standing puzzle concerning whether polyethylene blends are a suitable substitution for cable-insulation-used crosslinking polyethylene (XLPE) especially at elevated temperatures. In this paper, we investigate temperature dependence of mechanical, electrical properties of blends with 70 wt % linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and 30 wt % high density polyethylene (HDPE) (abbreviated as 70 L-30 H). Our results show that the dielectric loss of 70 L-30 H is about an order of magnitude lower than XLPE, and the AC breakdown strength is 22% higher than XLPE at 90 °C. Moreover, the dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMA) measurement and hot set tests suggest that the blends shows optimal mechanical properties especially at high temperature with considerable temperature stability. Further scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis uncover the reason for the excellent high temperature performance and temperature stability, which can be ascribed to the uniform fine-spherulite structure in 70 L-30 H blends with high crystallinity sustaining at high temperature. Therefore, our findings may enable the potential application of the blends as cable insulation material with higher thermal-endurance ability.

Epoxy Resins Toughened with Surface Modified Epoxidized Natural Rubber Fibers by One-Step Electrospinning

Epoxidized natural rubber fibers (ERFs) are developed through one-step electrospinning and directly deposited into epoxy resins without collecting and distributing of fibers. The shape of ERFs shows rough surface due to different evaporation rate of solvent mixture consisting of chloroform and dichloromethane and the average diameter of ERFs is 6.2 µm. The increase of ERFs loading from 0 to 20 wt % into the epoxy resin increases the fracture strain significantly from 1.2% to 13% and toughness from 0.3 MPa to 1.9 MPa by a factor of 7. However, the tensile strength and Young’s modulus decrease about 34% from 58 MPa to 34 MPa and from 1.4 GPa to 0.9 GPa, respectively. Due to the crosslinking reactions between oxirane groups of ERFs and amine groups in the resin, surface roughness and the high aspect ratio of ERFs, ERFs result in more effective toughening effect with the minimum loss of tensile properties in epoxy resins.

Effect of various formulation ingredients on thermal characteristics of PVC/clay nanocomposite foams: experimental and modeling

The effect of various ingredients – nanoclay (NC), azodicarbonamaide (ADCA), paraloeid K-400 and calcium stearate (Ca.St) – on thermal behavior of melt blended poly (vinyl chloride)/NC nanocomposites was investigated. Combinations of two artificial intelligence algorithms were performed for modeling of the systems. The formulation ingredients affect the thermal features of the compounds. Upon increasing the effect of various ingredients, i.e. NC, ADCA, K-400 and Ca.St, an increase in ash content was observed, hence, the thermal stability increased. The effect of ingredients on initial degradation temperature (T5%) and half degradation temperature (T50%) was not obvious. The artificial neural network (model) and the clonal selection algorithm (optimizer) were performed for proper modeling of the systems. These models were used to determine the role of T5%, T50% and char based on the contents of ingredients. The result successfully modeled the process parameters.

Lamellae Evolution of Stereocomplex-Type Poly(Lactic Acid)/Organically-Modified Layered Zinc Phenylphosphonate Nanocomposites Induced by Isothermal Crystallization

Stereocomplex-type poly(lactic acid) (SC-PLA)/oleylamine-modified layered zinc phenylphosphonate (SC-PLA/m-PPZn) nanocomposites are successfully fabricated using a solution mixing process. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis reveals that the structural arrangement of the oleylamine-modified PPZn exhibits a large interlayer spacing of 30.3 Å. In addition, we investigate the temperature effect on the real-time structural arrangement of PPZn and m-PPZn. The results indicated that the lattice expansion of m-PPZn with increasing temperature leads to an increase in the interlayer spacing from 30.3 to 37.1 Å as the temperature increases from 30 to 150 °C. The interlayer spacing decreases slightly as the temperature further increases to 210 °C. This behavior might be attributed to interlayer oleylamine elimination, which results in hydrogen bonding destruction between the hydroxide sheets and water molecules. As the temperature reaches 240 °C, the in situ WAXD patterns show the coexistence of m-PPZn and PPZn. However, the layered structures of m-PPZn at 300 °C are almost the same as those of PPZn, after the complete degradation temperature of oleylamine. The morphology of the SC-PLA/m-PPZn nanocomposites characterized using WAXD and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrates that most partial delamination layered materials are randomly dispersed in the SC-PLA matrix. Small-angle X-ray scattering reveals that higher crystal layer thickness and lower surface free energy is achieved in 0.25 wt% SC-PLA/m-PPZn nanocomposites. These results indicate that the introduction of 0.25 wt% m-PPZn into SC-PLA reduces the surface free energy, thereby increasing the polymer chain mobility.

Synthesis and Tribological Studies of Branched Alcohol Derived Epoxidized Biodiesel

The optimization and kinetics of the ring-opening reaction of an epoxidized biodiesel (epoxidized rapeseed oil methyl ester) (EBD) with 2-ethyl hexanol (2-EH) were studied. The determined optimum conditions were 4:1 2-EH/oil molar ratio, 90 °C, 18 h, and 7 wt % of Amberlyst D001 (dry) catalyst; the product's oxirane oxygen content was 0.081% with 38.32 mm²/s viscosity at 40 °C. The catalyst retained its high catalytic power after recycling five times. Furthermore, the determined non-catalyzed activation energy was 76 kJ·mol^-1 and 54 kJ·mol^-1 with the D001 resin catalyst. The product's chemical structure was investigated through FT-IR and ¹H NMR. The viscosity, flash point, pour point, and anti-wear properties of the product were improved compared with those of epoxidized biodiesel.