Branched plasticizers derived from eugenol via green polymerization for low/non-migration and externally/internally plasticized polyvinyl chloride materials

The synthesis of nontoxic plasticizers derived from the waste residues of the rosin-processing industry can reduce pollution and promote the high-value utilization of the waste residues of rosin. In this study, four kinds of sustainable branched plasticizers derived from a biomass resource, eugenol (derived from the waste residues of the rosin processing industry), were synthesized via one-pot solvent free polymerization and used to plasticize polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Internally plasticized PVC was fabricated using thiolated DPE (branched plasticizers based on eugenol). The thermal stability, tensile properties, microstructure, volatility behavior, and solvent extraction resistance of plasticized PVC were investigated. Compared with the behavior of the commercial plasticizer dioctyl phthalate, the thermal stability, plasticizing efficiency, and migration resistance of the branched plasticizers are superior. The acute oral toxicity dose of each branched plasticizer was extremely high at 5000 mg/kg of body weight, with no deaths among test animals. Compared with externally plasticized PVC, the internally plasticized PVC showed zero weight loss in volatility and leaching tests despite its less effective plasticization. All the branched plasticizers have potential application in plastic products.     

Differentiating bulk nanobubbles from nanodroplets and nanoparticles

History has shown that it is not as easy as one might think to differentiate between bulk nanobubbles and nanodroplets or nanoparticles. It is generally easy to detect colloids (i.e. something that looks different, e.g. scatters light differently than its surrounding solvent), but less easy to determine the nature of these colloids. This has led to misinterpretations in the literature, where nanodroplets or nanoparticles have mistakenly been assumed to be nanobubbles. In this paper, we review a multitude of experimental methods and approaches to prove the existence of bulk nanobubbles. We conclude that combinations of optical detection with physical perturbations such as pressure or ultrasound, or phase-sensitive holographic methods are the most promising and convenient approaches.     

Photochromic Inorganic/Organic Thermoplastic Elastomers

Photochromic materials are an important class of “smart materials” and are broadly utilized in technological devices. However, most photochromic materials reported so far are composed of inorganic compounds that are challenging to process and suffer from poor mechanical performance, severely limiting their applications in various markets. In this paper, inorganic photochromic tungsten trioxide (WO₃) nanocrystals are conveniently grafted with polymers to hurdle the deficiency in processability and mechanical properties. This new type of photochromic material can be thermally processed into desired geometries like disks and dog‐bone specimens. Fully reversible photochromic response under UV light is also achieved for WO₃‐graft polymers, exhibiting tunable response rate, outperforming the pristine WO₃ nanocrystals. Notably, the resulted graft polymers show extraordinary mechanical performance with excellent ductility (≈800% breaking strain) and relatively high breaking strength (≈2 MPa). These discoveries elucidate an effective pathway to design smart inorganic/organic hybrid thermoplastic elastomers endowed with outstanding photochromic and mechanical properties as well as exceptional processability.     

Coupling of Biomolecular Logic Gates with Electronic Transducers: From Single Enzyme Logic Gates to Sense/Act/Treat Chips

The integration of biomolecular logic principles with electronic transducers allows designing novel digital biosensors with direct electrical output, logically triggered drug‐release, and closed‐loop sense/act/treat systems. This opens new opportunities for advanced personalized medicine in the context of theranostics. In the present work, we will discuss selected examples of recent developments in the field of interfacing enzyme logic gates with electrodes and semiconductor field‐effect devices. Special attention is given to an enzyme OR/Reset logic gate based on a capacitive field‐effect electrolyte‐insulator‐semiconductor sensor modified with a multi‐enzyme membrane. Further examples are a digital adrenaline biosensor based on an AND logic gate with binary YES/NO output and an integrated closed‐loop sense/act/treat system comprising an amperometric glucose sensor, a hydrogel actuator, and an insulin (drug) sensor.     

A novel method to prepare microcellular poly(vinyl alcohol) foam based on thermal processing and supercritical fluid

Combining the thermal processing and supercritical fluid technology develops a novel preparation method of microcellular poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). Water, as the plasticizer in system, can form the hydrogen bonding with pendant hydroxyl of PVA and weaken its strong intermolecular and intramolecular forces to realize the thermal processing. Supercritical carbon dioxide (sc‐CO₂) can easily dissolve into water‐plasticized PVA (WPVA) because of the destruction of crystal region caused by water, and the enhanced sc‐CO₂ solubility can greatly improve the foamability of WPVA. The porous structure generates through the saturation of sc‐CO₂ in WPVA sample and followed by pressure drop‐induced phase separation. The foaming behavior of WPVA was studied as a function of saturation pressure, foaming temperature, and saturation time. The cell density, cell size, and distribution of the obtained foam can be controlled by tuning processing conditions. The results revealed that the cell size decreased, and its distribution narrowed with saturation pressure increasing, or decrease of foaming temperature. But excessively increasing the saturation time generated a negative effect on the foaming behavior owing to the deteriorated plasticization effect resulted from the loss of water. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improving the softness of BOPP films: From laboratory investigation to industrial processing

Young's modulus of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films prepared with homemade film stretcher was investigated,which can be used to indicate the softness of fihns.It was found that the modulus of films was decreased by about 69％ as the content of polyethylene (PE) added into polypropylene (PP) reached 30％.Also,increasing draw temperature can induce lower stress level during stretching,which may lead to the formation of crystals with low orientation level and thus decreased modulus of films.Based on laboratory study,BOPP films produced on commercial line were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC),wide and small-angle X-ray scattering (WAXS,SAXS) with varying contents of PE.SAXS results show that the crystals are oriented in both machine direction (MD) and transverse direction (TD),and the crystals are more oriented in TD than MD according to the WAXS results for all films.Also,the orientation parameter of crystal along TD increases from 0.68 to 0.83 as the contents of PE increase from 0％ to 25％.Meanwhile,the modulus of films in MD declines with increase of PE contents generally,improving the film softness.Orientation of crystals is thus an effective structure parameter to adjust the film softness.The relationship of processing-structure-property is also established.     

脂质组学及其分析方法

脂质组学的研究属于生命科学的范畴,与人类的健康密切相关。目前,脂质组学已成为代谢组学最重要的分支之一,且是一个非常活跃的研究领域,尤其在研究疾病方面的重要性已经引起了科学界的广泛关注。该文简要介绍了脂质组学的研究内容,重点评述了脂质组学分析方法,包括样品处理、轮廓分析、目标分析、成像分析以及数据处理。最后提出了脂质组学分析技术和方法的展望。     

Green Determination of Total Iron in Water by Digital Image Colorimetry

A green iOS digital image colorimeter was fabricated for the determination of total iron in natural water. A mobile application operating on an iOS device was designed using Euclidean distance theory to perform iron determination. The application records the components of the color by storing red, green, and blue values as well as calculating the hue, saturation, brightness, and gray values using standard color theory. The component values obtained from the images of orange solutions of iron(II) complex with 1,10-phenanthroline were collected in a database and used for evaluation of the total iron concentration in water samples. Under the optimal conditions for solid-phase extraction used for sample preconcentration, the enrichment factor was 8.18. The iron concentration was determined by this device for concentrations from 0.01 to 1.0?ppm. The iOS digital image colorimeter achieved a limit of quantitation of 0.1?ppm. The accuracy and precision of the iOS digital image colorimeter were validated using a certified reference material, riverine water. The instrumentation was used for the analysis of natural water samples.     

Degradation and recovery in poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)/ thermoplastic starch blends

The economic and social impact of the increasing waste disposal problems of conventional plastic materials are well known and promoted the search for better recyclable and biodegradable polymers, blends and compounds. Fully biodegradable blends of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), a synthetic copolyester, and thermoplastic starch (TPS), a natural polysaccharide, are of technical and economic interest in the quest for eco-friendly polymeric materials to substitute conventional alternatives. One of less desirable characteristics of many new biodegradable materials is their relative thermal instability (degradation) under processing conditions.In the present work, PBAT/TPS blends with up to 30% TPS were processed at different temperatures in a laboratory internal mixer, with and without the incorporation of a chain extender additive (Joncryl). The rate of change of torque during the melt processing stage, adjusted to eliminate minor temperature variations, is a very sensitive indicator of variation of molar mass due to degradation and recovery. It was found that TPS content promotes thermal degradation in the PBAT/TPS blends at levels above those observed in neat components, in a strongly composition and temperature-dependent process. The addition of 1% of the chain extender additive partially reverts the process, especially during processing at high temperature.