Electrospun Nanofibrous Adsorption Membranes for Wastewater Treatment: Mechanical Strength Enhancement

Functional nanofibrous membranes fabricated by electrospinning technology have attracted much attention in the removal of heavy metal ions from contaminated wastewater. The high specific surface area, high porosity and ease of functionality create an enhanced throughput and high adsorption capacity of the nanofibrous membrane. However, the relatively poor mechanical properties of the membrane with a non-woven nanofibrous structure are one of the major concerns, which can limit the applications in wastewater treatment. Different strategies and methodologies were explored to address the problems and were reviewed in this work, highlighting the possibilities of overcoming the poor mechanical properties of the nanofibrous membrane and to ensure the recyclability and reusability of the membrane during the adsorption process.     

高力学强度细菌纤维素气凝胶纤维的连续化制备

气凝胶纤维因其高外表面积和高柔韧性在能量管理系统中具有潜在应用而引起了广泛关注.但是,目前制备的气凝胶纤维力学强度较低,限制了其实际应用.为提高气凝胶纤维力学性能,在始终保持细菌纤维素(BC)纳米纤维处于湿态下,利用NaOH/尿素/硫脲复合溶剂直接低温溶解原生BC,获得透明的BC纺丝原液;通过湿法纺丝制备了BC水凝胶纤维,经过水洗和冷冻干燥后处理,制得BC气凝胶纤维.采用偏光显微镜(POM)、13C核磁共振(13C-NMR)和高级旋转流变仪研究BC在复合溶剂中的溶解过程与状态;利用全反射傅里叶变换红外吸收光谱(ATR-FTIR)、X射线衍射(XRD)和热失重(TG)研究BC溶解前后结构与性能变化;利用场发射扫描电镜(FESEM)、全自动比表面积和孔径分布分析仪、单丝强力仪对获得的BC气凝胶纤维结构与性能进行表征.结果表明,复合溶剂在?15℃条件下可以直接溶解原生湿态BC,最高溶解浓度为3 wt%;采用湿法纺丝制得高度多孔的连续BC气凝胶纤维,比表面积高达192 m^2/g且具有优异的力学性能,断裂强度和杨氏模量高达(9.36±1.68)MPa和(176±17.55)MPa,如0.4 mg BC气凝胶纤维可以支撑高于其本身质量5×10^4倍的重物.     

Barium Titanate-reinforced Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber: Synergy Effect of Carbon-based Secondary Filler

Acrylonitrile rubber(NBR) composites filled with barium titanate(BT) were prepared using an internal mixer and a two-roll mill. Also, a secondary filler, namely carbon nanotubes(CNT), was added in order to find a potential synergistic blend ratio of BT and CNT. The cure characteristics, tensile and dielectric properties(dielectric constant and dielectric loss) of the composites were determined. It was found that NBR/BT composites with CNT secondary filler, at a proper BT:CNT ratio, exhibited shorter scorch time(t_(s1)) and cure time(t_(c90)) together with superior tensile properties and reinforcement efficiency, relative to the one with only the primary filler. In addition, the NBR/BT-CNT composite with 80 phr BT and 1-2 phr CNT had dielectric constant of 100-500, dielectric loss of 12-100 and electrical conductivity below 10~(-4) S/m together with high thermal stability. Thus, with a proper BT:CNT mix and filler loading, we can produce mechanically superior rubber composites that are easy to process and low-cost, for flexible dielectric materials application.     

Synergic Enhancement of High-density Polyethylene through Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene and Multi-flow Vibration Injection Molding: A Facile Fabrication with Potential Industrial Prospects

General-purpose plastics with high strength and toughness have been in great demand for structural engineering applications. To achieve the reinforcement and broaden the application scope of high-density polyethylene(HDPE), multi-flow vibration injection molding(MFVIM) and ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene(UHMWPE) are synergistically employed in this work. Herein, the MFVIM has better shear layer control ability and higher fabrication advantage for complex parts than other analogous novel injection molding technologies reported.The reinforcing effect of various filling times and UHMWPE contents as well as the corresponding microstructure evolution are investigated.When 5 wt% UHMWPE is added, MFVIM process with six flow times thickens the shear layer to the whole thickness. The tensile strength and modulus increase to 2.14 and 1.39 times, respectively, compared to neat HDPE on the premise of remaining 70% impact strength. Structural characterizations indicate that the enhancement is attributed to the improvement of shish-kebab content and lamellae compactness, as well as related to the corresponding size distributions of undissolved UHMWPE particles. This novel injection molding technology with great industrial prospects provides a facile and effective strategy to broaden the engineering applications of HDPE materials. Besides, excessive UHMWPE may impair the synergistic enhancement effect, which is also reasonably explained.     

Preparation of superhydrophobic composite paper mulching film

To study the influence of different concentrations of zinc oxide (ZnO)/silicon dioxide (SiO₂) composite coating on hydrophobic property and mechanical stability of paper mulch film, three kinds of ZnO/SiO₂ composite coating paper mulch films (2%, 4%, 6%) with different coating substance contents were prepared by brush coating method. Through particle size analysis, contact angle, rolling angle and mechanical stability test, combined with scanning electron microscope, three-dimensional morphology and roughness measuring instrument, the optimal concentration of ZnO/SiO₂ composite coated paper mulch film was screened out. Through acid-base salt corrosion test, silver mirror reaction and surface self-cleaning, the optimal concentration of composite coated paper mulch film was compared with the original paper mulch film to prove its excellent chemical stability and hydrophobicity. The results show that the paper mulch film with 4% coating material has excellent hydrophobicity and mechanical stability, can effectively reduce the surface roughness of paper mulch film, and has remarkable effects in resisting acid, alkali and salt and self-cleaning.     

Low percolation conductive graphite flakes-filled poly(urethane-imide) composites with high thermal stability via imidization self-foaming structure

In the study, the conductive graphite flakes filled poly(urethane-imide) composites (PUI/GFs) with high performance were constructed by the thermal imidization self-foaming reaction. It was found that the foaming action could promote the redistribution of GFs during curing process and the formation of stable linear conductive pathways. The percolation threshold of PUI/GFs composites was lowered from 1.26 wt% (2000 mesh GFs) or 0.86 wt% (1000 mesh GFs) to 0.79 wt% (500 mesh GFs), which were relatively low percolation thresholds for polymer/GFs composites so far. When the content of 500 mesh GFs was 4.0 wt%, the electrical conductivity of the composite was as high as 3.96 × 10^?1 S/m. Also, a poly(urethane-imide) (PUI) matrix with excellent thermal stability (T_d10%: 334.97 °C) and mechanical properties (elongation at break: 324.52%, tensile strength: 15.88 MPa) was obtained by introducing the rigid aromatic heterocycle into the polyurethane (PU) hard segments. Moreover, the zero temperature coefficient of resistivity for the composites was observed at the temperature range from 30 °C to 200 °C. Consequently, PUI/GFs composites may provide the novel strategy for considerable conductive materials with high thermal stability in electrical conductivity.     

Selection of hydrogel electrolytes for flexible zinc–air batteries

Flexible zinc–air batteries attract more attention due to their high energy density, safety, environmental protection, and low cost. However, the traditional aqueous electrolyte has the disadvantages of leakage and water evaporation, which cannot meet application demand of flexible zinc–air batteries. Hydrogels possessing good conductivity and mechanical properties become a candidate as the electrolytes of flexible zinc–air batteries. In this work, advances in aspects of conductivity, mechanical toughness, environmental adaptability, and interfacial compatibility of hydrogel electrolytes for flexible zinc–air batteries are investigated. First, the additives to improve conductivity of hydrogel electrolytes are summarized. Second, the measures to enhance the mechanical properties of hydrogels are taken by way of structure optimization and composition modification. Third, the environmental adaptability of hydrogel electrolytes is listed in terms of temperature, humidity, and air composition. Fourth, the compatibility of electrolyte–electrode interface is discussed from physical properties of hydrogels. Finally, the prospect for development and application of hydrogels is put forward.     

Tough and transparent blends of polylactide with block copolymers of ethylene glycol and propylene glycol

In order to modify its physical properties, particularly the drawability and toughness, polylactide (PLA) was melt blended with a set of PEG-b-PPG-b-PEG block copolymers with varying ratio of the hydrophilic (PEG) and hydrophobic (PPG) blocks. Miscibility of the copolymers with PLA depended on their molar mass and PEG content. Interestingly, the best drawability was achieved in the case of partially miscible blends, in which fine liquid inclusions of the modifier were dispersed in PLA rich matrix with glass transition temperature only moderately decreased, to about 50 °C. About 37 fold increase of the elongation at break and about 1.5 fold increase of the tensile impact strength with respect to neat PLA were reached at small content (10 wt.%) of the modifier. Despite the phase separation, the blends remained transparent. In addition, the barrier properties for oxygen were improved.     

Preparation and characterization of functionalized graphene oxide/carbon fiber/epoxy nanocomposites

Graphene oxide (GO) was functionalized using three different diamines, namely ethylenediamine (EDA), 4,4′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) and p-phenylenediamine (PPD) to reinforce an epoxy adhesive, with the aim of improving the bonding strength of carbon fiber/epoxy composite. The chemical structure of the functionalized GO (FGO) nanosheets was characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR and XRD. Hand lay-up, as a simple method, was applied for 3-ply composite fabrication. In the sample preparation, the fiber-to-resin ratio of 40:60 (w:w) and fiber orientations of 0°, 90°, and 0° were used. The GO and FGO nanoparticles were first dispersed in the epoxy resin, and then the GO and FGO reinforced epoxy (GO- or FGO-epoxy) were directly introduced into the carbon fiber layers to improve the mechanical properties. The GO and FGO contents varied in the range of 0.1–0.5 wt%. Results showed that the mechanical properties, in terms of tensile and flexural properties, were mainly dependent on the type of GO functionalization followed by the percentage of modified GO. As a result, both the tensile and flexural strengths are effectively enhanced by the FGOs addition. The tensile and flexural moduli are also increased by the FGO filling in the epoxy resin due to the excellent elastic modulus of FGO. The optimal FGO content for effectively improving the overall composite mechanical performance was found to be 0.3 wt%. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the failure mechanism of carbon fibers pulled out from the epoxy matrix contributed to the enhancement of the mechanical performance of the epoxy. These results show that diamine FGOs can strengthen the interfacial bonding between the carbon fibers and the epoxy adhesive.     

二氧化碳/环氧丙烷/马来酸酐三元共聚物对PPC/PHB共混物力学性能的影响

采用稀土三元催化剂制备了二氧化碳-环氧丙烷-马来酸酐三元共聚物(PPCMA).用红外和核磁谱图确定了PPCMA的结构及马来酸酐单元的含量,3 wt％马来酸酐投料量的PPCMA(共聚物中马来酸酐单元含量4.1％)的玻璃化转变温度(Tg)和起始热分解温度(Td-5％)分别为13.4℃和217℃,拉伸强度为2.88 MPa,断裂伸长率为1669％,与二氧化碳-环氧丙烷共聚物(PPC)相比,引入少量马来酸酐的PPCMA有望成为一种韧性材料,并可对PPC和聚3-羟基丁酸酯(PHB)共混体系进行改性.当在PPC/PHB共混体系中添加10 wt％的PPCMA时,所得共混材料的拉伸强度为18.2 MPa,断裂伸长率则提高到85％,较没有添加PPCMA的样品提高了4.25倍,因此PPCMA的加入能有效提高PPC/PHB共混体系的韧性,改善PPC/PHB共混体系的力学性能.偏光显微镜的研究表明PPC/PHB共混体系加入PPCMA后,很快形成大量尺寸小的PHB球晶,且结晶速度大幅度提高,因此PPCMA在一定意义上可视为一种特殊的“成核剂”.