Drying of Salt Solutions from Porous Media: Effect of Surfactants

Transport in Porous Media - The evaporation of salt (NaCl) solutions from porous media is studied in the presence of surfactants, because surfactants are often used as cleaning agents for...     

Synthesis and characterization of degradable hyperbranched poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline)

Hyperbranched poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) was synthesized by a combination of cationic ring‐opening polymerization and the oxidation of thiol to disulfide groups. A three‐arm star poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) (PEtOx) was first synthesized using 1,3,5‐tris(bromomethyl) benzene as an initiator. The star PEtOx was end‐capped with potassium ethyl xanthate. Similarly, a linear PEtOx was synthesized and end‐capped with potassium ethyl xanthate using benzyl bromide as an initiator. Hyperbranched PEtOx was then obtained by in situ cleaving and subsequent oxidation of the star PEtOx and linear PEtOx mixture with n‐butylamine as both a cleaving agent and a base in tetrahydrofuran. The linear PEtOx was used to prevent the formation of gel. The hyperbranched PEtOx can be cleaved with dithiothreitol to trithiol and monothiol polymer. The hyperbranched PEtOx shows no remaining thiols using Ellman's assay. The resulting hyperbranched PEtOx was hydrolyzed to a novel hyperbranched polyethyleneimine with degradable disulfide linkages. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 2030–2037     

Lignin,a biomass crosslinker,in a shape memory polycaprolactone network

This work reports a new direction of natural lignin valorization, which utilizes lignin to produce crosslinked polycaprolactone (PCL) via a straightforward synthesis. Lignin's hydroxyl groups of its multibranched phenolic structure allow lignin to serve as crosslinkers, whereas the aromatic groups serve as hard segments. The modified natural lignin containing alkene terminals is crosslinked with a thiol‐terminal PCL via Ru‐catalyzed photoredox thiol‐ene reaction. The high rate of gel contents measured for all crosslinked polymers, with the least being 84% of gel content, indicates efficient crosslinking. The prepared flat rectangular shape lignin‐crosslinked PCL sample demonstrates rapid thermal responsive shape memory behavior at 10 °C and 80 °C showing interconversion between a permanent and temporary shape. The melting temperature of the lignin‐crosslinked PCL is tunable by varying the percent weight of lignin. The 11, 21, and 30 wt % lignin demonstrated T_m of 42 °C, 35 °C, and 26 °C, respectively. The role of lignin as a crosslinker presented in this work suggests that lignin can serve as an efficient biomass‐based functional additive to polymers. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 2121–2130     

DEM-FEM coupled numerical investigation of granular materials to increase crashworthiness of double-hull vessels

In this contribution, a novel design strategy is investigated for improving the crashworthiness of double-hull vessels, which involves usage of granular materials. For numerical simulation, a framework based on coupling of the Discrete Element and the Finite Element Method is used to study load bearing capacity of granular materials during uniaxial compression. In addition, the effect of Young's modulus of particles is also investigated with respect to the load transferability. (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Co‐ and Counterion Effect on the Micellization Characteristics of Dodecylpyridinium Chloride

Micellization parameters, critical micelle concentration (cmc), degree of counterion dissociation (α), aggregation number (n), critical packing parameter, and hydrophobic core volume of Dodecylpyridinium chloride (DPC) micelles were determined in presence of varying concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl), sodium acetate (SAc), sodium propionate (SPr), ethylammonium chloride (EACl), diethylammonium chloride (DEACl), tetraethylammonium chloride (TEACl), and propylammonium chloride (PACl) through conductometric investigations at 298.15 K. The resulting data suggests that both counter and coions affect the cmc values‐cmc depressing tendency of the salts varies in order PACl≈NaCl>EACl>DEACl>TEACl>SPr>SAc, while the degree of counterion dissociation is dependent on the nature and concentration range of the added salt. Increasing salt concentration increases the relative hydrophobic volume of the micelles and coion has not much effect on aggregation number.     

Effect of carbon chain length of monocarboxylic acids on cloud point temperature of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)

The temperature-induced phase transition of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx) aqueous solution under mixing with a series of small carboxylic acids has been studied by turbidity measurements and laser light scattering. It has been found that cloud point temperature (T _cp) of the PEtOx was changed to varying degrees depending upon the pH, ionic strength, molar ratio of acids to 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline unit, and carbon chain length of small carboxylic acids. Significant change in T _cp was observed in the case of hexanoic acid. At acidic pH, an increase in the molar ratio of hexanoic acid to the 2-ethyl-2-oxazoline unit gradually decreased the phase transition temperature of the polymer as compared to the T _cp of pure PEtOx. At original pH 6 (pH?>?pK _a), T _cp shifts to higher value than that of pure PEtOx for lower molar ratios and decreased later on with increasing the molar ratio. The shift in the T _cp is described based on the differences in the driving force of phase transition, including hydrogen bonding between small carboxylic acids and PEtOx polymer and hydrophobic interaction.     

Synergistic effect of aluminum trihydrate and zirconium hydroxide nanoparticles on mechanical properties,flammability, and thermal degradation of polyester/jute fiber composite

Cellulose - This study focuses on the synergistic effects of hydroxide based nanoparticles namely aluminum trihydrate (ATH) and zirconium hydroxide (ZHO) on the mechanical characteristics, thermal...     

Analysis of a “3-(Naphthalen-1-ylimino)indolin-2-one” Compound and Its Antimicrobial Assessment Using Lipid-Based Self-Nanoemulsifying Formulations

In recent years, indole derivatives have acquired conspicuous significance due to their wide spectrum of biological activities—antibacterial, antiviral, and anticonvulsant. This compound is derived from naturally grown plants. Therefore, synthesis of a novel “3-(Naphthalen-1-ylimino)indolin-2-one” compound (2) and its analysis using UPLC systems along with antimicrobial assessment was the aim of the current study. Isatin was used as a parent drug for synthesizing compound (2). Liquid Chromatographic analysis was performed using a C18 BEH column (1.7 μm 2.1 × 50 mm) by UPLC systems. Degradation studies were carried out to see whether acid, base, thermal, and oxidizing agents had any impact on the synthesized molecule in stress conditions (100 °C). A lipid-based self-nanoemulsifying formulation was developed and selectivity, specificity, recovery, accuracy, and precision were measured as part of the UPLC system’s validation process. Antimicrobial studies were conducted using gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The standard samples were run with a concentration range of 5.0–100.0 μg/mL using the isocratic mobile phase comprising of methanol/water (70/30 %v/v) at 234 nm; good linearity (R² = 0.9998) was found. The lower limits of detection (LOD) and quantitation (LOQ) of the method were found to be 0.81 μg/mL and 2.5 μg/mL, respectively. The coefficients of variation were found to be less than 2%. The antimicrobial study suggests that compound (2) has a substantial growth effect against gram-negative bacteria. It was successfully synthesized and applied to measure the concentrations in lipid-based dosage form, along with potent antimicrobial activities.     

Ethyl Acetate—Propionic Acid as Green Mobile Phase System for Selective Densitometric Identification of Maltose with Preliminary Separation on Silica High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatographic Plates

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - A mobile phase system comprising of ethyl acetate and propionic acid in 1:1 (v/v) ratio was identified as the most suitable green...