Intumescent mineral fire retardant systems in ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer: Effect of silica particles on char cohesion

Silica particles of different physical properties (particle size, morphology and specific surface area) were introduced into an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer filled with an intumescent mineral fire retardant system containing magnesium hydroxide and organo-modified montmorillonites. The effect of silica particles on the cohesion and strength of the foamed combustion residue was studied by micro-indentation, concurrently with the characterization of material's fire behavior.Silica particles seem to act as defects that generate cracks, decreasing the strength of the residue. This generation of cracks is connected to a lower cohesion of the residue, especially for silica particles of high specific surface area. In parallel, the presence of silica of high specific surface area, despite tending to decrease Time To Ignition, also improves self-extinguishing ability, thanks to a better thermal stability at higher temperatures, and reduces the maximum Heat Release Rate in cone calorimeter tests.     

Electrical conductivity of carbon black filled ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer as a function of vinyl acetate content

The electrical conductivity of carbon black filled ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer was measured as a function of carbon and vinyl acetate (VAc) content. For the composites whose matrices contain less than 32 wt% ofVAc content, a sharp break point of the relation between carbon content and conductivity was observed. The conductivity jumps as much as ten orders of magnitude at the break point. The critical carbon content corresponding to the break point can essentially be predicted by our previous model. This model was derived under certain assumptions, the most important of which is that when the interfacial excess energy introduced by carbon particles into the polymer matrix reaches a universal value,g ^*, the carbon particles begin to coagulate so as to avoid any further increase of energy and to form networks which facilitate electrical conduction. On the other hand, for the composites whose matrices contain more than 32 wt% ofVAc content, a sharp break of the relation between the carbon content and conductivity cannot be observed and conductivity increases continuously with increasingVAc content. In this region ofVAc content, carbon particles were dispersed well in theVAc rich matrices. This is because the presence of polar groups in aVAc component enhances its bonding to conductive fillers. In this case, the interfacial excess energy,g, seems to be the caseg0. Better dispersibility of fillers in this region ofVAc content can be shown from an electron micrograph (TEM).     

Effect of vinyl acetate content and electron beam irradiation on the flame retardancy, mechanical and thermal properties of intumescent flame retardant ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer

Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) flame retarded by ammonium polyphosphate (APP) and pentaerythritol (PER) was cross-linked by electron beam irradiation. The effects of vinyl acetate content and electron beam irradiation on the flame retardancy, mechanical and thermal properties of EVA composites were investigated. The volatilized products of EVA/APP/PER composites were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis/infrared spectrometry. As VA content increased, the volatilized products increased in the second decomposition step, but decreased in the third decomposition step. For all samples, the increase of irradiation dose could improve both the gel content and the Limit Oxygen Index (LOI, the minimum oxygen concentration by volume for maintaining the burning of a material) values of irradiated composites. The mechanical and thermal properties of the irradiated EVA composites were also evidently improved at appropriate irradiation dose as compared with those of unirradiated EVA composites, whereas these properties decrease at higher irradiation dose because of the electron beam irradiation-induced oxidative degradation or chain scission.     

Study of hydromagnesite and magnesium hydroxide based fire retardant systems for ethylene-vinyl acetate containing organo-modified montmorillonite

A new flame retardant (FR) system for ethylene-vinyl acetate, mainly based on the combination of hydromagnesite (HM, obtained from an industrial by-product) and organo-modified montmorillonite (oMMT) has been compared with a magnesium hydroxide (MDH) and oMMT flame retardant system. The presence of oMMT in association with both hydrated minerals gave a strong decrease of heat release rate in cone calorimeter tests. Moreover, the HM/oMMT combination leads to a better improvement of resistance to ignition and self-extinguishability in comparison with the MDH/oMMT one. The study of residues formed during thermal decomposition revealed the formation of forsterite (Mg₂SiO₄) when either MDH or HM was used in combination with oMMT. SEM observations of residues showed sintering of the mineral particles at high temperature particularly in the case of HM/oMMT composition.     

Investigation of relaxations in polystyrene–polyoxyethylene copolymer by thermally stimulated current

The diblock copolymer containing 43.5 wt.% of polystyrene (PS) (M_w=15 000) and polyoxyethylene (POE) (M_w=19 500) was investigated by integral and by partial thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) measurements in the temperature range of 173–293 K. The first peak P₁, widely distributed from 183 to 213 K, was a dipolar peak attributed to the initial stage of glass transition in POE. The second peak P₂, with a maximum at 273 K, was due to glass transition. The third peak P₃, with a maximum at about 263 K, was caused by the space charge relaxation localized at the interfaces between the ordered and nonordered phases in POE, Maxwell–Wagner relaxation, representing a precursor in melting of POE crystals. The results were supported by determination of activation energy E_a of the partial peaks, which covered the whole range of investigation, and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. The E_a(T) distribution showed a maximum in entropy change at 219±4 K. Some runs with samples containing different amounts of the PS component were considered. All the relaxations were coming from the POE block. The current due to PS slightly overlapped the total spectra without interaction. The influence of the repeated runs was observed and discussed.     

Morphological,rheological, crystalline and mechanical properties of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer/linear low-density polyethylene/amphiphilic graphene oxide nanocomposites

Chemical modification of graphene oxide has become a popular method for imparting unique properties to extend its application. Here, we show a simple way to synthesize amphiphilic graphene oxide (AGO) by grafting quaternary ammonium salt onto GO sheets. The AGO sheets not only showed high thermal stability and good dispersion in many polar and non-polar solvents in comparison to GO sheets but also the chemical modification maintained the two-dimensional structure. As a result, the AGO sheets improve the interfacial interaction between ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE). Because of the large size of AGO, the location of AGO is very dependent on the mixing strategy. The AGO was dispersed in the EVA phase when AGO was mixed first with EVA and then with LLDPE, whereas it was confined in the LLDPE phase when AGO was mixed first with LLDPE and then with EVA. AGO sheets were found at the interface of LLDPE and EVA when AGO, EVA, and LLDPE were mixed together, suggesting that AGO has a high interfacial interaction with both LLDPE and EVA. These high interfacial interactions lead to high tensile strength, Young's modulus, complex viscosity and crystallization temperature in comparison to the EVA/LLDPE blends without AGO sheets.     

SDS/BA/H2O体系的扩散系数与结构特性

在无探针条件下，用电化学方法测定了ＳＤＳ／ＢＡ／Ｈ２Ｏ三组分体系的扩散系数和扩散活化能。结果表明，Ｌ１区域由Ｏ／Ｗ结构微乳液与油、水双连续结构微乳液两个小区域组成，并不是单一的Ｏ／Ｗ区域。在Ｏ／Ｗ区域内，微乳液以液滴状态存在，具有较好的扩莠性能和较小的扩散活化能；在ＢＩ区域，水与ＢＡ同作为连续相与被增溶相存在，缔合体系呈网络结构，扩散性能较低，扩莠活化能较大。     

碲在汞中的扩散系数和溶解度

用阴极溶出计时安培法测定了碲在汞中的扩散系数和溶解度.在1 mol/L NH_3-NH_4 Cl和10~(-3)mol/L TeO_3~(2-)溶液中,用悬汞电极于-0.90 V进行预电解,使Te(Ⅳ)还原到元素Te.然后在另一个电解池中阴极溶出使Te还原为Te~(2-).阴极溶出是在0.1 mol/L NaOH溶液中,用计时安培法于-1.40 V测定.根据下列方程式计算了碲在汞中的扩散系数D及溶解度S:D=r_0~2/πt_0,S=(4nFπ~(3/2)D~(3/2)t_0)~(-1)(Δi_1/Δt~(-1/2).D和S的测定值分别为:1.52×10~(-5)cm~2/s及2.34×10~(-3)wt％.实验结果表明碲在汞中以单原子态存在.     

Effect of crystal form and particle size of titanium dioxide on the photodegradation behaviour of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer/low density polyethylene composite

The photodegradation behaviour of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)/low density polyethylene (LDPE) composite containing four different types of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) was investigated through colour difference, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and mechanical tests. The results showed that the performance losses of composites were qualitatively correlated with the degradation degree. The vinyl acetate (VA) groups in EVA were sensitive to UV light and the photodegradation mainly occurred in the amorphous region. The chain scission and annealing effect facilitated the secondary crystallization of composites. The heterogeneous nucleation effect of TiO₂ on the crystallization of composites was related to the particle size of TiO₂. The micro rutile TiO₂, micro anatase TiO₂ and their mixture (rutile/anatase = 13/87) exhibited a photo-stabilising effect, while the nano mixed crystals TiO₂ (rutile/anatase = 20/80) had an opposite effect.     

计时电量法求NiCl2(bpy)3在DMF中的扩散系数和速率常数

讨论了NiCl₂(bpy)₃(bpy：2,2-联吡啶)在DMF中的电化学行为. 控制电位使电极过程处于扩散控制下, 采用计时电量法求得了29 ℃时NiCl₂(bpy)₃在DMF中的扩散系数为5.99×10^－6 cm²•s^-1, 不同温度下的扩散系数随温度升高而增大. 选择合适的电极电位, 使电极过程处于扩散和电化学混合控制下, 采用计时电量法求得了不同电极电位下的反应速率常数k_f, 以及不同温度下的标准速率常数k⁰, 求得了表观活化能为14.4 kJ•mol^-1.     

Diffusion coefficients and activation energies of diffusion of low molecular weight migrants in Poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottles

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is nowadays the packaging material of choice for beverages. Therefore knowledge about the diffusion coefficients at a certain temperature or activation energies of diffusion of potential migrants in the polymer is of interest, especially for the definition of the basic parameter set for migration modelling of PET. In this study, the diffusion coefficients of acetaldehyde, benzene and tetrahydrofuran in PET bottle materials were determined from kinetic migration experiments at four different temperatures. The activation energies for tetrahydrofuran and benzene were determined to be 106.8 kJ mol⁻¹ and 101.4 kJ mol⁻¹, respectively. The activation energy for acetaldehyde is significantly lower (75.7 kJ mol⁻¹) which is due to the lower molecular weight of this molecule compared to benzene and tetrahydrofuran. The results were compared with literature data of diffusion coefficients of other low molecular weight molecules in PET. From the results it is evident that the current migration model with the default modelling parameters for PET does not describe realistically the diffusion coefficients in PET. The migration of small molecules like acetaldehyde will be underestimated whereas higher molecular weight compounds will be overestimated by the current migration model. Whereas the overestimation is useful for compliance evaluation of PET bottles, for more realistic migration calculations, e.g. for exposure estimations, such overestimation is not desirable. Therefore, more accurate modelling parameters should be established. The key parameters for more realistic migration modelling are the activation energies of diffusion in the polymer.     

Diffusion of Cesium Ions in Agar Gel Containing Alkali Metal Bromides

The present paper gives an account of different aspects of the tracer diffusion of Cs⁺ ions in alkali metal bromides. We have measured the diffusion coefficients, D, of cesium ions in 1% agar gel medium at 25 ^∘C using a zone-diffusion technique over a concentration range of 5 × 10⁻⁵ to 0.1 mol,dm⁻³. The values of the diffusion coefficients were found to deviate from theory, which are explained on the basis of different types of interactions occurring in the ion-gel-water system. The study is also focused on the effect of alkali metal bromides on the obstruction effect and activation energy for the tracer-diffusion of cesium ions in agar gel medium. It is observed that both parameters, extent of obstruction, ∝, and activation energy, E, decrease with increasing charge density of the cation of the supporting electrolyte. The influence of these trends is explained on the basis of competitive hydration between the ions and agar molecules, and the relative distortion in the water structure that is brought about by these different ions and agar molecules.     

利用湿法反应制备的LiV3O8的锂离子扩散特性

利用V2O5•nH2O湿凝胶和Li2CO3作原料,通过溶液反应和低温焙烧的方法合成了用于锂离子电池正极的LiV3O8.对其前驱体和产品分别进行DTA-TG、XRD表征.LiV3O8用作锂离子电池正极的电化学性能利用恒电流充放电测试进行研究.实验表明活性材料LiV3O8具有较高的充放容量和良好的循环性能.LiV3O8电极的锂离子化学扩散系数由恒电位间歇滴定技术(PITT)来确定，其值依据Li1＋xV3O8中x值的不同在10－8～10－10 cm2•s－1的变化范围内.获得的锂离子的扩散活化能为：Ea=25～42 kJ•mol－1(x=0.18～2.5).认为锂离子扩散的最大活化能是由锂离子在Li4V3O8相中的扩散决定的.     

Simultaneous determination of five common additives in insulating mineral oils by high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and coulometric detection

Dielectric mineral oils are used to impregnate power transformers and large electrical apparatus, acting as both liquid insulation and heat dissipation media. Antioxidants and passivators are frequently added to mineral oils to enhance oxidation stability and reduce the electrostatic charging tendency, respectively. Since existing standard test methods only allow analysis of individual additives, new approaches are needed for the detection of mixtures. For the first time we investigate and discuss the performance of analytical methods, which require or do not require extraction as sample pretreatment, for the simultaneous reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography determination of passivators (benzotriazole, Irgamet^® 39) and antioxidants (N‐phenyl‐1‐naphtylamine, 2,6‐di‐tert‐butylphenol, 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐p‐cresol), chosen for their presence in marketed oils. Quick easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe and solid phase extractions were evaluated as sample pretreatments. Direct sample‐injection was also studied. Ultraviolet spectrophotometry and direct‐current coulometry detection were explored. As less prone to additive concentrations variability, the direct‐injection high‐performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and coulometric detection method was validated through comparison with Standard Method IEC 60666 and through an ASTM interlaboratory proficiency test. Obtained detection limits are (mg kg^?1): benzotriazole (2.8), Irgamet^® 39 (13.8), N‐phenyl‐1‐naphtylamine (11.9), 2,6‐di‐tert‐butylphenol (13.1), 2,6‐di‐tert‐butyl‐p‐cresol (10.2). Simultaneous determination of selected additives was possible both in unused and used oils, with good precision and accuracy.     

Measurement and modelling of solubility for calcium sulfate dihydrate and calcium hydroxide in NaOH/KOH solutions

The solubility of calcium sulfate dihydrate (CaSO₄·2H₂O) and calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH)₂) in alkali solutions is essential to understand their desilication behavior from Bayer liquor. In this work, solubilities of calcium sulfate dihydrate and calcium hydroxide for the ternary systems of CaSO₄·2H₂O–NaOH–H₂O, CaSO₄·2H₂O–KOH–H₂O, and Ca(OH)₂–NaOH–H₂O were measured by using the classic isothermal dissolution method over the temperature range of 25–75 °C. The Pitzer model embedded in Aspen Plus platform was used to model the experimental solubility data for these systems. The experimental solubility data was employed to obtain the new binary interaction parameters for Ca(OH)⁺–OH⁻, Ca(OH)⁺–Ca²⁺ and Ca(OH)⁺–K⁺, suggesting that the species Ca(OH)⁺ is a dominant species in simulated solubility for alkali systems. Validation of the parameters was performed by predicting the solubility for the ternary systems of Ca(OH)₂–NaOH–H₂O, CaSO₄·2H₂O–NaOH–H₂O and CaSO₄·2H₂O–KOH–H₂O with the overall average relatively deviation (ARD) of 2.12%, 0.75% and 1.63%, respectively.     

The diffusion and solubility of Irganox 1098 in polyamide 6

Diffusion coefficients (D) and solubilities (S) of a phenolic antioxidant (Irganox^® 1098) in polyamide 6 were determined in the temperature range of 139-180 °C. D and S show Arrhenius and van’t Hoff dependences on temperature respectively, with discontinuities at the melting temperature of the antioxidant. The activation energies for diffusion and enthalpies of solution are lower above than below the melting temperature. Based on the determined parameters for diffusion and solubility, the blooming of Irganox^® 1098 as a function of temperature and time was calculated.     

Non-isothermal crystallization of ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer containing a high weight fraction of graphene nanosheets and carbon nanotubes

The effect of the different geometrical dimensionality of two dimensional graphene nanosheets(2D GNSs) and one dimensional carbon nanotubes(1D CNTs) on the non-isothermal crystallization of an ethylene-vinyl acetate(EVA) copolymer at high loading(5 wt%) was studied.Transmission electron microscopy indicated a homogeneous dispersion of GNSs and CNTs in EVA obtained by a solution dispersion process.Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry measurements showed that 1D CNTs and 2D GNSs acted as effective nucleating agents,with a noticeably increased onset crystallization temperature of EVA.A high weight fraction of nano-fillers slowed the overall crystallization rate of composites.At the same crystallization temperature,the crystallization behavior of GNS/EVA composites was slowed compared to that of the CNT/EVA ones owing to larger nucleus barrier and activation energy of diffusion.Dynamic mechanical relaxation and rheology behavior of CNT/EVA and GNS/EVA composites demonstrated that the planar structure of the GNSs had an intensively negative effect on EVA chain mobility due to interactions between nanofillers and polymer chains,as well as spatial restriction.     

Measuring and validation for isothermal solubility data of solid 2-(3,4-Dimethoxyphenyl)-5,6,7,8-tetramethoxychromen-4-one (nobiletin) in supercritical carbon dioxide

Isothermal solubility of 2-(3,4-Dimethoxyphenyl)-5,6,7,8-tetramethoxychromen-4-one (nobiletin) in supercritical carbon dioxide at temperatures of (313, 323 and 333) K and pressures from (18 to 31) MPa was measured using an analytic-recirculation methodology, with direct determination of the molar composition of the carbon dioxide-rich phase by using high performance liquid chromatography. Results indicated that the range of the measured solubility of nobiletin was from 107 · 10⁻⁶ mol · mol⁻¹ at T = 333 K and 18.35 MPa to 182 · 10⁻⁶ mol · mol⁻¹ at T = 333 K and 31.40 MPa, with a temperature crossover around 18 MPa. The validation of the experimental solubility data was carried out by using three approaches, namely, estimation of combined expanded uncertainty for each solubility data point from experimental parameters values (⩽77 · 10⁻⁶ mol · mol⁻¹); thermodynamic consistency, verified utilizing a test adapted from tools based on Gibbs–Duhem equation and solubility modelling results; and, self-consistency, proved by correlating the solubility data with a semi-empirical model as a function of temperature, pressure and pure CO₂ density.     

Direct measurement of gas solubility and diffusivity in poly(vinylidene fluoride) with a high-pressure microbalance

We present solubility and diffusion data for the gases methane and carbon dioxide in the polymer poly(vinylidene fluoride). The polymer was cut from extruded piping intended for use in offshore oil and gas applications. Measurements were carried out using a purpose-built high-pressure microbalance. These properties were determined in the temperature range 80-120 °C and in the pressure range 50-150 bar for methane and 20-40 bar for carbon dioxide. In general, good agreement was obtained for similar measurements reported in the literature. Solubility follows a Henry’s law (linear) dependence with pressure. Diffusion coefficients for each of the gases in the polymer were also measured using the balance. Activation energies for diffusion and heats of solution for the two gases in the polymer were also determined.     

Optimization of Fenoprofen solubility within green solvent through developing a novel and accurate GSO-GPR predictive model

Indisputable importance of drug solubility in various industrial perspectives has motivated the scientists to evaluate different techniques to improve it. Fenoprofen is a significant nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), that is the orally administered to relieve mild to moderate pain and the unfavorable symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (i.e., inflammation and stiffness). Supercritical fluids (SCFs) belong to a certain type of fluids, in which their temperature and pressure are higher than the critical point. This property allows the CO₂SCF to simultaneously possess the characteristics of both a liquid and a gas. The prominent target of this paper is to mathematically develop three predictive models via machine learning (ML) technique to optimize the solubility of Fenoprofen in CO₂SCF. In this study, we have 32 data vectors in each dataset, including two input features of pressure and temperature. The output target is solubility, which we are going to model and analyze. Models are constructed through the use of Modular ANN (MANN), Gaussian processes regression (GPR), and the K-Nearest Neighbor technique (KNN) in this body of work. The glowworm swarm optimization (GSO) swarm-based method is utilized in order to carry out the process of model optimization. The root mean squared error (RMSE) rates for GSO-KNN, GSO-MANN, and GSO-GPR are respectively 5.25E-04, 5.46E-04, and 3.01E-05. The aforementioned models were also judged according to a number of other criteria, and since the GSO-GPR model was found to be the most effective according to all of these standards, it is being treated as the conclusive model of this investigation. In addition, the maximum error has been brought down to 5.02E-05 with the help of this model, which has an R2-score of 0.999.