Esterification with orthophosphoric acid of cellulose samples with different extents of structural heterogeneity

Modification of cellulose samples with different extents of structural heterogeneity by esterification with orthophosphoric acid in the temperature range 140?C160??C was studied. The reaction yielded cellulose phosphates containing 3.2?C6.0 wt % P, with the ion-exchange capacity of 2.2?C3.0 mg-equiv g^?1. Introduction of phosphorus into cellulose leads to a slight decrease in the structural heterogeneity. The polymer with the lower ordering index is characterized by the higher phosphorus content, which suggests that the reaction mainly occurs in the amorphous part of the polymer.     

The structure and thermal behaviour of sodium and potassium multinuclear compounds with hexamethylenetetramine

Sodium and potassium thiocyanate complex compounds of formulae [Na(hmta)(H₂O)₄]₂²⁺·2SCN⁻ (1) and [K₂(hmta)(SCN)₂] _n (2) have been synthesized and characterised by IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetry coupled with differential thermal analysis, elemental analysis and X-ray crystallography. Each sodium and potassium cation is six co-ordinated, the sodium by one monofunctional hmta molecule, three terminal water molecules and two bridging water molecules, and the potassium by two bridging tetrafunctional hmta molecules and four bridging tetrafunctional thiocyanate ions. The coordination polyhedra of the central atoms can be described as distorted tetragonal bipyramids. The complex cations and anions of (1) are interconnected by multiple intramolecular O(water)—H···N(hmta/NCS) and O(water)—H···S hydrogen bonds to the three dimensional net. In each complex cation the intramolecular O–H···O hydrogen bonds link two terminal water molecules bonded to two metal cations. The compound (2) forms the three dimensional hybrid network in which the classical two-dimensional coordination polymers are linked by inorganic SCN⁻ spacers to the third-dimension. Thermal analyses show that the compounds decompose gradually in three (for 1) and two (for 2) steps with formation of Na₂SO₄ and K₂S as the final products, respectively, for 1 and 2.     

Effect of structure on thermal behaviour of epoxy resins

The paper deals with the curing behaviour of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) using three novel multifunctional aromatic amines having phosphine oxide and amide-acid linkages. The amines were prepared by reacting tris(3-aminophenyl)phosphine oxide (TAP) with 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic acid anhydride (P)/4,4^′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic acid anhydride (F)/3,3^′,4,4^′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic acid dianhydride (B). Amide-acid linkage in these amines is converted to thermally stable imide linkage during curing reaction. Curing temperatures of DGEBA were higher with phosphorylated amines than the conventional amine 4,4^′-diamino diphenyl sulphone (D). A decrease in initial decomposition temperature and higher char yields were observed when phosphorus containing amide-acid amines were used as curing agents for DGEBA.     

Study of the structure and thermal behaviour of intercalated kaolinites

Intercalation complexes of three different Hungarian kaolinites with hydrazine and potassium acetate were investigated by FT-IR (DRIFT) spectrometry, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetry combined with mass spectrometry. Differences were found in the thermal behaviour of the complexes as well as in the rehydration — reexpansion patterns of the heated intercalates. An XRD method is proposed for the distinction of kaolinite and 7.2 Å halloysite present in the same mineral.The authors wish to thank Dr. E. Máttyás for providing the kaolinite samples and for carrying out their chemical analysis. Financial support from the Hungarian Scientific Research Fund under grant No. OTKA-014179 is gratefully acknowledged.     

The thermal behaviour of diphenyliodonium cyanometallates

The thermal decomposition of the complexes (Ph₂I)₂[Ni(CN)₄], (Ph₂I)₃-[Fe(CN)₆], and (Ph₂I)₄[Mo(CN)₈] (Ph = C₆H₅), is studied by derivatography, thermomagnetic analysis, IR spectroscopy, and evolved gas analysis by the GC—MS technique and mass spectrometric analysis. The different steps of thermal dissociation of these complexes are discussed. Phenylisocyanide can be shown as an interesting pyrolysis product. It is not possible to obtain the intermediate cyanide/isocyanide mixed ligand complexes formed under solid state pyrolysis conditions.     

The thermal behaviour of some rhodium complexes

The thermal behaviour of several complexes of rhodium has been investigated. Complexes containing nitrogen ligands readily decompose to the oxide, Rh₂O_3^? Complexes with phosphorus and arsenic ligands decompose to the same oxide of rhodium, although difficulty is encountered in removing all the phosphorus and arsenic. The suitability of the decomposition to Rh₂O₃ as an analytical technique for rhodium is discussed.     

The structure of electron beam-modified cellulose triacetate

The structure, relaxation, and surface properties of cellulose triacetate (CTA) fibers and films modified by electron-beam irradiation in the absorbed dose range of D = 0−1000 kGy have been studied. The relation of the glass transition and melting temperatures of the irradiated CTA samples with the local density and the fractal dimensionality of the macrochain has been revealed. It has been shown that the radiation-chemical processes associated with the rupture of acetal bonds and the hydrolysis of CTA acetate groups predetermine the change in the structural and relaxation characteristics of the irradiated samples, as well as a nonmonotonic form of the dependence of the density and the surface energy of the films upon the absorbed dose near the threshold value of D = 75 kGy.     

Thermally-activated shape memory behaviour of bionanocomposites reinforced with cellulose nanocrystals

Bionanocomposites with thermally-activated shape memory ability have been designed based on a synthesized poly(ester-urethane) matrix reinforced with both neat and functionalized cellulose nanocrystals. The functionalization of the cellulose nanocrystals was performed by grafting poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) chains onto their surface. The matrix has a block copolymer structure of two biodegradable and biocompatible polymers, poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and PLLA. This research is focused on the effects of cellulose nanofillers on the thermally-activated shape memory response of the neat matrix confirming that the bionanocomposites are able to show shape memory effects at 35 °C, close to the human body temperature, making these materials good candidates for biomedical applications. Three thermo-mechanical cycles at 50 % of deformation were performed in order to check the thermally-activated shape memory ability of the bionanocomposites and to determine the shape memory parameters, namely the strain fixity (R_f), and the strain recovery (R_r) ratio. Both bionanocomposites, with neat and functionalized cellulose nanocrystals, present excellent shape memory behaviour maintaining the recovery behaviour at values of about 90 % as measured previously for the pure matrix, indicating that the addition of the nanofiller maintains the good ability to recover the initial shape of the matrix. The cellulose nanofillers clearly improve the ability of the polymer to fix the temporary shape. In fact, the bionanocomposites show R_f at about 90 %. Moreover, bionanocomposites reinforced with the functionalized cellulose nanocrystals maintain constant their performance during all the thermo-mechanical cycles thus confirming that the improvement in the shape memory behaviour can be mainly attributed to the increase of the interactions between the functionalized cellulose nanocrystals with the polymeric matrix.     

The thermal degradation of polymethacrylonitrile with different end groups

Polymethacrylonitrile (PMAN) was prepared by bulk, solution and precipitation polymerization. The thermal stability of the polymer, which is affected by the structure of the chain end groups, was studied by non-isothermal thermogravimetry (TG). On the basis of the differential TG curves of samples prepared by polymerization in the presence of chlorinated solvents, it may be concluded that, in addition to end-chain and random main chain scission initiated depolymerization, hydrogen chloride evolution also occurs during the thermal degradation of PMAN.     

The thermal equation for ammonia sorption by cellulose acetate

The thermal equation for ammonia sorption by cellulose acetate was obtained using the quasichemical model of the sorption of vapors by swelling polymeric sorbents suggested by Lindstrom and Laatikainen. The experimental data obtained by reversed gas chromatography and static methods are compared. Original Russian Text ? I.V. Vorotyntsev, T.V. Gamayunova, 2009, published in Zhurnal Fizicheskoi Khimii, 2009, Vol. 83, No. 5, pp. 939–942.     

The application of thermal analysis to the combustion of cellulose

It is shown that the use of differential thermal analysis (DTA) to follow the pyrolysis of cellulose in air products two and sometimes three exothermic peaks. The first peak is associated with the combustion of volatile material, released in the degradation process, the second is caused by the glowing combustion of the carbonaceous residue, and the final exotherm is probably due to the combustion of product gases.The thermogravimetric analysis (TG) data in air show a preliminary loss of water followed by a mass loss of about 85% due to the production of the combustible volatiles. This second step appears identical to the degradation process in nitrogen, but in air the degradation products ignite to produce the first exothermic peak on the DTA. The glowing combustion DTA peak is associated with a further mass loss of about 15% on the TG plot. The use of a thermomechanical analyser shows that a small shrinkage of 3% occurs between 45 and 110°C, with the major collapse taking place between 300 and 370°C. There is, however, an expansion of 10% between 370 and 405°C, believed to be due to a crosslinking reaction.     

The initial structure of cellulose during ammonia pretreatment

A protocol was developed to freeze-trap (at 150 K) cellulose as it is undergoing liquid ammonia pretreatment, and then to collect X-ray diffraction data from the freeze-trapped reactants as the reaction is allowed to proceed and ammonia is allowed to melt and then evaporate, leaving ammonia-cellulose I. Cellulose adopts a new two-chain crystal form, which we call low temperature phase ammonia-cellulose I (two-chains and ~ten ammonia molecules within a unit cell of a = 15.49 Å, b = 11.35 Å, c = 10.42 Å and γ = 143.5°). A schematic model was developed that is characterized by sheets of hydrophobically stacked cellulose-chains with hydrophilic channels between them that are filled with ammonia molecules. Neighboring chains in these sheets have either different conformations or are staggered with respect to each other. As ammonia is allowed to evaporate, the unit cell size is reduced by a factor of two as the two independent chains become identical.     

The thermal expansion of cellulose II and IIIII crystals

Highly crystalline samples of cellulose II and III_II have been prepared from repeated mercerization of ramie fibers and supercritical ammonia treatment of the mercerized ramie fibers, respectively. The thermal expansion behavior of cellulose II and III_II was investigated using X-ray diffraction at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 250 °C. With increasing temperature, the unit cell of cellulose II expanded in the lateral directions and contracted in the longitudinal direction, with the a and b axes increasing by 0.54 and 3.4%, respectively, and the c axis decreasing by 0.09%. The anisotropic thermal expansion in these three directions was closely related to the crystal structure and the hydrogen bonding in cellulose II. A similar anisotropic thermal expansion was also observed in cellulose III_II. Cellulose III_II expanded in the lateral direction but contracted in the longitudinal direction.     

The thermal behaviour of high-molecular polyoxyethylene-urea binary mixtures

The thermal behaviour (from 20 to 500°C) of high-molecular polyoxyethylene-urea mixtures which formed a molecular complex was investigated by means of a derivatograph. Under the conditions of the investigation, there were no indications of an interaction between the thermal decomposition products and the initial components, or of new intermediates with a thermostabilizing effect. A linear coorelation was obtained between the mass loss at 250°C and the urea content of the mixture, which may be used to determine the urea content of similar mixtures.     

Crystallite structure of cellulose

The crystallite structure of cellulose has been elucidated through analyses of the degradations of model compounds by gel-permeation chromatography. These compounds include single crystals of cellulose triacetate, regenerated cellulose from single crystals, precipitated celluloses from solutions, and commercial regenerated cellulose. The corresponding distribution profiles are found to follow the Keller transformation, which is a characteristic behavior of the folded crystals of synthetic polymers. It is also found that the leveling-off DP of cellulose is a first-order approximation of the corresponding fold length. A detailed folding chain model for the regenerated cellulose was constructed, and the various aspects of the structure are discussed. The kinetic data and the degradation products of native celluloses were also analyzed and found to obey the ruling of the chain fold model but not the conventional fringe-micellar model. In addition, an iodine-staining experiment pinpoints a minimum of 1.5% of true amorphous material; this is in quantitative agreement with the conformation analysis for the six-fold helical β-loop bonds. It is therefore suggested that the same chain-fold conformation is applicable to the native polymer. The hydrolysis of cellulose is found to be composed of a triple mode of degradation, i.e., a first-order random scission at the folds, a zero-order peeling reaction at the ends of the crystallites, and a first-order random scission on the lateral surfaces of the cellulose.     

The impact of cellulose structure on binding interactions with hemicellulose and pectin

Four cellulose substrates including highly crystalline cellulose nanowhiskers (CNWs) from Gluconacetobacter xylinus (cellulose Iα) or cotton (cellulose Iβ) and amorphous cellulose derived from CNWs (phosphoric acid swollen cellulose nanowhiskers, PASCNWs) were used to explore the interaction between cellulose and well-defined xyloglucan, xylan, arabinogalactan and pectin. The binding behavior was characterized by adsorption isotherm and Langmuir models. The maximum adsorption and the binding constant of xyloglucan, xylan and pectin to any CNWs were always higher than to PASCNWs derived from the same source. The binding affinity of xyloglucan, xylan and pectin to G. xylinus cellulose was generally higher than to cotton cellulose, showing that binding interactions depended on the biological origin of cellulose and associated differences in its structure. The surface area, porosity, crystal plane and degree of order of cellulose substrate may all impact the interactions.     

Determination of kinetic parameters for pyrolysis of cellulose and cellulose treated with ammonium phosphate by differential thermal analysis and thermal gravimetric analysis

Activation energy E, pre-exponential factor k₀, and reaction order n for the pyrolysis of α-cellulose and cellulose modified with dihydrogen ammonium phosphate were determined by means of TGA and DTA. The results obtained are E = 53.5 kcal./mole, k₀ = 10^18.8 min.^?1, n = 1 for α-cellulose and E = 32 kcal./mole, k₀ = 10¹² min.^?1, n = 1 for modified cellulose. A new theory of DTA was also developed. This theory, in which it is concluded that the peak value of DTA curve coincides with the maximum rate of reaction, may be used not only for the present work but is generally applicable to DTA studies. Detailed procedures of experiment and theory are described.