Propionic Anhydride Modification of Cellulosic Kenaf Fibre Enhancement with Bionanocarbon in Nanobiocomposites

The use of chemical modification of cellulosic fibre is applied in order to increase the hydrophobicity, hence improving the compatibility between the fibre and matrix bonding. In this study, the effect of propionic anhydride modification of kenaf fibre was investigated to determine the role of bionanocarbon from oil palm shell agricultural wastes in the improvement of the functional properties of bionanocomposites. The vinyl esters reinforced with unmodified and propionic anhydride modified kenaf fibres bio nanocomposites were prepared using 0, 1, 3, 5 wt% of bio-nanocarbon. Characterisation of the fabricated bionanocomposite was carried out using FESEM, TEM, FT-IR and TGA to investigate the morphological analysis, surface properties, functional and thermal analyses, respectively. Mechanical performance of bionanocomposites was evaluated according to standard methods. The chemical modification of cellulosic fibre with the incorporation of bionanocarbon in the matrix exhibited high enhancement of the tensile, flexural, and impact strengths, for approximately 63.91%, 49.61% and 54.82%, respectively. The morphological, structural and functional analyses revealed that better compatibility of the modified fibre–matrix interaction was achieved at 3% bionanocarbon loading, which indicated improved properties of the bionanocomposite. The nanocomposites exhibited high degradation temperature which signified good thermal stability properties. The improved properties of the bionanocomposite were attributed to the effect of the surface modification and bionanocarbon enhancement of the fibre–matrix networks.     

EB/UV treatment of protective coatings for porous materials

A method for improving surface properties of porous inorganic materials is presented. The method is particularly tailored to cement-based materials in order to obtain properties suitable for mechanical applications such as dies manufacturing, where hardness, abrasion resistance and low friction are requested. The coating system is based upon using two coatings of different characteristics. The underlying base coating layer is infiltrated in air on three different formulations of hardened cement composite. Two different bi-component resins, one relatively soft and the other relatively hard, were tested as underlying surface coating. The outer surface coating, based upon a bi-component resin characterized by high hardness, is added after hardening and curing of the first layer. Both coatings were chemically hardened and then cured with EB. UV curing is also suitable for the outer surface coating. An experimental campaign was carried out in order to evaluate the influence of radiation processing as curing treatment with reference to particular investigated materials. Hardness and resistance to peeling of coating systems have been measured and are presented.     

The first stereoselective total synthesis of quinine.

The first entirely stereoselective total synthesis of (-)-quinine is reported.