Electrospinning of nylon-6,6 solutions into nanofibers: Rheology and morphology relationships

The relationship between the rheological properties of nylon-6,6 solutions and the morphology of their electrospun nanofibers was established. The viscosity of nylon-6,6 in formic acid(90%) was measured in the concentration range of 5 wt%-25 wt% using a programmable viscometer. Electrospinning of nylon-6,6 solutions was carried out under controlled parameters. The chemical structure, morphology and thermal properties of the obtained nanofibers were investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), scanning electron microscopy(SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry(DSC), respectively. Entanglement concentration(ce) was found to be 15 wt% and a power law relationship between specific viscosity and solution concentration was observed with exponents of 2.0 and 3.3 for semi-dilute unentangled(c ce) and semi-dilute entangled(c ce) regimes, respectively. The diameter and uniformity of the nanofibers were found to be dependent on the viscosity. Moreover, the average diameter of electrospun nanofibers was found to be dependent on zero shear rate viscosity and normalized concentration(c/ce) in a power law relationship with exponents of 0.298 and 0.816, respectively. For nylon-6,6 solutions, the entanglement concentration(ce = 15 wt%) provides the threshold viscosity required for the formation of a stable polymeric jet during electrospinning and producing uniform beadless fibers. For concentrations less than ce, beaded fibers with some irregularities are formed. DSC analysis showed an increase in crystallinity of all electrospun samples compared to original polymer. Furthermore, Based on FTIR spectroscopy, α phase is dominant in electrospun nanofibers and minor amount of β and γ phases is also available.     

Carboxymethylated nanofibrillated cellulose: effect of monovalent electrolytes on the rheological properties

The effect of the ionic strength on the properties of a carboxymethylated nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) system was investigated through rheological studies. It was shown that homogenization of pulp suspensions containing a high amount of a monovalent electrolyte leads to the production of NFC systems displaying a lower magnitude in the rheological response as compared with systems prepared at lower ionic strengths conditions. It was further shown that increasing the ionic strength of NFC suspensions after their manufacturing also results in a lowering of the rheological response. The decreased rheological response in the former case was postulated to be caused by a lowering of the delamination deficiency of the homogenization process, due to decreased swelling of the carboxymethylated pulp, caused by the screening of the charges. In the latter case (post-addition of the electrolyte), the lowering of the rheological response was postulated to be due to the compression of the electrostatic double layer, when the electrostatic repulsion between the charged fibrils diminished in the presence of the electrolyte.     

Gradual Growth of Gold Nanoseeds on Silica for Silica@Gold Core–Shell Nano Applications by Two Different Methods: A Comparison on Structural Properties

This paper describes the homogeneous growth of gold shells on the surfaces of spherical dielectric silica nanoparticle cores by two different approaches: common two-step method (the name) and deposition–precipitation process. The methods basically are different in forming the precursor gold seed particles on silica. The structural and optical properties and morphology of the nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–Vis spectrophotometery, and photo luminescence spectroscopy (PL). The results showed that, although in both the methods the core–shell nanoparticles can be reliably prepared in a controlled fashion with a favorable uniformity, but deposition–precipitation method indicated a better mechanical stability while it was more cost and time effective too. A regular red shift, from 488 to 662 nm, and peak broadening was also risen for the striking plasmon absorption peak as gold nanoseeds created by each of the two methods grew in size on silica cores.     

β-Cyclodextrin-based polyurethane (β-CDPU) polymers as solid media for adsorption and determination of Pb(II) ions in dust and water samples

In this work, β-CD-based polyurethane copolymers (β-CDPU) have been prepared by reacting β-CD with hexamethylene diisocyanate as cross-linked agent in dry DMF. This polymer showed high selectivity for preconcentration of Pb(II) at trace level prior to its flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination. The effect of several parameters such as pH, flow rate of sample, eluent kind and volume was investigated. The adsorption behaviors and mechanisms of Pb(II) on the samples were also studied. The maximum adsorption amount of Pb(II) was 8 mg g^?1 with the preconcentration factor of 250 for Pb(II). The Langmuir isotherm was proved to describe the adsorption data better than the Freundlich isotherm and a pseudo-first-order kinetic model fits the adsorption kinetic processes well. The calibration curve was linear in the range of (3–200 ng mL^?1) with a correlation coefficient of 0.9996. The limit of detection based on three times the standard deviation of the blank was 1.15 ng mL^?1. The relative standard deviations for the determination of 10 and 100 ng mL^?1 of Pb(II) were 3.60 and 0.43 % (n = 10), respectively. The method was successfully applied to the determination of lead in some environmental samples such as Tehran and Bushehr drinking water, river water and dust samples.     

Densities,Refractive Indices,Ultrasonic Speeds and Excess Properties of Acetonitrile + Poly(ethylene glycol) Binary Mixtures at Temperatures from 298.15 to 313.15 K

The densities, ρ, refractive indices, n _D, and ultrasonic speeds, u, of binary mixtures of acetonitrile (AN) with poly(ethylene glycol) 200 (PEG200), poly(ethylene glycol) 300 (PEG300) and poly(ethylene glycol) 400 (PEG400) were measured over the entire composition range at temperatures (298.15, 303.15, 308.15 and 313.15) K and at atmospheric pressure. From the experimental data, the excess molar volumes, \( V_{\text{m}}^{\text{E}} \) , deviations in refractive indices, \( \Delta n_{\text{D}} \) , excess molar isentropic compressibility, \( K_{{s , {\text{m}}}}^{\text{E}} \) , excess intermolecular free length, \( L_{\text{f}}^{\text{E}} \) , and excess acoustic impedance, Z ^E, have been evaluated. The partial molar volumes, \( \overline{V}_{\text{m,1}} \) and \( \overline{V}_{\text{m,2}} \) , partial molar isentropic compressibilities, \( \overline{K}_{{s , {\text{m,1}}}} \) and \( \overline{K}_{{s , {\text{m,2}}}} \) , and their excess values over whole composition range and at infinite dilution have also been calculated. The variations of these properties with composition and temperature are discussed in terms of intermolecular interactions in these mixtures. The results indicate the presence of specific interactions among the AN and PEG molecules, which follow the order PEG200 < PEG300 < PEG400.     

Batch and continuous fixed-bed column biosorption of thorium(IV) from aqueous solutions: equilibrium and dynamic modeling

Biosorption of thorium(IV) from aqueous solution by Cystoseira indica alga was investigated in batch and fixed-bed column experiments. In the batch study the effects of pH and initial concentration were investigated. The optimum pH for Th(IV) biosorption was found to be 3.5. The experimental isotherms obtained at different pH conditions were analyzed using three two-parameter models and three three-parameter models. Among the two-parameter models the Langmuir model and among the three-parameter models the Redlich–Peterson model vividly described the equilibrium data. The results showed that C. indica alga is a homogeneous biosorbent and Th(IV) biosorption is a favorable and physical process. The maximum biosorption capacity from the Langmuir model was 151.3, 195.7 and 120.6 mg/g at pH 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5, respectively. The continuous isotherm obtained from the column data was modeled by the Langmuir model and the maximum biosorption capacity was 283.8 mg/g. The experimental data were fitted by the use of an analytical and a numerical model, namely Clark and mass transfer models. The results showed that the mass transfer model adequately described the experimental data. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the value of k _in has more effect than the axial dispersion coefficient (D _z) on the shape of breakthrough curve.     

Preparation of new poly(ester triazole) and poly(amide triazole) by “click chemistry”

New dialkynyl monomers containing furan and ester or amide units were prepared via three step reactions from ethyl furan-2-carboxylate. Their click polymerization with either poly(ethylene glycol) diazide or poly(tetrahydrofuran) diazide catalyzed by Cu(I) led to corresponding amorphous poly(ester triazole) and poly(amide triazole) with molecular weights in the range of (7–11) × 10³ and with glass transition temperatures in the range of ?35 and ?19°C. The temperature at 5% wt loss (T ₁₀), determined from TGA of polyazomethines were in the range 345–365°C indicating their good thermal stability.