Waterborne polyurethane assembly multifunctional coating for hydrophobic and antibacterial fabrics

Surface modification of fabrics is a powerful strategy that can endow fabrics with desired effects while keeping the intrinsic properties. Herein, an ordinary strategy, dipping-drying based layer-by-layer self-assembly (LbL) coating, is reported to functionalize fabrics’ surfaces. Firstly, the novel cation waterborne polyurethanes (QAHDPU) and anion waterborne polyurethanes (HDPU) are successfully designed and synthesized. By incorporating targeted molecule, hydantoin diol (HD) and quaternary ammonium salt with long alkyl chain (DOQA), the QAHDPU are antibacterial and hydrophobically functionalized. Taking advantage of strong adhesion, waterborne polyurethanes (WPUs) are physically bonded to surfaces of fabrics to generate durable antibacterial and hydrophobic fabrics. The QAHDPU with long alkyl chain combined with rough and porous fabric surface fabricates hydrophobic fabric surface, which can prevent bacteria from adhering to the fabrics. Furthermore, the coated fabrics present excellent antibacterial properties after chlorination, forming a second barrier against bacteria. The chlorinated coated fabrics, can inactivate 85.0–99.9% of Staphylococcus aureus and 85.0–97.7% of Escherichia coli with contact time of 60 min. The hydrophobic properties of coated fabrics are greatly improved with water contact angles of 122.0°–141.1°. In addition, the proposed method is applicable for a variety of fibers and expected to be used for industrial production.

Graphical abstract

     

Inspection of the reversal of enantiomer migration order in ligand exchange micellar electrokinetic capillary chromatography

Enantiometers of D,L-phenylalanine were separated by capillary electrophoresis based on the principle of ligand exchange. Copper (II) complex of 4-hydroxy-L-proline was used as chiral selector. The separation and the migration order of D- and L-phenylalanine were strongly affected by adding an anion surfactant sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). Without SDS in the electrolyte, the separation was also carried out but the resolution was very small. With SDS added into the electrolyte, the resolution decreased with increasing concentration of SDS until 5.0 mM. When the concentration of SDS in the electrolyte was over 5.0 mM, inversion of the migration order of DL-phenylalanine was observed and the resolution was also increased with increasing concentration up to 20 mM. It was interesting to find that the inversion of the migration order took place not only in the enantioscparation but also in the positional isomers. A family of a fluorinated amino acid, o-, m- and p-fluoro-D,L-phenylalanine was separated and the inversion of the migration order is discussed.     

Instrumental neutron activation analysis of large samples: A pilot experiment

A large sample INAA (LS-INAA) was conducted based on available experimental conditions. Four different materials, e.g., a quartz-sand and three wastes from an incineration plant were analyzed on sample size of 1 kg. The neutron flux spatial distribution was determined by irradiation of flux monitors in the sample. The gamma-ray apparent counting efficiency was evaluated based on the effective-solid angle concept, using linear attenuation coefficients calculated from an iteration process. The k ₀- and the modified monostandard methods were modified for the LS-INAA. To check the LS-INAA performance, a conventional small sample INAA was carried out for the quartz sand and a waste. All detected elements in the LS-INAA are presented and the discussion is conducted to explore the sources of errors in the LS-INAA. As a pilot experiment, the information from this work will be used in constructing irradiation and counting devices for the new FRM-II neutron source in Garching, Germany.     

The mechanism of thermal decomposition of Co(NO3)2 · 2H2O

The mechanism of thermal decomposition of Co(NO₃)₂ · 2H₂O was found to involve stages in which Co(NO₃)₃ and Co₂O₃ · H₂O are formed both of which decompose to Co₃O₄. During the process, the total cobalt enters the +3 oxidation state, which is consistent with the results reported by Mehandjiev [2].

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Zusammenfassung Es wurde gefunden, daß der Zersetzungsmechanismus von Co(NO₃)₂ · 2H₂O Schritte umfaßt, bei denen Co(NO₃)₃ sowie Co₂O₃ · H₂O gebildet werden, beides weiterzerfallend zu Co₃O₄. Während des Vorganges erreicht das Gesamtkobalt die Oxidationsstufe +3, was mit Ergebnissen von Mehandjiev übereinstimmt [2].

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, , CO₃O₄. , .

     

Development of a new reaction system for the synthesis of highly optically active alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones

A highly useful method for the synthesis of optically active alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones has been developed. The SmI(2)-induced reductive coupling of chiral 2-alkyl acrylates derived from isosorbide with ketones in the presence of (1S)-(-)-2,10-camphorsultam as a proton source give the chiral alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones in good yields and high enantiomeric purities (up to >99% ee for trans and 75% ee for cis). The reaction system has been investigated with various ketones, and it is demonstrated that this system is very effective for trans-alpha,gamma-substituted gamma-butyrolactones. Both the chiral auxiliary and the hindered proton source in this system are necessary for the observed excellent ee values of the products. The absolute configuration of the trans products is assigned on the basis of the X-ray crystal structure.     

pH-sensitive polyelectrolyte complex gel microspheres composed of chitosan/sodium tripolyphosphate/dextran sulfate: swelling kinetics and drug delivery properties

Porous chitosan (CS) polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) hydrogel microspheres were prepared via either wet phase-inversion or ionotropic crosslinking with sodium tripolyphosphate (Na+ - TPP) and dextran sulfate (DS). The resulting microspheres were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis (EA). The controlled release behavior of ibuprofen (IBU) from these microspheres was investigated. The PEC microspheres were about 700-950 microm in diameter with large pores and open porous structure. The CS/TPP/DS microspheres resisted hydrolysis in strong acid and biodegradation in enzymatic surroundings. The swelling kinetics for CS microspheres was close to Fickian diffusion, whereas those for CS/TPP and CS/TPP/DS were non-Fickian. Furthermore, the equilibrium water content (EWC) and water diffusion coefficient (D) increased with the pH of the media. The release profiles of IBU from CS/TPP/DS microspheres were slow in simulated gastric fluid (SGF, pH 1.4) over 3 h, but nearly all of the initial drug content was released in simulated intestinal fluid (SIF, pH 6.8) within 6 h after changing media. Overall the results demonstrated that CS/TPP/DS microspheres could successfully deliver a hydrophobic drug to the intestine without losing the drug in the stomach, and hence could be potential candidates as an orally administered drug delivery system.     

Teaching Operational Research Technique

Good technique, i.e. competence in carrying out operational research, is as vital for the practitioner to acquire as competence in the traditional ‘techniques’. It is suggested that universities should teach students how to conduct simple projects prior to alerting them to more sophisticated methodological issues.As an aid to this task, the traditional five or six parts of an operational research project are broken down and extended into 39 steps, and regrouped into three phases. Also, five skills are identified as being conceptually essential to "good" operational research, which students can develop through tackling suitable case studies.     

Dispersion state of CuO on CeO2

XRD and XPS are used to study the dispersion state of CuO on ceria surface. The dispersion capacity values of CuO measured by the two methods are consistent, which are of 1.20 mmol CuO/100 m² CeO₂. In addition, the results reveal that highly dispersed Cu²⁺ ions are formed at low CuO loadings and that increasing the CuO content to a value higher than its dispersion capacity produces crystalline CuO after the surface vacant sites on CeO₂ are filled. The atomic composition of the outermost layer of the CuO/CeO₂ samples has been probed by using static secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SSIMS), and the ratim of Cu/Ce are found to be 0.93 and 0.46 for the 1.22 and 0.61 mmol CuO/CeO₂ samples respectively. Temperature-programmed reduction (TPR) profile with two reduction peaks at 156 and 165°C suggests that the reduction of highly dispersed Cu²⁺ ions consists of two steps and is easier than that of CuO crystallites, in which the TPR profile has only one reduction peak at about 249°C. The above experimental results are in good agreement with the prediction of the incorporation model. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

6β-Acetoxy-7 α-Hydroxyroyleanone,A New Compound from Taiwania Cryptomerioides Hayata

Two crystalline compounds from the bark of Taiwania cryptomerioides Hayata were isolated. One of them was identified as 6,7-dehydroroyleanone and the other was shown to be a new derivative of royleanone having a structure of 6β-acetoxy-7α-hydroxyroyleanone.     

Reactions of hydrazoic acid on TiO2 nanoparticles: an experimental and computational study

This article reports the results of a computational and experimental study on the reaction of hydrazoic acid, HN3, adsorbed on 15-20 nm TiO2 particle films. Experimentally, FTIR spectra of HN3(a) have been measured by varying HN3 dosage, UV irradiation time and surface annealing temperature. Three sharp peaks, related to v(a)(NNN) of HN3(a) and N3(a) with different configurations in the 2000-2200 cm(-1) region, and a broad band absorption, related to associated and isolated HN(a) and HO(a) adsorptions in the 3000-3800 cm(-1) region, have been detected. Computationally, molecular structures, vibrational frequencies and adsorption energies of possible adsorbates including HN3 and its derivatives, N3, N2, NH, and H, have been predicted by first-principles calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT) and the pseudopotential method. On the basis of the experimental and computational results, the peak appeared at 2075 cm(-1), which increases at a faster rate with HN3 exposure time, is attributed to a stable adsorbate, N3-Ti(a), with the predicted adsorption energy, E(ads) = 13 kcal/mol. The peak at 2118 cm(-1), which survives at the highest surface temperature in the heating experiment, is attributable to the most stable adsorbate, Ti-N2N(H)-O(a) with E(ads) = 36 kcal/mol. The peak at 2170 cm(-1), which vanishes most readily in all of the aforementioned experiments, is related to less stable molecular adsorbates, end-on HN3-Ti(a) with E(ads) = 5 kcal/mol and side-on HN(N2)-Ti(a) with E(ads) = 8 kcal/mol. A potential energy diagram for the formation of various absorbates with their transition states has been established for the HN3/TiO2 system. On the basis of the predicted desorption energies, the four most stable products of the HN3 reaction on TiO2 are H-O(a), 118 kcal/mol; HN-O(a), 85 kcal/mol; Ti-N2N(H)-O(a), 36 kcal/mol; and N3-O(a), 19 kcal/mol.