Preparation of cellulose samples for size-exclusion chromatography analyses in studies of paper degradation

Hydrolytic degradation of cellulose was shown to take place during the activation procedure in distilled water during the dissolution procedure of cellulose samples from papers for size-exclusion chromatography analyses in the lithium chloride-N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solution system. The use of dilute aqueous sodium hydroxide solution in the activation procedure prevents hydrolytic degradation of cellulose during the dissolution procedure, especially in the case of samples of aged papers with low pH. The use of the freeze-drying technique provides samples of cellulose ready-made for dissolution in lithium chloride-N,N-dimethylacetamide solution.     

The effect of grass fiber filler on curing characteristics and mechanical properties of natural rubber

Natural rubber is reinforced with a novel type of grass fiber (Cyperus Tegetum Rox b). The effects of fiber loading of different mesh sizes on curing characteristics and mechanical properties of grass fiber filled natural rubber composite are studied. Since 400 mesh grass fiber loaded natural rubber composite shows superior mechanical properties, therefore the effect of silane coupling agent was studied for this particular composite. Here composites were prepared by using water leached grass fiber. Optimum cure time increases with the increase in fiber loading but the change in scorch time is less. The same trend of increase in optimum cure time is observed in the presence of Si69. But the value is higher compared to that of rubber composite without Si69. With increase in the fiber loading, modulus and hardness of the composite increases but tensile strength decreases. The mechanical properties of the composite, namely moduli at 200 and 300% elongation and hardness increase in the presence of Si69 but tensile strength is less compared to that of the composite without Si69. Elongation at break is not much affected due to the presence of Si69. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thermal analysis of Vectran® fibers and films

Vectra^® liquid crystalline polymers (LCP's) were introduced as commercial products in the mid-1980's. The first of these (Vectra A130) was a wholly aromatic thermotropic copolyester ofp-hydroxybenzoic acid and 6-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid. Vectra A130 is a thermotropic LCP that can be melt spun into filaments that on heat treatment are characterized by high strength and high modulus. Vectra resin can also be extruded into films. In the fiber or film form this material is commercially known as Vectran^®. Heat treatment enhances the tensile strength of Vectran fiber variants. Because of this, the elucidation of the physical transformations taking place in the internal structure of the material during heating has always been an important subject. Several thermal techniques are used to indicate clearly that what is observed as a glass transition is unlike the conventional glass transition in typical semicrystalline polymers. There is also an indication of the presence of multiple states of mesophase aggregation that collapse into a single state when taken to high enough temperatures.     

Preparation and properties of composites made from rice straw and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC)

Rice straw was employed for the preparation of lignocellulosic‐poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) composites. The effect of pretreatment of rice straw, concentration of PVC, pressure as well as pressing temperature on the mechanical properties and water absorption was studied. Also, the effect of lignin as coupling agent on the mechanical properties and water absorption of composite was studied. Composites of rice straw comprising both PVC and a coupling agent offer superior properties compared to those made from only rice straw and PVC. The extent of improvement in the mechanical properties and dimensional stability of composites depended not only on the pretreatment of rice straw, concentration of PVC and lignin but also on pressure and pressing temperature. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coaxial electrospinning core-shell fibers for self-healing scratch on coatings

Polystyrene (PS) fibers with core-shell structure were prepared by coaxial electrostatic spinning using liquid epoxy or curing agent as the core and PS solution as the shell. Scratch self-healing coatings were realized by using the healant-loaded core-shell fibers in the matrix.     

破碎-絮凝法分离细长碳纳米管与碳纤维

根据碳纤维与细长碳纳米管耐磨性能与絮凝沉降性能的差异，提出了一种有效分离细长碳纳米管与碳纤维的物理方法——破碎-絮凝法.该方法包括研磨破碎、液相分散、絮凝沉降、过滤分离等步骤，可高效去除混杂于细长碳纳米管样品中的碳纤维，同时还可去除螺旋状碳纤维及细小碳颗粒等易悬浮杂质.纯化过程对细长碳纳米管无损伤.用电子显微镜和热重分析表征了纯化效果，并初步分析了纯化机理.     

Structural Changes of Cellulose Crystallites Induced by Mercerisation in Different Solvent Systems; Determined by Powder X-ray Diffraction Method

The completeness of mercerisation can be evaluated by investigating the changes in the crystalline regions of cellulose from cellulose I (C-I) to cellulose II (C-II) by the X-ray powder diffraction method. Mercerisation experiments in four different solution systems: ethanol/water, acetone, DMSO and xylene, are reported. Also the effect of some additives, external pressure, treatment time and alkalisation temperature were studied. In two-phase solvent systems, structural changes of cellulose crystallites depended primarily on the distribution and solubility of sodium hydroxide in the solvent phases. The sodium hydroxide concentration in the hydrophilic phase must exceed 7–8 w/w-% before complete crystal change from C-I to C-II can occur. The precipitation of sodium hydroxide due to high concentration prevents the successful use of one-phase ethanol/water system in slurry process. On the contrary, the 2-propanol/water/sodium hydroxide system separates into two layers; to the water-rich lower layer and the 2-propanol-rich upper layer, where the sodium hydroxide remains mainly in the water-rich lower layer. This prevents the precipitation of sodium hydroxide and promotes the alkalisation of cellulose. Ammonium chloride and ammonium hydroxide clearly had a positive effect by promoting the crystal changes, however, the urea concentration used in this study was obviously too small. In the advantageous two-phase 2-propanol/water systems, the alkalisation time was only 15 min when the treatment temperature was kept between 0 and 10 °C. Reduced external pressure was found to have a small but still detectable positive effect on cellulose alkalisation while over-pressure prevented crystal changes.     

纤维素/甲壳素共混膜的结构表征与抗凝血性能

以 6wt %NaOH 4wt%尿素为纤维素的新溶剂 ,采用溶液共混法制备出纤维素 甲壳素共混膜 ,为甲壳素在碱性溶液中制膜提供了新的方法 .红外光谱、X 射线衍射、扫描电镜和力学性能、抗凝血性能测试结果表明 ,共混膜中甲壳素含量低于 4 0wt%时 ,纤维素与甲壳素分子间具有良好的相容性 ;在纤维素中引入适量甲壳素可提高共混膜的抗张强度 ,共混膜的干、湿态抗张强度在甲壳素含量 10wt%时最大 ,其值分别为 89 1MPa和 4 3 7MPa ,比纯态纤维素膜的干、湿态抗张强度分别提高了 6 7%和 11 5 % ;甲壳素的引入可明显降低血小板在共混膜表面的粘附、凝聚与变性 ,增大共混膜的抗凝血参数 ,甲壳素含量达到 5 0wt%时 ,该共混膜具有良好的抗凝血性能     

Preparation of cellulose and cellulose derivative azo compounds

Wood pulp and cotton linter are the most common sources of cellulose forindustrial use. Methyl cellulose (MC) and cellulose sulfate (CS) were preparedusing bleached wood pulp and cotton linter. Coloured azo compounds were alsoprepared from coupling cellulose, wood pulp, MC and CS with aromatic diazoniumsalt. The presence of electron-releasing or withdrawing substituents affectedthe electrophilic substitution reaction. The produced azo compounds werecharacterized by FT-IR methodology, as well as mass spectrometry, in which thefunctional groups and the ion fragments of the products were analyzed.     

The effect of the amphiprotic nature of human hair keratin on the adsorption of high charge density cationic polyelectrolytes

Adsorption of the cationic polymers poly(methacrylamidopropyltrimethyl ammonium chloride) (PMAPTAC) and poly(1,1-dimethylpiperidinium-3,5-diallylmethylene chloride) (PDMPDAMC) on human hair was studied by measurements of the amount of polymer adsorbed and by the streaming potential method. Results reflect the amphoteric nature of the keratin surface and show that the excess of anionic sites at pH values above 4 is the main driving force for the adsorption of cationic polyelectrolytes. Lowering the pH below 4 or addition of neutral salt (KCl) reduces the amount of adsorbed polymer. It was shown that the adsorption of cationic polymer in the concentration range 0.01 to 0.1 % and at neutral pH reverses the overall character of the surface from anionic to cationic. Keratin fibers modified in this manner do not exhibit amphoteric character and bear excess positive charge in the pH range 2–9.5. The value of the amount of the polymer adsorbed at saturation concentration (2 mg/g) as well as the lack of molecular weight effect in the range (5 · 10⁴ – 10⁶) on the amount of polymer adsorbed suggest that polymer chains adopt a rather extended conformation on the fiber surface. Some data concerning the formation of a complex between adsorbed cationic polymer and anionic detergents or polyelectrolytes are also presented.