The revival of electron beam irradiation curing of epoxy resin—materials characterization and supportive cure studies

Polymeric composite manufacturing is a large, rapidly growing and energy consuming industry, where there is an obvious and compelling need for innovative curing technologies conforming to energy efficiency and environmental protection trends. This has led to many research efforts to consider, or in some cases re‐consider, irradiation curing of polymer composites. However, there is still a stifling lack of knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms to obtain homogeneity in the irradiation curing of composites. The key issue of the irradiation curing process, i.e. homogeneous curing affected by electron beam dose and initiator concentration for an epoxy resin is the focus of this paper. The temperature profiles, microstructure, curing degree gradient, and thermomechanical properties of electron beam‐ irradiated epoxy resin were profiled and analyzed, and the results indicated that curing degree in the epoxy resin showed a relatively steady region and an accelerated decrease along the depth direction. It is revealed that there existed an optimal range of concentration of the initiator for irradiation curing of an epoxy resin system. The inhomogeneity in the irradiation‐induced crosslinking structure could be abated by adopting the properly applied irradiation energy and the matching between the irradiation dose and the concentration of the initiator. It can be deduced that for most of the composite products with large thickness, layer upon layer irradiation or irradiation from two sides could be more efficient to obtain a homogeneous crosslinking structure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Composite thin films of poly(phenylene oxide)/poly(styrene) and PPO/silver via vapor phase deposition

We report fabrication of thin (100～300 nm) poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) films and their composites with poly (styrene) (PS) and silver (Ag) nanoparticles using a one‐step electron beam‐assisted vapor phase co‐deposition technique. Surface morphology and the structure of the deposited polymer thin film composites were characterized by FTIR, Raman, X‐ray spectroscopy, and contact angle measurements. As‐deposited PPO films and PPO/Ag composites were of porous nature and contrary to solvent casting techniques were free from nodular growth. In the case of PPO/PS thin film polymer composites, however, film morphology displayed nodular growth of PPO with nodule diameters of about ～200 nm and height of approximately 50 nm. Unique morphological changes on the porous PPO thin film surface were noticed at different Ag filling ratios. Further, the capacitance of PPO/Ag composites (<16 wt%) were measured under radio‐frequency conditions and they were functional up to 100 MHz with an average capacitance density of about 2 nF/cm². The fabricated PPO‐based composite systems are discussed for their potential applications including embedded capacitor technology. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biocomposites based on Alfa fibers and starch‐based biopolymer

Biocomposite materials based on Alfa cellulose fibers (esparto grass plant) as reinforcing element and starch‐based biopolymer matrix were prepared and characterized in terms of mechanical performance, thermal properties, and water absorbance behavior. The fibers and the matrix were first mixed in the melted state under mechanical shearing using a plastograph and the obtained composites were molded by injection process. The tensile mechanical analysis showed a linear increase of the composite flexural and tensile modulus upon increasing the fiber content, together with a sharp decrease of the elongation at break. The fibers′ incorporation into the biopolymer matrix brings about an enhancement in the mechanical strength and the impact strength of the composite. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) investigation showed two relaxations occurring at about ?30 and 35°C. The addition of Alfa fibers enhanced the storage modulus E′ before and after T_α, which is consistent with the reinforcing effect of Alfa cellulose fibers. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Direct Synthesis of a Photoactive Inorganic–Organic Mesostructured Hybrid Material and its Application as a Photocatalyst

A direct route : Silylated triphenylmethanol is incorporated into mesoporous material MCM‐41 through a direct synthesis method. Under acidic conditions, this inorganic–organic hybrid generates trityl cations to give the photoactive material Tyl‐MCM41. Tyl‐MCM41 promotes the photosensitized dimerization of 1,3‐cyclohexadiene with an unprecedented selectivity towards the formation of the exo product (see scheme).

     

Polymer‐Infiltrated Aligned Carbon Nanotube Fibers by in situ Polymerization

Carbon nanotube–polymer composite fibers are obtained by infiltration of a monomer liquid into aligned carbon nanotube aerogel fibers with subsequent in situ polymerization. The monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA), was infiltrated into the aerogel fibers of multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) at room temperature and subsequently polymerized at 50 °C into poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Cross‐sections of the PMMA/MWNT composite fibers showed that the PMMA filled the spaces of the nanotube fibers and bound the nanotubes together. PMMA in the composite fibers exhibited local order. The resultant composite fibers with 15 wt.‐% nanotube loading exhibited a 16‐fold and a 49‐fold increase in tensile strength and Young's modulus, respectively, compared to the control PMMA.

     

Processing of ZrO2 reinforced cordierite composites by infiltration of ceramic felt with sonosols

ZrO₂ ceramic felts and low viscosity sols of cordierite were used to obtain ceramic-ceramic composites. Ultrasonic treatments were applied to prepare cordierite sol containing different quantities of nucleating TiO₂. Sintering of the composites was accomplished by the hot-pressing of several infiltrated ZrO₂ felt layers. Relative densities were around 99%. The reinforcing phase was distributed in an anisotropic way in the densified samples. The mechanical strength of the composites was influenced by the polymorphic form and microstructure of the matrix, and also by the matrix volume fraction introduced by infiltration.     

GC－MS在苯基环氧化合物选择重排反应中的应用

首次使用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)对有机化合物重排反应进行了研究。苯基环氧化合物和α-氯代苯乙醇在气相色谱中发生重排反应，用质谱仪鉴定为其相应的羟基化合物。这种用GC-MS研究重排反应的方法在国内尚未见报道。此方法操作简便、反应迅速、产率高，为研究有机化合物的重排反应提供了一种新的方法。     

松香基甜菜碱两亲分子构筑多维Ni(OH)2/NiOOH微纳米复合材料

采用自制脱氢松香基甜菜碱功能性两亲分子构筑得到3种形貌均匀的Ni(OH)₂/NiOOH微纳米复合材料, 分别为孔径约2 μm的三维珊瑚状、花状空心微球和宽度约100 nm的二维纳米片, 对复合材料的物相组成和形貌结构采用X射线衍射(XRD)、扫描电镜(SEM)和透射电镜(TEM)等技术手段分析表征。结合自制松香基甜菜碱两亲分子红外光谱(FT-IR)、核磁(NMR)结构表征和优异的表面活性推测得到松香基甜菜碱两亲分子构筑3种不同形貌微纳米复合材料的机理;研究表明, 在松香基甜菜碱两亲分子稳定刚性结构的作用下, 通过反应温度控制其吸附能力可构筑出3种形貌分散性较好的氢氧化镍复合材料。     

MoS2/g-C3N4复合材料的制备及可见光催化性能

首先在N-甲基吡咯烷酮溶液中超声剥离得到少层的MoS₂,将其与石墨相氮化碳（g-C₃N₄）复合,制得MoS₂/g-C₃N₄复合材料。采用X射线衍射（XRD）,扫描电镜（SEM）,X射线光电子能谱（XPS）,傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）,Raman光谱,紫外-可见漫反射吸收光谱（DRS）和光致荧光（PL）技术对复合材料进行表征。可见光下考察MoS₂/g-C₃N₄复合材料光催化降解罗丹明B（RhB）的活性,结果表明：将少量MoS₂与g-C₃N₄复合可明显提高光催化活性,且1%（w/w）MoS₂/g-C₃N₄复合物的光催化活性最高,可能的原因是MoS₂和g-C₃N₄匹配的能带结构,增大了界面间电荷的传输,降低了光生电子-空穴的复合,进而提高了光催化活性。