Proton-conducting polymer membranes for direct methanol fuel cells

Three methods to block the methanol transport through proton-conducting polymer membranes while maintaining the proton conductivity unchanged have been conducted; 1) selective layer formation on the surface of the membrane, 2) prearation of nanoclay composite membrane providing tortuous pathway of methanol, 3) control and fixation of the proton transport channels. The methanol permeability through the membranes decreased significantly at the expense of the small decrease in the proton conductivity. It is thus concluded that both the structure and the fixation of the proton transport channels are crucial in optimizinging proton conducting membranes for direct methanol fuel cells.     

A novel ion-imprinted nanocomposite for selective separation of Pb2+ ions

In this study, the ion-imprinting method has been integrated to develop a novel composite material for the selective separation of Pb²⁺ ions. Also, Pb²⁺ ion binding ability of the organosmectite based inorganic-organic composite incorporation of bicyclic C18 organic compound into smectite layers was conducted to draw a projection its potential use as a solid phase exchanger which is quite selective toward Pb²⁺ ions. The ion-imprinted nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), swelling tests, and elemental analyses. After that, maximum binding capacity, pH, and equilibrium binding time were also been optimized. In order to show the selectivity of the composite synthesized, non-imprinted composites were also synthesized in absence of Pb²⁺ ions during polymerization. In this step, Ni²⁺, Co²⁺, Al³⁺, Zn²⁺, and Cu²⁺ ions were used as competitors under batch adsorption conditions. The relative selectivity coefficients of imprinted composite were calculated as 28.5, 156.5, 69.3, 24.8 and 131.6 for Pb²⁺/Co²⁺, Pb²⁺/Cu²⁺, Pb²⁺/Al³⁺, Pb²⁺/Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺/Ni²⁺ binary solutions, respectively. Finally, reusability of the composites was evaluated to show its cost-efficiency by repeating adsorption-desorption experiments ten-times. The adsorption capacity of the imprinted composites did not change significantly whereas that of non-imprinted version reduced dramatically.     

Flow‐induced particle orientation and rheological properties of suspensions of organoclays in thermoplastic resins

The influence of nano‐scale particles on the viscoelastic properties of polymer suspensions is investigated. We have developed a simulation technique for the particle orientation and polymer conformation tensors to study various features of the suspensions. The nano‐particles are modeled as thin rigid oblate spheroid particles and the polymers as FENE‐P type viscoelastic and Newtonian fluid. Both interparticle and polymer‐particle interactions have been taken into account in our numerical computations. The nonlinear viscoelastic properties of nanocomposites of layered silicate particles in non‐Newtonian fluids are examined at the start‐up of shear flow and are interpreted using the model to examine the effects of model parameters as well as flow conditions on particle orientation, viscosity, and first normal stress difference of the suspensions. We have studied the microstructure of polymer‐clay nanocomposites using X‐ray diffraction (XRD) scattering and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The rheology of these nanocomposites in step‐shear is shown to be fairly well predicted by the model. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 2003–2011, 2010     

Incorporation of Pure Fullerene into Organoclays: Towards C60‐Pillared Clay Structures

In this work, we demonstrate the successful incorporation of pure fullerene from solution into two‐dimensional layered aluminosilicate minerals. Pure fullerenes are insoluble in water and neutral in terms of charge, hence they cannot be introduced into the clay galleries by ion exchange or intercalation from water solution. To overcome this bottleneck, we organically modified the clay with quaternary amines by using well‐established reactions in clay science in order to expand the interlayer space and render the galleries organophilic. During the reaction with the fullerene solution, the organic solvent could enter into the clay galleries, thus transferring along the fullerene molecules. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the surfactant molecules, can be selectively removed by either simple ion‐exchange reaction (e.g., interaction with Al(NO₃)₃ solution to replace the surfactant molecules with Al³⁺ ions) or thermal treatment (heating at 350 °C) to obtain novel fullerene‐pillared clay structures exhibiting enhanced surface area. The synthesized hybrid materials were characterized in detail by a combination of experimental techniques including powder X‐ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoemission, and UV/Vis spectroscopy as well as thermal analysis and nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements. The reported fullerene‐pillared clay structures constitute a new hybrid system with very promising potential for the use in areas such as gas storage and/or gas separation due to their high surface area.     

Functional copolymer/organo‐MMT nanoarchitectures. VII. Interlamellar controlled/living radical copolymerization of maleic anhydride with butyl methacrylate via preintercalated RAFT agent–organoclay complexes

We have developed a new approach for the synthesis of polymer nanocomposites using a bifunctional reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) agent, two types of organo‐montmorillonites (O‐MMT), such as a non‐reactive dimethyldidodecyl ammonium (DMDA)‐MMT and a reactive octadecyl amine (ODA)‐MMT organoclays, maleic anhydride (MA), and n‐butyl methacrylate (BMA) monomers and a radical initiator. This method includes the following stages: (1) synthesis of RAFT intercalated O‐MMTs by a physical or chemical interaction of the RAFT agent having two pendant carboxylic groups [S,S′‐bis(α,α′‐dimethyl‐α″‐acetic acid) trithiocarbonate] with surface alkyl amines of O‐MMT containing tertiary ammonium cation or primary amine groups through strong H‐bonding and compexing/amidization reactions, respectively, and (2) utilization of these well dispersed and intercalated RAFT…O‐MMT complexes and amide derivative of RAFT…ODA‐MMT as new modified RAFT agents in radical‐initiated interlamellar controlled/living complex‐radical copolymerization of MA‐BMA monomer pair. Nanostructure and compositions of the synthesized RAFT…O‐MMT complexes and functional copolymer/O‐MMT hybrids were confirmed by FTIR, GPC, XRD, thermal (DSC‐TGA), SEM, and TEM morphology analyses. This simple and versatile method can be applied to a wide range of monomer/comonomer systems for the preparation of completely exfoliated macromolecular nanoarchitectures. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Photopolymerization behavior in nanocomposites formed with thiol–acrylate and polymerizable organoclays

Because of the inherent characteristics of the thiol–ene step growth mechanism in preparation of thiol–ene photopolymer clay nanocomposites, the ratio between thiol and ene functional groups at and near the organoclay surfaces may have a significant effect on the polymerization behavior. This study investigates the influence of monomer composition and the type of polymerizable organoclay on thiol–acrylate photopolymerization behavior in preparation of photocurable clay nanocomposite systems. To this end, two types of polymerizable organoclays with acrylate or thiol functional group on the clay surfaces were compared in monomer compositions with different polarity and functionality. Real‐time infrared spectroscopy was used to characterize polymerization behavior in conjunction with photo‐DSC. The degree of clay exfoliation was evaluated using small angle X‐ray scattering and correlated with photopolymerization behavior. Higher chemical compatibility of components induced enhanced clay exfoliation resulting in increase in photopolymerization rate. By affecting the stoichiometric ratio of functional groups in the clay gallery, thiolated organoclays enhance thiol–ene reaction, whereas acrylated organoclays encourage acrylate homopolymerization. In addition, inducing more propagating thiyl radicals on the organoclay surfaces by increasing functionality of thiol monomer also facilitates thiol–ene copolymerization, whereas the increase of acrylate functionality reduces final thiol conversion. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

Sorption of Bisphenol A as Model for Sorption Ability of Organoclays

The arrangement of bisphenol A molecules into organoclays and their interactions with the intercalated surfactant were studied. The organoclays were prepared via solid-state intercalation of four cationic surfactants, such as dodecyltrimethyl-, tetradecyltrimethyl-, hexadecyltrimethyl-, and didodecyldimethyl-ammonium, as bromide salts, at different loading levels into the interlayers of two natural clays. The natural clays, the prepared organoclays, and the spent organoclays were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. X-ray powder diffraction measurements showed successive interlayer expansions of the d₀₀₁ basal spacing due to the intercalation of the cationic surfactants and the bisphenol A sorption. The increased d₀₀₁ basal spacing of the organoclays after bisphenol A sorption indicates that the molecules are integrated between the alkyl chains of the surfactant in the organoclays interlayers. Infrared spectroscopy was employed to probe the intercalation of the cationic surfactants and the sorbed bisphenol A. New characteristic bands attributed to the bisphenol A phenol rings appear in the range 1518–1613 cm⁻¹ on the infrared spectra of the spent organoclays, proving the presence of bisphenol A in the hydrophobic interlayers. Scanning electron microscopy of the organoclays before and after BPA sorption shows that their morphology becomes fluffy and that the presence of the organic molecules expands the clay structure.