Evaluation of polyblends of cottonseed protein and polycaprolactone plasticized by cottonseed oil

Recently, there has been an increasing trend toward replacing conventional fossil-based plastics with bioplastics that are eco-friendly and biodegradable. In this work, blends of polycaprolactone (PCL) and cottonseed protein plasticized with cottonseed oil were made and analyzed for their mechanical, adhesive, and thermal properties. The addition of water-washed cottonseed meal (WCSM) to PCL increased the Young’s modulus but decreased the tensile strength and elongation-at-break of PCL. The addition of cottonseed oil to the PCL/WCSM blend kept the tensile strength about the same but enhanced the elongation. The PCL blends with WCSM and cottonseed protein isolate gave about the same mechanical properties, both somewhat better than the PCL/soy protein isolate blend. As plasticizers, cottonseed oil performed slightly better than coconut oil, both better than poly(ethylene glycol). The addition of WCSM and cottonseed oil (up to a PCL:WCSM:plasticizer ratio of 60:40:20) did not change the adhesive performance of PCL on fiberboard. Thus, the combination of PCL/cottonseed protein/cottonseed oil seems to be a viable bioplastic, and one possible application for this material may be in the hot melt adhesive area.     

喷雾干燥法制备Li_(1.2)Mn_(0.4+x)Ni_xCr_(0.4-2x)O_2及其结构与电化学特征

利用喷雾干燥法合成了富锂三元正极材料Li1.2Mn0.4+xNixCr0.4-2xO2(x=0,0.05,0.10,0.15,0.20,以下简称为SD1~SD5),并利用XRD,XPS,ICP,TEM,SEM等手段对材料进行结构,元素价态,形貌及电化学性能等方面的表征。SD1~SD5系列样品都具有层状结构,其所含的Cr元素为Cr6+和Cr3+共存,而Ni元素价态为+2.5价,Mn元素为+4价。SD1~SD4样品中由于存在非晶态的Li2CrO4,导致样品表现出强烈的吸湿性。这个问题可通过水洗处理来解决,且水洗处理对于改善该系列材料的电化学性能有明显的效果。SD1~SD5系列样品中,SD1与SD4样品电化学性能较好,以20 mA.g-1的放电电流密度,在4.8~2.0 V电压区间内,首次放电比容量分别为247和220 mA.h.g-1,经过20次充放电循环后,容量保持率分别为73%和78%。高温条件下SD1和SD4样品的首次放电比容量分别增大为256和237 mA.h.g-1,经过20次充放电循环后容量保持率分别为83%和99%。将充放电电压扩展为5.0~2.0 V时,SD4样品首次放电比容量可以达到307 mA.h.g-1。