Characterization of barium titanate reinforced acrylonitrile butadiene rubber composites for flexible electronic applications: influences of barium titanate content

The aim of this study was to develop high dielectric constant flexible polymers with a highly efficient and cost‐effective approach using acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) as the polymer matrix and barium titanate (BT) as the high dielectric constant filler. The BT powder was synthesized with a solid‐state reaction and was characterized using a particle size analyzer, XRD, SEM and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. NBR/BT composites were fabricated using an internal mixer with various BT loadings up to 160 phr. The influence of BT loading on the cure characteristics and mechanical, dynamic mechanical, thermal, dielectric and morphological properties was determined. The incorporation of BT in the NBR matrix shortened scorch time and increased delta torque. The mechanical properties, thermal stability and dielectric constant were greatly improved and increased with BT loading. The results suggest that the reinforcement effect was achieved due to strong hydrogen bonding or polar–polar interactions between NBR matrix and BT filler. This is further corroborated by the good dispersion of BT filler in the NBR matrix observed with SEM imaging. These findings can be applied to produce high‐performance dielectric elastomers. © 2020 Society of Industrial Chemistry     

Natural rubber-graft-poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) on cure characteristics and mechanical properties of silica-filled natural rubber composites

The grafting of poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) onto natural rubber (NR-g-PHEA) was used to compatibilize NR composites with silica filler. The NR/silica compounds were prepared with various grafting percentages of NR-g-PHEA (0, 6.5, 10.5, and 14.5%) and fixed amounts of 3 parts per hundred of rubber (phr) NR-g-PHEA and 20 phr silica. The cure characteristics were examined using a moving die rheometer. The physicomechanical properties of NR/silica composites were determined in terms of tensile strength, bound rubber content, and dynamic mechanical analysis. Thermal properties were assessed with thermogravimetric analysis. The results showed that scorch time and cure time tend to decrease with the level of grafting in NR-g-PHEA. The NR-g-PHEA decreased tan δ, whereas bound rubber content in NR/silica compounds increased, which indicates improved silica dispersion in the NR matrix. The mechanical properties improved with level of grafting in NR-g-PHEA. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48738.     

Synthesis and thermal properties of natural rubber grafted with poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate)

A novel modified natural rubber with grafted poly(2-hydroxyethyl acrylate) (NR-g-PHEA) was synthesized by emulsion polymerization in latex stage. Cumene hydroperoxide and tetraethylene pentamine were used as redox initiators (1:1 M ratio). The influences of reaction temperature, reaction time, initiator concentration and monomer concentration on percent grafting and grafting efficiency were investigated. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the NR-g-PHEA particles, which exhibited core-shell morphology. Chemical structure of purified NR-g-PHEA was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The thermal properties were examined by thermogravimetric analysis and by differential scanning calorimetry. The modified NR had improved thermal stability, and the NR-g-PHEA also presented slightly higher glass transition temperature than virgin NR.     

Hydrogen adsorption of O/N-rich hierarchical carbon scaffold decorated with Ni nanoparticles: Experimental and computational studies

Hierarchical carbon scaffold (HCS) with multi-porous structures, favoring hydrogen diffusion and physisorption is doped with 2–10 wt % Ni for storing hydrogen at ambient temperature. Due to N- and O-rich structure of melamine-formaldehyde resin used as carbon precursor, homogeneous distribution of heteroatoms (N and O) in HCS is achieved. 2 wt % Ni-doped HCS shows the highest hydrogen capacity up to 2.40 wt % H₂ (T = 298 K and p (H₂) = 100 bar) as well as excellent reversibility of 18.25 g H₂/L and 1.25 wt % H₂ (T = 298 K and p (H₂) = 50 bar) and electrical production from PEMFC stack up to 0.7 Wh upon eight cycles. Computations and experiments confirm strong interactions between Ni and heteroatoms, leading to uniform distribution small particles of Ni. This results in enhancing reactive surface area for hydrogen adsorption and preventing agglomeration of Ni nanoparticles upon cycling. Ni K-edge XANES spectra simulated from the optimized structure of Ni-doped N/O-rich carbon using DFT calculations are consistent with the experimental spectra and suggest electron transfer from Ni to hydrogen to form Ni–H bond upon adsorption. Considering low desorption temperature (323 K), not only chemisorbed hydrogen is involved in adsorption mechanisms but also physisorption and spillover of hydrogen.     

A Comparative Study of Pork Drying Using Superheated Steam and Hot Air

Drying with superheated steam and hot air were comparatively studied for pork. Transport, physical, and chemical properties, i.e., effective diffusivity, color, microstructure, and rehydration ability, were investigated. The experimental results have shown that the decrease of pork moisture content in an early drying time was more rapid in superheated steam than in hot air and appeared to be lower in a latter time. The pork surface as examined by SEM was noticeably different for the samples dried by superheated steam and hot air. The fewer pores at the surface of superheated steam-dried pork caused a slower water penetration into the interior during rehydration, in addition to the lower drying rate. The color of the product from superheated steam was a relatively more intense brown than that obtained from hot air as presented by a lower L* value and a higher a* value.     

Design and analysis of solar thermoelectric power generation system

This article reports on the design and performance analysis of a solar thermoelectric power generation plant (STEPG). The system considers both truncated compound parabolic collectors (CPCs) with a flat receiver and conventional flat-plate collectors, thermoelectric (TE) cooling and power generator modules and appropriate connecting pipes and control devices. The design tool uses TRNSYS IIsibat-15 program with a new component we developed for the TE modules. The main input data of the system are the specifications of TE module, the maximum hot side temperature of TE modules, and the desired power output. Examples of the design using truncated CPC and flat-plate collectors are reported and discussed for various slope angle and half-acceptance angle of CPC. To minimize system cost, seasonal adjustment of the slope angle between 0° and 30° was considered, which could give relatively high power output under Bangkok ambient condition. Two small-scale STEPGs were built. One of them uses electrical heater, whereas the other used a CPC with locally made aluminum foil reflector. Measured data showed reasonable agreement with the model outputs. TE cooling modules were found to be more appropriate. Therefore, the TRNSYS software and the developed TE component offer an extremely powerful tool for the design and performance analysis of STEPG plant.     

The Influence of Drug-Excipient and Drug-Polymer Interactions on Butt Adhesive Strength of Ranitidine Hydrochloride Film-Coated Tablets

ABSTRACT

The influence of fillers and polymeric films on adhesive strength of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and Eudragit E100® films coated on ranitidine HCl tablets containing either spray-dried rice starch (SDRS) or lactose monohydrate as fillers after storage at 45°C/75% RH for four weeks was investigated by the use of butt adhesion technique. The adhesive strength of film-coated tablets of fillers without drug was found to slightly decrease after storage. In contrast, the adhesive strength of drug-containing film-coated tablets significantly reduced, the degree of which was higher for Eudragit E100® than HPMC. Physicochemical characterization by employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) revealed that the drug was obviously incompatible with lactose and possibly mild interaction with Eudragit E100® was suggested. The results indicated that the adhesive strength of film-coated tablets would be affected not only by the drug-excipient interaction, but also by the drug-polymeric film interaction.     

Aristolactam-Type Alkaloids from Orophea enterocarpa and Their Cytotoxicities

A new aristolactam, named enterocarpam-III (10-amino-2,3,4,6-tetramethoxy phenanthrene-1-carboxylic acid lactam, 1) together with the known alkaloid stigmalactam (2), were isolated from Orophea enterocarpa. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of interpretation of their spectroscopic data. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited significant cytotoxicities against human colon adenocarcinoma (HCT15) cell line with IC(50) values of 1.68 and 1.32 μM, respectively.     

Comparison of Rapid Methods for Detection of Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. (Oo)cysts Using Transportable Instrumentation in a Field Deployment

Reliable, sensitive, quantitative, and mobile rapid screening methods for pathogenic organisms are not yet readily available, but would provide a great benefit to humanitarian intervention units in disaster situations. We compared three different methods (immunofluorescent microscopy, IFM; flow cytometry, FCM; polymerase chain reaction, PCR) for the rapid and quantitative detection of Giardia lamblia and Cryptosporidium parvum (oo)cysts in a field campaign. For this we deployed our mobile instrumentation and sampled canal water and vegetables during a 2 week field study in Thailand. For purification and concentrations of (oo)cysts, we used filtration and immunomagnetic separation. We were able to detect considerably high oo(cysts) concentrations (ranges: 15-855 and 0-240 oo(cysts)/liter for Giardia and Cryptosporidium, respectively) in 85 to 300 min, with FCM being fastest, followed by PCR, and IFM being slowest due to the long analysis time per sample. FCM and IFM performed consistently well, whereas PCR reactions often failed. The recovery, established by FCM, was around 30% for Giardia and 13% for Cryptosporidium (oo)cysts. It was possible to track (oo)cysts from the wastewater further downstream to irrigation waters and confirm contamination of salads and water vegetables. We believe that rapid detection, in particular FCM-based methods, can substantially help in disaster management and outbreak prevention.     

Structural and dielectric properties,and nonlinear electrical response of the CaCu3-xZnxTi4O12 ceramics: Experimental and computational studies

CaCu_3-xZn_xTi₄O₁₂ ceramics (x = 0, 0.05, 0.10) were successfully prepared by a conventional solid-state reaction method. Their structural and dielectric properties, and nonlinear electrical response were systematically inspected. The X-ray diffraction results indicated that single-phase CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (JCPDS no. 75–2188) was obtained in all sintered ceramics. Changes in the lattice parameter are well-matched with the computational result, indicating an occupation of Zn²⁺ doping ions at Cu²⁺ sites. The overall tendency shows that the average grain size decreases when x increases. Due to a decrease in overall grain size, the dielectric permittivity of CaCu_3-xZn_xTi₄O₁₂ decreases expressively. Despite a decrease in the dielectric permittivity, it remains at a high level in the doped ceramics (~3,406–11,441). Besides retention in high dielectric permittivity, the dielectric loss tangent of x = 0.05 and 0.10 (~0.074–0.076) is lower than that of x = 0 (~0.227). A reduction in the dielectric loss tangent in the CaCu_3-xZn_xTi₄O₁₂ ceramics is closely associated with the enhanced grain boundary response. Increases in grain boundary resistance, breakdown electric field, and conduction activation energy of grain boundary as a result of Zn²⁺ substitution are shown to play a crucial role in improved grain boundary response. Furthermore, the XPS analysis shows the existence of Cu⁺/Cu²⁺ and Ti³⁺/Ti⁴⁺, indicating charge compensation due to the loss of oxygen lattice. Based on all results of this work, enhanced dielectric properties of the Zn-doped CCTO can be explained using the internal barrier layer capacitor model.