Property improvement of thermoplastic mung bean starch using cotton fiber and low‐density polyethylene

Due to high water uptake and low mechanical properties of biodegradable thermoplastic starch, thermoplastic starch prepared from mung bean starch (TPMBS) was modified by the incorporation of cotton fiber and low‐density polyethylene (LDPE). The effect of different ratios of cotton fiber/LDPE, i.e., 10:0, 7:3, 5:5, 3:7, and 0:10, on water uptake, mechanical, thermal, and biodegradable properties of TPMBS was examined. Different TPMBS samples were prepared using internal mixer for compounding and compression molding machine for shaping samples. It was found that the TPMBS incorporated with 10:0, 7:3, and 3:7 cotton fiber/LDPE showed an increase in the stress at maximum load and Young's modulus. Moreover, the water absorption of all of the modified TPMBS samples tended to decrease as compared to the pure TPMBS. Morphological, thermal, and biodegradable properties of different TPMBS samples were also investigated.     

Polyelectrolyte multilayers coating for organic solvent resistant microfluidic chips

The layer-by-layer (LbL) deposition technique was used to coat and protect poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) substrate from organic solvent. PMMA and PDMS substrates were protected by polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) thin films of either poly(diallydimethiyl ammonium chloride) and Poly(styrene sulfonate) PDADMAC/PSS or chitosan/alginate. The PEM depositited on the PMMA and PDMS substrates improved the organic solvent resistance with the best results obtained from the chitosan/alginate over the PDADMAC/PSS pair. The more hydrophilic character of the chitosan/alginate and the PDADMAC/PSS film caused a significant decreasing rate of organic solvent pentration into the PMMA substrate which retain transparent optical properties for up to 30 dipping in acetonitrile. A 20 layers chitosan alginate film also decreased PDMS substrate swelling when exposed to chloroform vapor. The PEMs coating could protect the PMMA and PDMS sample against organic solvent and vapor which could make them useful in microfluidic systems even in agressive environment.     

Assembly of polyelectrolyte multilayers on nylon fibers

Non‐woven nylon fibers were investigated as a new type of substrate for the deposition of polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEM) thin films. PEM assembled from cationic poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) PDADMAC, and anionic Scarlet dye (λ_max absorbance = 510 nm) were deposited directly on Nylon fibers and characterized using a reflectometer spectrophotometer. Evidences of the film assembly are presented as well as a study of the factors controlling the growth of the PDAMAC/dye PEM film on the fiber. The relation between the sorption coefficient (K) and the scattering (S) extracted from the reflectance data is commonly used to represent the dye fixation or the dye content of a given textile fiber. The increase in K/S value at 510 nm was correlated with the dye deposition and was found to increase linearly with the number of layers. The effect of increasing number of layers, ionic strength of the solutions, concentration of chemicals, and dipping time on the film growth was investigated. Our results show that while increase in dye and PDADMAC concentrations from 0 to 1 mM enhance the deposition process, further increase in PDADMAC concentration to 50 mM led to a decrease in K/S value. The optimum salt concentration for the PDAMAC/dye film growth was found to be 0.5M and dipping times as short as 15 s were found to be sufficient for the deposition of the PEM. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 3286–3290, 2006     

Nickel (II) ions sensing properties of dimethylglyoxime/poly(caprolactone) electrospun fibers

A novel dimethylglyoxime (DMG)/poly(caprolactone) (PCL) blend was electrospun into fibers to serve as an optical sensor for the nickel detection based on the formation of a red Ni(DMG)₂ complex. DMG was mixed with PCL at 10, 20 and 30% (w/w) in a mixture of N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and dichloromethane (DCM) (50/50, v/v) prior electrospunning process. The best fibers were prepared under an electric field of 20 kV and a distance between needle and collector of 20 cm. From scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the average diameter of the fibers remained nearly constant with increasing amount of DMG. The optimum mass ratio of DMG and PCL was found to be 20:80 as it produced fibers with the smallest diameter distribution and the best sensing property. The formation of the Ni(DMG)₂ complex was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The colorimetric response of the PCL/DMG electrospun fibers were then tested against the nickel ions over a concentration range of 1-10 ppm using reflectance spectroscopy. Good linearity between the reflectance values at 547 nm and the concentrations was obtained (R² = 0.9925). These proposed DMG and PCL fibers could be used as the naked-eye sensor for nickel in waste water.