Abstract Sulfonated poly(indene) (SPInd), with 35% and 45% degree of sulfonation, was blended with Nafion to prepare blended membranes with 10, 15 and 20 wt.% of SPInd. Membranes were evaluated by infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Water uptake (WU), ion exchange capacity (IEC) and through-plane proton conductivity were measured. The membranes presented similar thermal stability to Nafion. WU was slightly higher for Nafion/SPInd membranes (19-21% at RT and 40-44% at 90 °C) compared with recast Nafion (16% and 34%, respectively), and IEC values showed a similar trend. Blended Nafion membranes had increased proton conductivity of 2.41 x 10-2 and 2.37 x 10-2 Scm-1 (20 wt. % of SPInd 35% and 45%, respectively), compared with 1.16 x 10-2 Scm-1 for recast Nafion. The results show that the addition of SPInd to Nafion is a potential route towards improving the performance of Nafion in proton conductivity for use in fuel cells devices.

Abstract Chitosan (CT) is a polysaccharide with the ability to adsorb metals on its surface. In this work, CT-based nanoparticles (NPs) are produced by complex formation with gum arabic (GA) to increase their adsorbent potential for removal of heavy metals in aqueous medium. Adsorption efficiency is evaluated as a function of NP composition and polysaccharide concentration. NPs are sized from 250 to 375 nm at a zeta potential up to -25 mV, suggesting stability to adsorb metals. In particular, CTGA56 and CTGA80 NPs adsorbed a substantially higher amount of copper ions than pure CT. Adsorption kinetics studies showed that the reaction process followed a pseudo second-order model and the adsorption isotherm results fit a Langmuir model, highlighting the monolayer adsorption process with prominent adsorption capacity. These findings indicate the adsorbent potential of CTGA NPs and suggest that these particles can be used for removal of metal ions from contaminated water sources.

Abstract A polymeric adsorbent based on sodium alginate (SAG) grafted with polyacrylamide (PAM) (SAG- g-PAM) was synthesized using an ultrasound-assisted method. The addition polymerization was carried out with ammonium persulfate as the initiator, at different acrylamide (AM) concentrations. The SAG-g-PAM copolymers were evaluated by FTIR and 13C NMR spectroscopies, thermogravimetric analysis, grafting efficiency (%GE) and intrinsic viscosity in NaCl solution at 25 °C. Graft copolymers could be obtained in reaction lasting until 10 min by using ultrasound energy with grafting efficiency above 75%. The decolorization efficiency and adsorption capacity of the SAG- g-PAM copolymers were investigated in the adsorption of methylene blue (MB). The dye adsorption was pH dependent, and adsorption capacity (69.13 mg/g) maxima was at pH 10. All the graft copolymers have shown the same decolorization efficiency (99%), and the best one for MB removing is the SAG-g-PAM6 (%GE = 75%), since lower acrylamide content is required in the synthesis.

ABSTRACT The advantages of heterophasic thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs), such as their phase behavior and mechanical properties, make these materials an important class of adhesives. Whereas the amorphous phase contributes to good adhesion properties, the crystalline phase is responsible for the cohesive force of TPU adhesives. This work investigates the performance of a polyester based TPU and its potential for being applied as adhesive in the shoe industry. The TPU was formulated with three different additives. The crystallization kinetics of the TPU was evaluated by Differential Scanning Calorimetry and the Avrami equation was used to assess the influence of the additives on the geometry of crystal growth and nucleation conditions. It was found that the additives had no effect on the nucleation process, whereas the polymer chains had reduced mobility, mainly in the TPU comprising polyisocyanate ε-caprolactam. The best T-peel strength on a poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) substrate was determined for the TPU with polycarbodiimide, which improved the adhesive bonding from 3.23 N/mm to 3.32 N/mm.

Este trabalho tem como objetivo estudar o efeito de cordonéis de poliéster, poliamida, poliaramida e híbrido poliamida/poliaramida como reforço de elastômeros utilizados na fabricação de mangotes. O comportamento do tubo elastomérico reforçado com cordonéis sob pressão interna foi simulado com análise por elementos finitos (FEA) utilizando-se elementos chamados reinforcement bars. Foram realizados ensaios para se obter as propriedades em tração dos cordonéis para alimentar o modelo. O cordonel de poliaramida apresentou a maior tensão de ruptura, o de poliamida maior deformação na ruptura, e o híbrido apresentou valores intermediários. O critério de falha adotado para o tubo consistiu na análise do nível de carga no cordonel. Foram avaliadas, principalmente, a pressão e a deformação de ruptura do tubo elastomérico simulado frente à variação do ângulo de orientação dos cordonéis. Os resultados mostraram que ângulos próximos a 55° tornam o tubo mais resistente porém menos rígido no sentido longitudinal.

This work investigates the effect of polyamide, polyester, polyaramid and hybrid (polyamide and polyaramid) cords as reinforcement for elastomers used in the production of marine hoses. The behavior of the elastomeric pipe reinforced with these cords under internal pressure was simulated with finite element analysis (FEA) using elements called reinforcement bars. To obtain input data for the model, tensile properties of the cords were evaluated. The polyaramid cord showed the highest ultimate stress, the polyamide the largest elongation at break, and the hybrid cord showed intermediate values. The failure criterion adopted for the pipe consisted of examining the allowable force in the cord. The analyses focused on the variation of pressure and strain at burst of the pipe with the orientation angle of the cords along the elastomeric tube. The results showed that angles close to 55° yielded stronger pipes but less rigid in their longitudinal direction.

The focus of this paper is to establish a characterisation method for seven polyamide (PA) grades to determine the major material to manufacture an automotive worm gear. The composite properties were measured according to the worm gear loadings: tensile strength, Young's modulus, abrasion and impact resistance. They were also correlated to the PA moisture absorption and its glass fibre (GF) reinforcement. The data from mechanical tests were applied in the finite element analysis (FEA) using the von Mises stress criterion. Before the rig tests of the PA worm gears, the injection process was evaluated, through the capillary rheometry. A higher difficulty to process PA 6/6 30% GF was found, due to its lower apparent viscosity. In the end, the influence of moisture absorption was as decisive to the gear's material selection as the GF to the pinion. Thus, the PAs with the best performance were: PA 6 with 30% GF (gear) and with PA 60% GF (pinion).

Currently, the most used polymer for asphalt binder modification is the thermoplastic elastomer styrene butadiene styrene (SBS) and aromatic oil is commonly added to the mixtures to improve their compatibly. This paper proposes the use of oil shale from sedimentary rock as a compatibilizer agent for polymer-modified asphalt binder (PMB). PMBs were produced by mixing a bitumen with a linear SBS copolymer (3.5% (w.w-1)) using two oil shale contents (2 and 4%) and petroleum aromatic oil to evaluate comparatively the effect of the compatibilizer agent on the SBS PMB properties. The rheological characteristics of the SBS PMBs were analyzed in a dynamic shear rheometer (DSR) and the morphology accessed by fluorescence optical microscopy. The viscoelastic behavior of the samples corroborated the results for the classical properties and varied according to the sample morphology and composition. The results indicate that the aromatic and shale oils have similar effects on the microstructure, storage stability and viscoelastic behavior of the PMBs. Thus, shale oil could be successfully used as a compatibilizer agent without loss of properties or could even replace the aromatic oil. Following the Superpave methodology it was observed that the linear- and radial-SBS PMBs and linear-SBS PMB with 2% of shale oil can be used up to 70 °C, and the linear-SBS PMBs with 4% of shale oil or 2% of aromatic oil can be used only up to 64 °C.

In this work was employed a 2³ factorial experiment design to evaluate the castor oil polyurethane-poly(methyl methacrylate) semi-IPN synthesis. The reaction parameters used as independent variables were NCO/OH molar ratio, polyurethane polymerization time and methyl methacrylate (MMA) content. The semi-IPNs were cured over 28 h using two thermal treatments. The polymers were characterized by infrared and Raman spectroscopy, thermal analysis and swelling profiles in n-hexane. The glass transition temperature (Tg) and the swelling were more affect by the NCO/OH molar ratio variation. The semi-IPNs showed Tg from - 27 to - 6 °C and the swelling range was from 3 to 22%, according to the crosslink density. The IPN mechanical properties were dependent on the cure temperature and MMA content in it. Lower elastic modulus values were observed in IPNs cured at room temperature.