Influence of Processing Conditions on Mechanical Behaviours of Thermoplastic Natural Rubber/ Polyaniline Blend / Farrah Diyana Zailan...[et al.]

The blend fabrication of thermoplastic natural rubber (TPNR) and polyaniline (PANI) was carried out to determine the optimization of processing conditions by the mechanical testing (tensile, bending and Izod impact test). The TPNR matrix, made up of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), natural rubber (NR), and liquid natural rubber (LNR) as compatibilizer with the composition ratio at 40:50:10. TPNR/PANI (90 wt % / 10 wt %) blends was prepared via a melt blending method using an internal mixer with various processing parameter conditions. The influence of processing conditions including the processing temperature (°C), speed of rotation (rpm) and processing time (min) on the mechanical properties of blend were investigated. The results showed that the optimum processing conditions for preparing the TPNR/PANI blend was obtained at 130 °C, 30 rpm and 13 min. The morphological test has been done on TPNR, and TPNR/PANI blends using SEM characterization. The SEM micrographs confirmed the good dispersion of PANI within TPNR matrix

Preparation and characterization of Fe3O4/regenerated cellulose membrane

In this study, magnetic cellulose membranes (MCM) have been prepared by using cotton linter as cellulose source and NaOH/urea as cellulose solvent at different magnetite content. Cellulose was dissolved in pre-cooled NaOH/urea solvent at -13°C to form cellulose solution. The cellulose solution then was mix with magnetite (Fe3O4) nanoparticles synthesized via co-precipitation method of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in the presence of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) to form MCM. The MCMs formed at different percentage of Fe3O4 i.e., 10, 20 and 30%. Analysis from vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) shows that the saturation magnetization of the MCM increase as the percentages of Fe3O4 nanoparticles increased. However, the addition of Fe3O4 nanoparticles in the regenerated cellulose membrane has decreased the crystallinity index of MCM. The surface morphology of the MCM showed that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles were dispersed in the pore of the membrane. Tensile test showed decreasing in the tensile strength of the cellulose membrane with the addition of Fe3O4 nanoparticle

Factors affecting cellulose dissolution of oil palm empty fruit bunch and kenaf pulp in NaOH/urea solvent

The factors responsible for the low solubility percentage of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) cellulose pulp compared to kenaf when dissolved in aqueous NaOH/urea solvent system was reported. Physical and chemical properties of both cellulose pulp were studied and compared in terms of the lignin content, viscosity average molecular weight (Mη), crystallinity index (CrI), cellulose pulp structure and their zero span tensile strength. The structure of both OPEFB and kenaf cellulose pulp were characterized using high powered microscope and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) assisted by ImageJ® software. The results show that the most significant factor that affected the OPEFB and kenaf cellulose dissolution in NaOH/-urea solvent was the Mη with OPEFB having a higher Mη of 1.68×105 compared to 5.53 × 104 for kenaf. Overall, kenaf cellulose appeared to be produced in higher quantities presumably due to its lower molecular weight with superior tensile strength and permeability in comparison to OPEFB