Comparative Studies on Effect of Cationic and Anionic Finishing Agents on Surface Property of Finished Leather

Content: The present work attempts to analyze the surface and physical properties of leathers finished with cationic and anionic finishing chemicals. The contact angles of liquid drops resting on the leather surface have been used to evaluate surface energy, acidity, basicity components of the surface energy, polarity and work of adhesion. Contact angle values have been measured for chrome tanned and conventionally retanned crust and finished leather made by varying pigment and binder combinations. The wettability of finished leather has been correlated with the contact angle values: the higher the contact angle value the lesser is the wetting observed. Complete wetting can be obtained when the contact angle value is zero i.e. the drop of liquid spreads spontaneously on the surface and partial wetting is obtained when the contact angle value is in between 0and 900. Acrylic binders with different film forming properties, protein, polyurethane and butadiene binders have been combined to prepare different finish formulations.The results have been correlated with wet and dry rub fastness, finish adhesion, vamp flexing value, water vapour permeability and water proofness. It has been observed that when the surface of leather is coated with acrylic binder the contact angle value due to polar solvents(water) , non polar solvents(hexadecane) and moderately polar (DMSO) and methyl iodide show that as the thickness of coating increases, the contact angle value decreases for the base coat and sharply increases when top coat is applied. Top coats have the ability to increase the contact angle and they improve the performance properties of leather such as water resistance, fastness, finish adhesion etc. Cationic and anionic finishing formulations have been compared to study their effect in modifying the surface of finished leather based on contact angle values, wet and dry fastness to circular rubbing and water resistance. It has been observed that leathers finished using anionic finishing technique shows better wet rub fastness and water resistance effect compared to cationic finishing technique. Take-Away: The effect of number of top coats on water contact angle value were determined ,and the experiment showed that the value were decreased gradually at the beginning of the coat because the top coats are water based so during the coating process the hydrophobic nature of the surface of chrome tanned leather have decreased. The experimental result from contact angle value showed that coating with pigments and binders have increased the contact angle value compared to the control crust. It has been observed that leathers finished using anionic finishing technique shows better wet rub fastness and water resistance effect compared to cationic finishing technique

Hydrogen storage in carbon nanotubes and related materials

Adsorption of hydrogen at 300 K has been investigated on well-characterized samples of carbon nanotubes, besides carbon fibres by taking care to avoid many of the pitfalls generally encountered in such measurements. The nanotube samples include single- and multi-walled nanotubes prepared by different methods, as well as aligned bundles of multi-walled nanotubes. The effect of acid treatment of the nanotubes has been examined. A maximum adsorption of ca. 3.7 wt% is found with aligned multi-walled nanotubes. Electrochemical hydrogen storage measurements have also been carried out on the nanotube samples and the results are similar to those found by gas adsorption measurements

Forced Air-Breathing PEMFC Stacks

Air-breathing fuel cells have a great potential as power sources for various electronic devices. They differ from conventional fuel cells in which the cells take up oxygen from ambient air by active or passive methods. The air flow occurs through the channels due to concentration and temperature gradient between the cell and the ambient conditions. However developing a stack is very difficult as the individual cell performance may not be uniform. In order to make such a system more realistic, an open-cathode forced air-breathing stacks were developed by making appropriate channel dimensions for the air flow for uniform performance in a stack. At CFCT-ARCI (Centre for Fuel Cell Technology-ARC International) we have developed forced air-breathing fuel cell stacks with varying capacity ranging from 50 watts to 1500 watts. The performance of the stack was analysed based on the air flow, humidity, stability, and so forth, The major advantage of the system is the reduced number of bipolar plates and thereby reduction in volume and weight. However, the thermal management is a challenge due to the non-availability of sufficient air flow to remove the heat from the system during continuous operation. These results will be discussed in this paper

Studies of Phosphazenes: Part 16†-Spectroscopic Investigations of Bicyclic Phosphazenes of Types N4P4(NHR)6(NR) & N4P4(NMe2)5 (NHR') (NR)

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Comparative Studies on Effect of Cationic and Anionic Finishing Agents on Surface Property of Finished Leather

Content: The present work attempts to analyze the surface and physical properties of leathers finished with cationic and anionic finishing chemicals. The contact angles of liquid drops resting on the leather surface have been used to evaluate surface energy, acidity, basicity components of the surface energy, polarity and work of adhesion. Contact angle values have been measured for chrome tanned and conventionally retanned crust and finished leather made by varying pigment and binder combinations. The wettability of finished leather has been correlated with the contact angle values: the higher the contact angle value the lesser is the wetting observed. Complete wetting can be obtained when the contact angle value is zero i.e. the drop of liquid spreads spontaneously on the surface and partial wetting is obtained when the contact angle value is in between 0and 900. Acrylic binders with different film forming properties, protein, polyurethane and butadiene binders have been combined to prepare different finish formulations.The results have been correlated with wet and dry rub fastness, finish adhesion, vamp flexing value, water vapour permeability and water proofness. It has been observed that when the surface of leather is coated with acrylic binder the contact angle value due to polar solvents(water) , non polar solvents(hexadecane) and moderately polar (DMSO) and methyl iodide show that as the thickness of coating increases, the contact angle value decreases for the base coat and sharply increases when top coat is applied. Top coats have the ability to increase the contact angle and they improve the performance properties of leather such as water resistance, fastness, finish adhesion etc. Cationic and anionic finishing formulations have been compared to study their effect in modifying the surface of finished leather based on contact angle values, wet and dry fastness to circular rubbing and water resistance. It has been observed that leathers finished using anionic finishing technique shows better wet rub fastness and water resistance effect compared to cationic finishing technique. Take-Away: The effect of number of top coats on water contact angle value were determined ,and the experiment showed that the value were decreased gradually at the beginning of the coat because the top coats are water based so during the coating process the hydrophobic nature of the surface of chrome tanned leather have decreased. The experimental result from contact angle value showed that coating with pigments and binders have increased the contact angle value compared to the control crust. It has been observed that leathers finished using anionic finishing technique shows better wet rub fastness and water resistance effect compared to cationic finishing technique

Chlorine-contaminated anode and cathode PEMFC-recovery perspective

Progressive thinking about future generation proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) leads us to cost-effective compact fuel cells operating with dry reactants using self-humidifying membranes. Presently, however, PEMFCs are limited by number of factors. One such factor is the reactant impurities present in the feed streams. Chlorine is one such impurity affecting both anode and cathode PEMFC adversely. Several studies have reported adverse impact of anionic chloride in PEMFCs but scarce or no literature is available on the effect of chlorine gas as such on PEMFCs. In the present work, we report for the first time to the best of our knowledge the adverse effects of chlorine when introduced on anode and cathode independently using a single-cell PEMFC. About 94% (anode) and 82% (cathode) loss in performance is observed at an operating voltage of 0.6 V after contamination with 100 ppm chlorine at the anode and cathode respectively. It is found that operating at higher current density plays a significant role in the PEMFC recovery process. The duration of recovery changes for anode-contaminated cell and cathode-contaminated cell, which is 2 and 4 h respectively. The protons on the anode side and the hydroxyl ion at the cathode side help in replacing the chloride species adsorbed on the platinum surface. The electrochemical impedance studies show an increase in the charge transfer resistance after cathode contamination, whereas in the case of anode contamination, the cell resistance increases while maintaining the same charge transfer resistanc

Comparative Studies on Effect of Cationic and Anionic Finishing Agents on Surface Property of Finished Leather

Content: The present work attempts to analyze the surface and physical properties of leathers finished with cationic and anionic finishing chemicals. The contact angles of liquid drops resting on the leather surface have been used to evaluate surface energy, acidity, basicity components of the surface energy, polarity and work of adhesion. Contact angle values have been measured for chrome tanned and conventionally retanned crust and finished leather made by varying pigment and binder combinations. The wettability of finished leather has been correlated with the contact angle values: the higher the contact angle value the lesser is the wetting observed. Complete wetting can be obtained when the contact angle value is zero i.e. the drop of liquid spreads spontaneously on the surface and partial wetting is obtained when the contact angle value is in between 0and 900. Acrylic binders with different film forming properties, protein, polyurethane and butadiene binders have been combined to prepare different finish formulations.The results have been correlated with wet and dry rub fastness, finish adhesion, vamp flexing value, water vapour permeability and water proofness. It has been observed that when the surface of leather is coated with acrylic binder the contact angle value due to polar solvents(water) , non polar solvents(hexadecane) and moderately polar (DMSO) and methyl iodide show that as the thickness of coating increases, the contact angle value decreases for the base coat and sharply increases when top coat is applied. Top coats have the ability to increase the contact angle and they improve the performance properties of leather such as water resistance, fastness, finish adhesion etc. Cationic and anionic finishing formulations have been compared to study their effect in modifying the surface of finished leather based on contact angle values, wet and dry fastness to circular rubbing and water resistance. It has been observed that leathers finished using anionic finishing technique shows better wet rub fastness and water resistance effect compared to cationic finishing technique. Take-Away: The effect of number of top coats on water contact angle value were determined ,and the experiment showed that the value were decreased gradually at the beginning of the coat because the top coats are water based so during the coating process the hydrophobic nature of the surface of chrome tanned leather have decreased. The experimental result from contact angle value showed that coating with pigments and binders have increased the contact angle value compared to the control crust. It has been observed that leathers finished using anionic finishing technique shows better wet rub fastness and water resistance effect compared to cationic finishing technique

Hierarchical Porous Carbon Microfibers Derived from Tamarind Seed Coat for High-Energy Supercapacitor Application

The overwhelming interest in supercapacitors has led to the search for various carbonaceous materials, leading to hierarchical porous carbons. Herein, we report a natural biomass (tamarind seed)-based hierarchical porous carbon without any template and activated by a facile scheme. The tamarind seed coat-based hierarchical porous carbon possessed a unique configuration, making the material exhibit superior supercapacitor properties. A single carbon fiber hosting a distinctive micro- and mesoporous structure formed a connecting thread between the pores. This unique structure enabled high surface area and high capacitance. The highest surface area obtained by this method was 1702 m2 g–1, whereas the capacitance was 157 F g–1 in 6 M KOH. Further, an ionic liquid-based electrolyte revealed 78 F g–1 at a current density of 0.5 A g–1. Outstanding capacity retentions of 96 and 93% were obtained over 1000 cycles at a current density of 2 A g–1 for aqueous (6 M KOH) and ionic liquid (1-butyl 3-methyl imidazoliumbistrifluorosulfonylimide) electrolytes, respectively. The high charge-storage ability of the porous carbon microfibers (PCMFs) can be ascribed to the coexistence of micro- and mesopores. The power characteristics and the cyclic stability of PCMF materials were appealing in both electrolytes. The synthesis process described is amenable for large-scale applications with less complexity