A study of poly vinyl chloride / poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blends.

Polymer blends were prepared by melt blending technique using poly vinyl chloride (PVC) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT). Different ratios of the blends were studied to investigate their mechanical, thermal and morphological properties. The FTIR spectrum indicated a slight increase of frequencies at C = O peak from 1714 to 1718 cm-1 indicating a chemical interaction between C = O of PBAT and α-hydrogen of PVC. The tensile properties of PVC/PBAT blends highest at weight ratio of 50/50. The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) result proves that PVC and PBAT formed a miscible system with one glass transition temperature (Tg). The incorporation of PBAT results in a gradual decrease of the viscosity (loss modulus) and an increase of elasticity (storage modulus). The thermal properties of blend show the decomposition temperature of PVC in the blend decrease with the addition of PBAT. Scanning electron micrograph shows good interfacial adhesion on the tensile fractured surface of PVC/PBAT blend, which played important roles in enhancing the mechanical properties (strength and modulus)

UV-curable palm oil based-urethane acrylate/clay nanocomposites

Synthesis of palm oil based-urethane acrylate (POBUA) resins was carried out by acrylation of epoxidized palm oil (EPOP) using acrylic acid in the presence of a catalyst and followed by isocyanation to obtain the POBUA. Using the monomer as a diluent in the formulation, 4% of photoinitiator and incorporation of organoclay (1-5% wt), nanocomposites were obtained upon UV irradiation. The X-ray Diffractory XRD study revealed that the nanocomposites obtained were of the exfoliation type. The presence of the clay improved the hardness and did not affect the thermal stability. Similarly, it increased the glass transition temperature Tg but reduced the modulus as the clay content was increased. The improvement of the tensile strength was only obtained when the clay concentration was 5 phr

Synthesis of radiation curable palm oil-based epoxy acrylate: NMR, FTIR spectroscopic investigations

Over the past few decades, there has been an increasing demand for bio-based polymers and resins in industrial applications, due to their potential lower cost and environmental impact compared with petroleum-based counterparts. The present research concerns the synthesis of epoxidized palm oil acrylate (EPOLA) from an epoxidized palm oil product (EPOP) as environmentally friendly material. EPOP was acrylated by acrylic acid via a ring opening reaction. The kinetics of the acrylation reaction were monitored throughout the reaction course and the acid value of the reaction mixture reached 10 mg KOH/g after 16 h, indicating the consumption of the acrylic acid. The obtained epoxy acrylate was investigated intensively by means of FTIR and NMR spectroscopy, and the results revealed that the ring opening reaction was completed successfully with an acrylation yield about 82%. The UV free radical polymerization of EPOLA was carried out using two types of photoinitiators. The radiation curing behavior was determined by following the conversion of the acrylate groups. The cross-linking density and the hardness of the cured EPOLA films were measured to evaluate the effect of the photoinitiator on the solid film characteristics, besides, the thermal and mechanical properties were also evaluated

Sorption of Cu(II) by chemically grafted hydroxamic acid-zeolite

Sorption of Cu(II) by zeolite sorbent chemically modified with hydroxamic acid (HASiZP) is described. The maximum sorption capacity of Cu(II) occurred at pH 5. Sorption capacity of Cu(II) by HASiZP was doubled compared to the original zeolite. Kinetic study shows that Cu(II) sorption followed by second order kinetic model. The sorption of Cu(II) followed Langmuir isotherm model with maximum capacity of 33.32 mg/g at 25°C and increased to 48.12 mg/g at 70°C. Cu(II) sorption by the HASiZP was endothermic and spontaneous processes with positive values of entropy changes

Evaluation of Bismuth Oxide Nanoparticles as Radiosensitizer for Megavoltage Radiotherapy

Metal-based nanoparticles such as gold, silver, platinum, and bismuth have been widely investigated for radiotherapeutic application. Basic understanding of the cellular interaction of the nanoparticles with the biological materials is crucial to ensure future clinical use. In this study, the cytotoxicity, cellular uptake, and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by BiONPs were investigated prior elucidating the feasibility of BiONPs for radiotherapy application using megavoltage photon and electron beams. The BiONPs of diameter sizes 60, 70, 80 and 90 nm at concentrations within a range of 0.5 to 0.00005 mMol/L were tested on MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, and NIH/3T3 cells lines. The cytotoxicity results exhibit minimal cell death constituting less than 20 % of mortality on average. The ROS generation by BiONPs alone is found to be negligible as the ROS levels were slightly lower and higher than 100% of positive control. The increment of cellular nanoparticles uptake from a range of 1.50 % to 34.10 % indicates that BiONPs were internalized and bound to the surface of the cells. Sequencing from the results, 60 nm BiONPs are found to be the most suitable to be applied as a radiosensitizer in radiotherapy. Sensitization enhancement ratio (SER) quantified on MCF-7 cells demonstrated the highest enhancement from the highest concentration of BiONPs with SER of 2.29 and 1.42, for 10 MV photon beam and 6 MeV electron beam, respectively. In contrast to ROS production without radiation, the ROS induced from radiotherapy beams were found to be dose-dependent and play significant roles in radiosensitization effect. In conclusion, BiONPs could improve clinical radiotherapy, and further radiobiological characterization is crucial for future clinical translation

Synthesis of palm oil-based fatty methylhydrazide

Fatty methylydrazides (FMHs) have been successfully synthesized from palm oil. Glycerol was produced as a by-product. The synthesis was carried out by reflux palm oil with methylhydrazine in hexane. FMHs have been characterized using elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance technique. The results showed that a 6:1 molar ratio of palm oil to methylhydrazine, a round 78 % maximum conversion of palm oil into FMHs and a 10 h reaction time are the optimum reaction conditions