Dynamic mechanical properties of activated carbon–filled epoxy nanocomposites.

Nano-activated carbons obtained from oil palm empty fiber bunch (AC-EFB), bamboo stem (AC-BS), and coconut shells (AC-CNS) were reinforced in epoxy matrix to fabricate epoxy nanocomposites. The dynamic mechanical analysis of epoxy nanocomposites was carried out, and 5% AC-CNS treated with KOH-filled epoxy composites displayed the highest storage modulus of all the activated carbon–filled epoxy composites. The incorporation of a small amount of AC-BS, AC-EFB, and AC-CNS to the epoxy matrix enhanced the damping characteristics of the epoxy nanocomposites. The 5% AC-EFB treated with H3PO4 filled epoxy composites showed the highest glass transition temperature (Tg) in all temperature ranges

Electrochemically controlled transport across conducting polymer composites - Basis of smart membrane materials

Electropolymerisation procedures which allow the development of mechanically stable, conductive, pinhole-free membranes based on polypyrrole/polyvinylsulphonate or polypyrrole/Nafion have been developed. Using a new electromembrane cell design and a new electrochemical controller, the ability to electrochemically control the transport of Na+ or K+ across these membranes has been demonstrated

Electrochemically controlled transport of small charged organic molecules across conducting polymer membranes

The transport of a range of functionalised sulfonated aromatics across conducting polypyrrole membranes has been considered. In the course of these studies several unique aspects of the chemical selectivity of these conducting materials have been identified. Using electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) the ion-exchange behaviour of these membranes was investigated to further elucidate the transport mechanism

Adaptive membrane systems based on conductive electroactive polymers

The development of membrane systems that are adaptive whose physical and/or chemical properties can be manipulated after synthesis expands the applicability of membrane technology. In this work, we have employed both polyaniline and polypyrrole based membranes to demonstrate how transport of ionic species can be regulated using external electrical stimuli. In the case of polyaniline membranes, the transport of various acids has been studied and with polypyrrole, transport of simple cations as potassium and sodium with chloride as counterions has been investigated

Preparation, characterization and application of iron (III)-loaded chitosan hollow fiber membranes as a new bio-based As (V) sorbent

Fe (III)-loaded chitosan (CS) hollow fibers (CS-Fe (III) HF) were successfully prepared according to the dry-wet spinning technique. The CS-Fe (III) HFs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). Removal of pentavalent arsenic was studied through biosorption on CS-Fe (III) HF adsorptive membranes. The response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to investigate the influence of the main operating parameters such as contact time, pH, initial As (V) concentration and HFs dosage on the adsorption capacity of As (V). From the Pareto analysis, pH, [As (V)]o, [CS-Fe (III) HF membranes] and squared effect of [As(V)]o were found to produce the largest effect on biosorption of As (V). Kinetic studies showed that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model provides the best correlation to the experimental results. Equilibrium data fitted well with the Langmuir model with maximum adsorption capacity of 3,703 \u3bcg g 121. A laboratory scale glass membrane module consisting of three CS-Fe(III) HFs has also been prepared and tested for biosorption of As (V) at a real scale. Permeability of As (V) ions through the CS-Fe (III) HF membranes was 0.145 \u3bcmol m 122 h 121 bar 121