• Clean Technology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.24-31
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• 2022

Petroleum-based plastics are used for various purposes and pose a significant threat to the earth's environment and ecosystem. Many efforts have been taken globally in different areas to find alternatives. As part of these efforts, this study manufactured alginate-based polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blended films by casting from an aqueous solution prepared by mixing 10 wt% petroleum-based PVA with biodegradable, marine biomass-derived alginate. Glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linking agent, and cardanol, an alkyl phenol-based bio-oil extracted from cashew nut shell, was added in the range of 0.1 to 2.0 wt% to grant antibacterial activity to the films. FTIR and TGA were performed to characterize the manufactured blended films, and the tensile strength, degree of swelling, and antibacterial activity were measured. Results obtained from the FTIR, TGA, and tensile strength test showed that alginate, the main component, was well distributed in the PVA by forming a matrix phase. The brittleness of alginate, a known weakness as a single component, and the low thermal durability of PVA were improved by cross-linking and hydrogen bonding of the functional groups between alginate and PVA. Addition of cardanol to the alginate-based PVA blend significantly improved the antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. The antibacterial performance was excellent with a death rate of 98% or higher for S. aureus and about 70% for E. coli at a contact time of 60 minutes. The optimal antibacterial activity of the alginate-PVA blended films was found with a cardanol content range between 0.1 to 0.5 wt%. These results show that cardanol-containing alginate-PVA blended films are suitable for use as various antibacterial materials, including as food packaging.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.104-112
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• 2012

Chemically stable Polyvinylidene fluoride-hexa-fluoropropane (PVDF-HFP) copolymer asymmetric membranes were prepared by the conventional phase inversion process, using Dimethyacetamide (DMAc) as a solvent and water as a non-solvent. To control the pore size and porosity of the PVDF-HFP membranes, tetra-ethoxysilane (TEOS) was used as a pore-forming agent. The prepared membranes were characterized, using several analytical methods such as Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Thermo-gravimetric analyzer (TGA), Field Emission Scanning Electronic Microscopy (FESEM). TEOS turned out to increase porosity and make homogeneous pores on the membranes. Depending on the composition of the dope solutions, the pore size was ranged from 0.1 to 1.0 ${\mu}m$. The flux of the PVDF-HFP membranes prepared by using TEOS as a pore forming agent was increased substantially without much decrease in the rejection. When 15 wt% PVDF-HFP solution was blended with 13 wt% TEOS solution at composition ratio of 70/30 in wt%, the water flux at 2 bars was about 2 $m^3/m^2day$.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.2
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• pp.524-528
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• 2012

A kind of nanosized sulfated zirconia was prepared by a hydrothermal method, and full characterized by XRD, TEM, BET, TGA, and FTIR. Its catalytic activity was evaluated in the esterification reactions, including the testing of the catalytic reusability and the optimization of reaction conditions. The obtained catalyst was revealed to be highly efficient solid catalyst for the esterification of acetic acid with n-butanol, presenting the advantages of high conversion and selectivity, easy recovery, and steady reusability.

• Proceedings of the Korean Fiber Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.63-64
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• 2003

As a part of a research on the development of polymeric textile finishing agents, polymerization of low molecular weight copolymers containing maleic anhydride residues have been studied. In order to obtain low molecular weight poly(maleic anhydride-co-vinyl acetate) copolymers, the feed ratio of the two monomers and the concentrations of initiator and chain transfer agent were varied in the copolymerization. The copolymers were characterized using GPC, NMR, FTIR, DSC, and TGA. Copolymers with molecular weights in the range 2,150 to 6,630 have been prepared and characterized. The hydrolysis of the anhydride groups of the copolymer in water is also discussed.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.553-559
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• 2010

The paper describes the preparation and characterization of conductive polyaniline-modified polymers by growing of aniline onto functionalized poly(styrene-co-p-methylstyrene) [P(St-co-MSt)]. For this purpose, P(St-co-MSt) was synthesized via nitroxide mediated radical polymerization (NMRP) and then N-boromosuccinimide was used for introduction of bromine to the benzylic positions of copolymer. Afterwards, 1,4-phenylenediamine was linked to the brominated P(St-co-MSt) and functionalized copolymer $[P(St-co-MSt)-NH_2]$ was prepared. The graft copolymerization of aniline monomers onto functionalized P(St-co-MSt) was initiated by oxidized phenylamine groups after addition of ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS), and p-toluenesulfonic acid-doped PANI was chemically grafted onto P(St-co-MSt) via oxidation polymerization. The obtained terpolymer was studied by FTIR and UV-Vis spectroscopy and its thermal behaviour were examined by DSC and TGA analyses. The conductivity of terpolymer was measured by four-point probe method and electroactivity was measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The solubility of P(St-co-MSt)-g-PANI was examined in common organic solvents.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2004

The development of high tenacity, high modulus monofilaments from Polypropylene/Clay nanocomposite has been investigated. Pure sodium montmorillonite nanoclay was modified using hexadecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (HTAB) via an ion exchange reaction. Pure and modified clay were characterized through X-ray diffraction, FTIR and TGA. The modified clay was melt blended with polypropylene (PP) in presence of a swelling agent. Composite filaments from PP/Clay nanocomposite were prepared at different weight percentages of nanoclay and the spinning and drawing conditions were optimized. The filaments were characterized for their mechanical, morphological and thermal properties. The composite PP filaments with modified clay showed improved tensile strength, modulus and reduced elongation at break. The composite filaments with unmodified clay did not show any improvement in tensile strength but the modulus improved. The sharp and narrow X-ray diffraction peaks of PP/nanoclay composite filaments indicate increase in crystallinity in presence of modified clay at small loadings (0.5 %). The improved thermal stability was observed in filaments with modified as well as unmodified clays.

• Textile Coloration and Finishing
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.46-56
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• 2009

In order to establish the standard manufacturing condition of PET flame retardant sheets, physicochetnical properties of the samples made by the conventional flame-retardant finishing were systematically investigated, including compatibility among flame retardant agent and finishing auxiliaries, surface property, and wicking property. From this results, the addition of washing and renapping process after the shearing process was required for the more effective in producing PET flame-retardant sheet by the standard finishing. The effect of the modification of the regular flame retardant finishing process was studied by FTIR, TGA, and flame retardancy test.

• Carbon letters
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.180-184
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• 2003

The role of KOH in the one-stage KOH-activation of rice straws was studied using FTIR, XPS, TGA, and DTG techniques. It was found that at the impregnation, KOH extracts to some extent the lignin component from rice straw and reacts with hydroxyl groups. On heat-treatment, the impregnated KOH facilitates intermolecular condensation reaction on one hand but retards the thermal degradation of cellulose molecules on the other hand. The oxygen-containing surface functional groups newly created by oxidation of KOH may facilitate the bulk, not controlled, consumption of carbon atoms so that the effective porosities may not be able to be developed by the one-stage activation process.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.261-267
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• 2000

It is well known that poly(cyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate) (PCT) is used as the engineering plastics with high melting temperature and fast crystallization rate compared with poly(butylene terephthalate)(PBT). However, poor thermal stability of PCT has limited its practical application due to the drastic decrease of molecular weight during the processing temperature. In order to improve the thermal stability of PCT homopolymer, the copolymer of PCT and PBT was synthesized and the thermal properties of the copolymer have been studied. P(CT/BT) copolymer was obtained by condensation polymerization of DMT, CHDM, and 1,4-butanediol. The chemical structure and composition of the copolymer was investigated by FTIR and NMR analysis. The thermal behavior of copolymer was studied using DSC and it was found that the crystallization-melting behavior of the copolymer was observed for the whole composition range. TGA analysis exhibited that P(CT/BT) copolymer is more stable at the initial stage of thermal decomposition compared with PCT and PBT homopolymers.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.3063-3070
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• 2014

In this study, poly(N-methylol methacrylamide) (NMMAAm) and poly(N-methylol methacrylamide/vinyl sulphonic acid) (NMMAAm-VSA) hydrogels were synthesized by $^{60}Co-{\gamma}$ ray irradiation at an ambient temperature. The graphs belonging to the gelation percent- percent-dose and swelling curves were drawn by using data which were obtained from water and different pH solutions. Characterization of hydrogels was performed by FTIR and DSC-TGA analysis. Heavy metal ion ($Ni^{2+}$, $Co^{2+}$) removal capacities of hydrogels were investigated in aqueous solutions, which had different concentrations (100-1500 mg/L). In metal ion removal studies, pH value of aqueous medium was kept constant at 5.0. Maximum metal ion removal values were obtained for NMMAAm-VSA (1:3 mole ratio) hydrogels. Metal ion removal capacities of NMMAAm-VSA (1:3 mole ratio) hydrogels were found as 82 mg/g and 98 mg/g for $Ni^{2+}$ and $Co^{2+}$ ions, respectively.