Poly(L-lactic acid)/o-MMT nanocomposites, incorporating various amounts of organically modified montmorillonite (o-MMT; 0-10 wt %), were prepared by solution intercalation. The montmorillonite (MMT) was organically modified with dilauryl dimethyl ammonium bromide (DDAB) by ion exchange. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveal that the o-MMT was exfoliated in a poly(L-lactic acid), (PLLA) matrix. A series of the test specimens were prepared and subjected to isothermal crystallization at various temperatures (T 1 -T 5 ). The DSC plots revealed that the PLLA/o-MMT nanocomposites that were prepared under nonisothermal conditions exhibited an obvious crystallization peak and recrystallization, but neat PLLA exhibited neither. The PLLA/o-MMT nanocomposites (2-10 wt %) yielded two endothermic peaks only under isothermal conditions at low temperature (T 1 ), and the intensity of Tm 2 (the higher melting point) was proportional to the o-MMT content (at around 171 C). The melting point of the test samples increased with the isothermal crystallization temperature. In the Avrami equation, the constant of the crystallization rate (k) was inversely proportional to the isothermal crystallization temperature and increased with the o-MMT content, especially at low temperature (T 1 ). The Avrami exponent (n) of the PLLA/o-MMT nanocomposites (4-10 wt %) was 2.61-3.56 higher than that of neat PLLA, 2.10-2.56, revealing that crystallization occurred in three dimensions.
In this study, propylene glycol‐based glycosides were obtained using an acetalization reaction in which glucose was first reacted with propylene glycol. Subsequently, the propylene glycol glycoside was reacted with alkyl glycidyl ether of varying carbon chain lengths (i.e., 08‐G, 10‐G, 12‐G, 14‐G, and 16‐G) to synthesize a series of glucose‐based biodegradable surfactants. The experimental results show that the surface activity of the C8–C12 glucose‐based surfactants increases with the carbon chain length. However, the surface activity of the C14–C16 glucose‐based surfactants decreased as the carbon chain length increased. Among all the surfactants, the C12 glucose‐based surfactant exhibited the most efficient emulsification ability, lowest surface tension, lowest fluorescence intensity, highest zeta potential, and good emulsification stability. The glucose‐based surfactants were used as additives in natural plant dyes made from turmeric or henna to dye wool fabrics. Higher color strengths were observed in the C14 glucose‐based surfactant.
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