ABSTRACT:The purpose of this study was to research the compatibility and application of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)/chitosan blended polymers. The polymers were synthesized at different weight ratios and tested using techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis to evaluate the compatibility of the blended materials. Incompatibility occurred when the quantity of chitosan exceeded 75%. The addition of PVP was beneficial for the thermal stability of chitosan, but resulted in inferior strength performance. Furthermore, the blended polymers did not show a color-enhancement effect, but did show elevated water absorption, chlorine resistance, and colorfastness. In addition, the treated fabrics with a higher chitosan ratio in the blended polymer had antimicrobial properties.

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Modified asphalts using polymeric additives, such as isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and maleated polypropylene (MPP), for asphalt binders were prepared and characterized for potential usages in pavement construction. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies show that most of the crystallinity of iPP remains intact in the asphalt binders, but MPP exhibits more interaction with the asphalt due to the increase of the amorphous region of MPP. The phase distributions and rheological properties of the modified asphalts were examined by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), respectively. The images of SEM show that the MPP‐rich phase is larger than the iPP‐rich phase in asphalt blends, which contributes to more dispersion of the polymer into the asphalt phase in the asphalt/MPP blend. From the rheological studies, the asphalt blends containing iPP exhibit higher viscosity in terms of higher temperature to get Newtonian behavior and have a higher performance grade for rutting resistance at high temperature and frequency. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 45:1152–1158, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers

Epoxy/TiO 2 composites were prepared by solution mixture method, in which epoxy resin and nano-TiO 2 liquid were mixed in the presence of methyl isobutylketone. According to the experimental results, hydrogen bonds can be formed by mixing TiO 2 particles and epoxy resin. The SEM analysis suggests that TiO 2 particles are uniformly distributed within the material, while some silver streaks occur at the surface of materials. Besides, thermo-resistance and mechanical property of materials are found to improve with the addition of TiO 2 , but degrades if the nano-TiO 2 is the excess of 3%. Furthermore, these properties can be improved with the increasing concentration of methyl isobutylketone.

ABSTRACT:In this experiment, cotton fabrics were treated by padding, drying, and curing with an antiwrinkle finishing reagent, dimethylolethylene urea (DMEU), in combination with different concentrations of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and isopropanol (IPA) at various volumes. The treated fabrics were studied to determine the effects of adding TEOS and IPA. They were also analyzed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods to examine the binding between SiO 2 and DMEU. The results showed that hydrogen bonds formed between SiO 2 and DMEU. TEOS was found to improve the antiwrinkle properties, tensile strength retention, and yellowing of the treated fabrics, although their softness was slightly reduced. The solvent IPA was shown to decrease the tensile strength of treated fabrics, although it improved their antiwrinkle properties. We observed only one stage of pyrolysis in untreated cotton fabrics, whereas the treated fabrics showed two stages. In addition, the fabrics treated with TEOS showed improved heat resistance. Our findings demonstrated that cotton fabrics showed excellent antiwrinkle properties and high tensile strength, when treated with a finishing solution composed of DMEU, 3% TEOS, IPA and water, followed by predrying and curing.