Enhancing the mechanical and thermal properties of polyacrylonitrile through blending with tea polyphenol

Abstract

Several polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/tea polyphenol (TP) blends were prepared with various mixing weight ratios (percentage). With a commercial acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) as reference, the results show that the PAN/TP blends with 12.5 wt % TP had a better antiwear ability and similar hardness to those of ABS. All of the prepared PAN/TP blends showed a lower impact strength than the referenced ABS. However, some values were indeed higher than those reported for engineering materials in the literature, for example, polystyrenes and some ABS blends. Differential scanning calorimetry, differential thermogravimetry, and dynamic mechanical analysis indicated that the PAN/TP blends had enhanced the thermal stability compared to the pure PAN. Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis suggested that the H bonds increased in the PAN/TP blends. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40411.

Fully Green Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Tea Polyphenol Composites and Super Anti‐Ultraviolet and ‐Bacterial Properties

“…The TP was purchased from Xuancheng Baicao Plants Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. China and used as received as the same as previously. [ 11,21 ] According to the producer, this TP has the polyphenols percent at 99.3, theine 0.2 and ash less 0.3%.…”

“…[ 1 ] Aside from the traditional composites consisting of the nondegradable thermoplastic polymers, [ 2 ] e.g., polyethylene, polyesters, poly(methyl methacrylate), and the thermosetting polymers such as the epoxy and polyurethane, the fully biodegradable green composites composing of renewable and sustainable resources [ 3–7 ] are recently greatly reported elsewhere. [ 8–13 ]…”

“…As a natural and renewable material, the water‐soluble tea polyphenols, TP, has been broadly applied as natural antioxidant to eliminate the free radicals in human body, to protect ultraviolet, UV, effect, as the resisting agent for treatment of the cancer, tumor, antiviral, anti‐inflammatory and the deodorization. [ 11,14–20 ] Recently, we have studied the surface properties of TP [ 21 ] and applied TP to blend with the polyacrylonitrile to form a green composite with enhanced mechanical and thermal properties. [ 11 ]…”

“…[ 11,14–20 ] Recently, we have studied the surface properties of TP [ 21 ] and applied TP to blend with the polyacrylonitrile to form a green composite with enhanced mechanical and thermal properties. [ 11 ]…”

“…[ 56 ] Furthermore, Table 2 revealed values indicated that the protection degree is reasonably enhanced for PVA/TP composites by only simply increasing the TP wt% even using usually applied range, e.g., 5–20%. [ 11,36 ] This finding is of importance because this indicated the use of TP is not only better than the graphene for forming PVA‐based composites in the enhancement of the anti‐UV properties but also kept the TP‐based advantages to lead the composite fully green with biodegradability and cheap production cost as compared with the graphene.…”