Microstructure and sulfonation of dual monomer‐grafted polypropylene nonwoven fabrics

Abstract

The sulfonation of styrenic polymers often needs harsh reaction conditions, such as concentrated sulfuric acid and elevated temperature. The awkward situation is handled by grafting copolymerization of polar and nonpolar monomers, and essentially the surface wettability between sulfonating agent and matrix polymer is circumvented in the study. Two pairs of dual monomers, glycidyl methacrylate (GMA)-acrylic acid (AA), styrene (St)-acrylic acid (AA), were grafted onto polypropylene nonwoven fabrics (PP) using thermal polymerization, and the resulted fabrics were further sulfonated using sodium sulfite and sulfuric acid, respectively. The microstructure of the modified fabrics was characterized by infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The ion exchange property was verified by copper (II) removal from aqueous solution, and its reutilization was carried out in electrochemical desorption process. The results show that hydrophilic and active monomer AA speeds grafting and sulfonation, but overload of AA will deteriorate copolymerization of GMA, and switch copolymerization chain component due to acylation with benzene ring. Although interfacial compatilizer promotes dual grafting, its overdosing may intensify microphase segregation of the grafting polymers owing to emulsification. The resultant granular polymers will be drained off during functionalization and reutilization processes. The ion exchange fabrics can be applied for treatment of metal ion wastewaters with unique electrochemical desorption feature.

Transforming waste polypropylene face masks into S-doped porous carbon as the cathode electrode for supercapacitors

“…The IR spectrum of the raw materials showed the typical absorption peaks of PP (1370 cm −1 , 997 cm −1 , and 971 cm −1 ). Because of the spiral arrangement of molecular chain, a series of absorption bands of moderate intensity (1170 cm −1 , 997 cm −1 , 839 cm −1 , and 810 cm −1 ) appeared between 1250 cm −1 and 800 cm −1 , corresponding to the absorption band of isotactic polypropylene [16]. For MS samples, new characteristic peaks (1180 cm −1 , 1140 cm −1 , 587 cm −1 , and 518 cm −1 ) appeared in the spectrum due to the incorporation of sulfonic acid groups into the polymer carbon chain of mask materials.…”

Facile Synthesis of a Highly Value-Added High-Performance Carbon Material from Waste Masks for Advanced Supercapacitors

“…The peak at 973 cm –1 was attributed to –CH 3 rocking and C–C chain stretching. Additionally, a series of absorption peaks of moderate intensity (1170, 998, 841, and 809 cm –1 ) between 1300 and 800 cm –1 can be ascribed to the presence of helical arrangement of PP molecular chains, which correspond to the absorption peaks of isotropic polypropylene . In the case of the SM sample, new characteristic peaks appear at 1027, 1178, 1622, 1709, and 3425 cm –1 , corresponding to OSO asymmetrical stretch, OSO symmetrical stretch, CC stretch, CO stretch, and O–H vibration, respectively, further indicating the presence of oxygen-containing functional groups and cross-linking by the sulfonation process. , Figure S1a shows the XPS patterns of the waste mask and sulfonated samples, where the two peaks at 284.9 and 532.6 eV correspond to C 1s and O 1s, respectively.…”

Agro-residual biomass and disposable protective face mask: a merger for converting waste to plastic-fiber fuel via an integrative carbonization-pelletization framework

“…Ali et al [ 2 ] described the absorption of IR energy at 1160 and 975 cm −1 as the wagging and rocking for C–C and CH 3 in the molecular structure of PP, respectively. Tao et al [ 64 ] characterized the absorption of IR energy between 1250 and 800 cm −1 as vibration of isotactic PP. Therefore, functional groups vibrate at specific frequencies of IR radiation, allowing for the development of reliable spectral fingerprinting of layers of SFM.…”