Synthesis and characterization of a polymer/multiwalled carbon nanotube composite and its application in the hydration of ethylene oxide

Abstract

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were incorporated into the crosslinking network of a styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer (PS-DVB) via suspension polymerization. The prepared crosslinking PS-DVB with MWNTs was first treated with chloromethyl methyl ether to introduce chloromethyl groups through Friedel-Craft reaction; then, the chloromethylation product was reacted with trimethyl amine to obtain the target polymer/carbon nanotube composite: PS-DVB/MWNT ion-exchange resin. The obtained composite was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show the successful incorporation of MWNTs into the polymer network. The physical and chemical properties of the PS-DVB/MWNT ion-exchange resin were nearly the same as those of the controlled sample. With its excellent antiswelling properties, the catalytic behavior of the polymer composite was examined in the hydration of ethylene oxide. Also, it demonstrated excellent stability as a catalyst without a decline in conversion and selectivity in a long-time run.

Carbon nanomaterial‐based copolymer of styrene–divinylbenzene resins: Efficient interaction through graphene/CNTs polymer network

“…Besides, the peaks at ∼1630 cm −1 corresponds to O–H inplane bending vibration. All these results confirmed the existence of –N + (CH 3 ) 3 OH − groups grafted on the polymer chains in successful chloromethylation and amination step …”

“…For evaluating the catalytic performance of the resins, total ionexchange capacity (IEC) was measured according to National Standard of People's Republic of China GB/T 5760-2000, which describes the determination of the exchange capacity of anionexchange resins in hydroxylic form. 21 The methodology was as follows: the sample was first pretreated according to National Standard of People's Republic of China GB/T 5476. Then, it was washed with HCl aqueous solution (2 mol/L), deionized water, and NaOH aqueous solution (2 mol/L) in sequence.…”

“…26,27 In Figure 3(B), the 0.4-GEP composite shows a G-peak shift from 1578 to 1581 cm 21 , indicating the electron transfer from graphene to the polymer chains with strong interactions. 28 It can be assumed that during the suspension polymerization of 0.4-GEP, graphene could effectively tether with the polymer chain radicals or initiator fragments and penetrate into the polymer network, 21,29 which leads to well dispersion in the polymer matrix and enhanced interaction between the graphene and the polymer network. With comparison of 0.4-CNTP (I D /I G : 1.58) and 0.4-GEP composites, the Raman spectra confirm that graphene enable the stronger chemical interaction within the polymer matrix than CNTs.…”

Topotactic Conversion of Alkali‐Treated Intergrown Germanosilicate CIT‐13 into Single‐Crystalline ECNU‐21 Zeolite as Shape‐Selective Catalyst for Ethylene Oxide Hydration

“…[27] Conventionally,i ni ndustry,t he hydration of EO was conducted by a noncatalytic process with an extremelyh igh H 2 O/EO molar ratio of 20-25 at elevated temperatures (423-493 K), with the separation of the EG product ah ighly energy-consuming process. By using unstable acidic resins as catalysts, the H 2 O/EO ratio was reduced to 8, while maintaining as electivity for EG as high as 95.6 %a t3 78 K. [28] Recently,aheterogeneous catalyst, Sn-SSZ-13, with active tin sites confined in Chabazite cages has made ak ey breakthrough in the hydration of EO for an ear stoichiometric H 2 O/EO ratio. [29] As tin and germanium are congeners, they are presumed to have similar chemical and catalytic characteristics.…”

Enhancement of thermal stability of multiwalled carbon nanotubes via different silanization routes

“…Recently, CNTs were intentionally modified in order to perform an exact role in certain applications in such fields as metal and polymer composites [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], electrodes [8][9][10][11] or sensors [12,13]. Modern modifications of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) involve single to several steps of the external walls modification, called exohedral functionalization, which depends on further applications of the prepared material [2,[14][15][16][17][18].…”