Heteropolyacids Catalysis in Synthesizing Butylacrylate

The catalytic activities of some heteropolyacids(HPAs) in synthesizing butyl acrylate are reported. It has been demonstrated that 12 tungstophosphoric acid is the most effective catalyst among more than 20 HPA(salts). Various factors concerned in this reaction have been investigated. The optimum conditions have been found, that is, the molar ratio of alcohol to acid is 1.2∶1.0 , the catalyst concentration 1%(mass fraction), the reaction time 2 h, the temperature 98—124 ℃ and a certain amount of polymerization inhibitor exists.

EFFECTS OF ω-ACRYLOYL POLY (ETHYLENE OXIDE) MACROMONOMER ON EMULSIFIER-FREE EMULSI0N COPOLYMERIZATION OF METHYL METHACRYLATE AND n-BUTYL ACRYLATE

Well-defined nonionic hydrophilic ω-acryloyl poly(ethylene oxide) macro-monomer (PEO-A) has been prepared by living anionic polymerization of ethylene oxidewith diphenyl methyl potassium as the initiator and acryloyl chloride as the reaction termi-nating agent. The polymer was characterized by FTIR and SEC. The emulsifier-free emul-sion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and n-butyl acrylate (BA) containingvarious concentrations of PEO-A was studied. In all cases stable emulsion coplymerizationsof MMA and BA were obtained. The stabilizing effect was found to be dependent on themolecular weight and the feed amount of the macromonomer.

Synthesis and evaluation of poly(N-vinyl caprolactam)-co-tert-butyl acrylate as kinetic hydrate inhibitor

Low dosage kinetic hydrate inhibitors(KHIs)are a kind of alternative chemical additives to high dosage thermodynamic inhibitors for preventing gas hydrate formation in oil&gas production wells and transportation pipelines.In this paper,a new KHI,poly(N-vinyl caprolactam)-co-tert-butyl acrylate(PVCapco-TBA),was successfully synthesized with N-vinyl caprolactam(NVCap)and tert-butyl acrylate.The kinetic inhibition performances of PVCap-co-TBA on the formations of both structureⅠmethane hydrate and structureⅡnatural gas hydrate were investigated by measuring the onset times of hydrate formation under different conditions and compared with commercial KHIs such as PVP,PVCap and inhibex 501.The results indicated that PVCap-co-TBA outperformed these widely applied inhibitors for both structureⅠand structureⅡhydrates.At the same dosage of KHI,the maximum tolerable degree of subcooling under which the onset time of hydrate formation exceeded 24 hours for structureⅠhydrate was much lower than that for structureⅡhydrate.The inhibition strength increased with the increasing dosage of PVCap-co-TBA;The maximum tolerable degree of subcooling for the natural gas hydrate is more than10 K when the dosage was higher than 0.5%(mass)while it achieved 12 K when that dosage rose to0.75%(mass).Additionally,we found polypropylene glycol could be used as synergist at the dosage of 1.0%(mass)or so,under which the kinetic inhibition performance of PVCap-co-TBA could be improved significantly.All evaluation results demonstrated that PVCap-co-TBA was a very promising KHI and a competitive alternative to the existing commercial KHIs.

Synthesis and Characterization of Styrene-Maleic Anhydride-Butyl Acrylate Terpolymer

A novel surface modifying agent and internal compatilizer of inorganic and macromolecule composite materials,P(St/MAH/BA)terpolymer,was synthesized in butanone by solution polymerization method using styrene(St),maleic anhydride(MAH),and butyl acrylate(BA)as monomers and azobisisobutyronitrile(AIBN)as an initiator.Some affecting factors on terpolymers yields such as polymerization time,reaction temperature,solvent volume,initiator content,and reactants ratios were studied.Furthermore,the structure and thermal properties of terpolymers were primarily characterized and determined by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy(FTIR),nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR),thermogravimetric analysis(TGA),and gel permeation chromatography(GPC).The results indicate that the terpolymers are random polymers and the yields are low,but the thermal decomposed temperature of terpolymers P(St/MAH/BA)is around 220 ℃ and the average molecular weights(Mw)achieve 1.189×105 g·mol-1.

Acrylate Copolymers as Impact Modifi er for Epoxy Resin

P（BA-GMA）（PBG）, having various molecular weights, was synthesized by in situ polymerization of butyl acrylate（BA） and glycidyl methacrylate（GMA）, and further used as a modifier to improve the comprehensive properties of the epoxy curing system. The copolymers were characterized by gel permeation chromatography（GPC）. The effects of various molecular weights of copolymers on the mechanical properties, thermal performance, and phase behavior of the curing system were carefully evaluated. The experimental results of differential scanning calorimetry（DSC） and dynamic mechanical analysis（DMA） showed that glass transition temperature decreased and the tan δ peak shifted to a lower temperature with decreasing molecular weight of copolymer. Mechanical properties analysis of curing films showed that the impact strength and fracture toughness increased significantly upon the addition of PBG, indicating good toughness of the modified epoxy resins. From scanning electron microscopy（SEM） studies of the fracture surfaces of ER/PBG systems, the fracture behavior of epoxy matrix was changed from brittleness to toughness.

PREPARATION AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE)/ URETHANE ACRYLATE COPOLYMERS

The urethane acrylate(UA) was made of poly(tetramethylenc oxide), 4,4’-diphenylmethane diisocyanate, and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate. A series of poly(methyl methacrylate) / urethane acrylate copolymers was prepared by using a redox initiating system. The copolymers had cross linked structures and two-phase morphologies as indicated by the results of the dynamic mechanical measurement and swelling test.

COMPUTER SIMULATIONS ON UNPERTURBED CONFIGURATIONAL DIMENSIONS OF POLY (METHYL ACRYLATE)

A full-relaxation optimization of molecule and the popular MM2 force field are employed to obtain the geometry parameters and the conformational energy surface of a meso or a racemic dyad of poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) with a specified carbonyl-bond orientation in side-groups. It is found that the conformational energy maps calculated here considerably differ from those calculated with the rigid molecular model as reported in the earlier studies. The g(-) state cannot be omitted in the obtained contour maps. Two important conformers tg(-) and g(-t) with energy minima were newly detected for a racemic dyad. The analysis on the conformations with energy minima confirmed that the ester groups are not always perpendicular to the plane defined by the two adjacent skeletal bonds and may change their relative orientations to meet the requirement of lower energies during the conformational state transition. Instead of the early way of adjusting the interaction energy parameters to fit the experimental data, we attempt to predict unperturbed chain dimensions via the reliable force field and the configurational statistical mechanics. The proposed scheme with three rotational states identified from the contour maps allowed us to satisfactorily reproduce the experimental dimensions of random PMA chains.

Rapid Expansion of Supercritical Solution of Poly (1,1,2,2- Tetrahy-droperfluorodecyl Acrylate)

Poly(1,1,2,2- tetrahydroperfluorodecyl acrylate) (poly (TA-N)) was synthesized in laboratory. The resulting morphology of rapid expansion of supercritical solution (RESS) sprays of poly(TA - N) was investigated. At apre - expansion temperature of 45℃), amorphous polymer was formed. At temperature around 60 ℃ to 80 ℃ , fibers were formed. Increase of temperature increasesparticle size slightly. At temperature of 105℃ , most of particles are spheres. The RESS is an attractive process. To apply the polymers desired for coating applications in an organic solvent - free process that is economically viable , and it will have implications for pollution prevention during polymer film

STRUCTURE OF 1-BROMOMETHYL-7, 7-DIMETHYLBICYCLO[2.2.1]HEPT-2-YL ACRYLATE AND THE PROPERTIES OF ITS POLYMER

In this paper, the structure of 1-bromomethyl-7,7-dimethyl btcyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-yl acrylate has been studied by X-ray diffraction, and the relation between the molecular structure and the properties of polymerization and its polymer have been discussed.

Effects of Side-Chain on Conformational Characteristics of Poly(3,5-Dimethyl-Phenyl Acrylate) in Toluene at 40℃

The intrinsic viscosity [η] of poly(3,5-dimethylphenylacrylate) (35PDMPA)solutions were evaluated throughout the measurements of the flow times of toluene and polymer solutions by classical Huggins, and Kraemer’s methods using a Cannon-Ubbelohde semi-micro-dilution capillary viscometer in a Cannon thermostated water bath at 40℃ ± 0.02℃. The values of Huggins’ constant estimated ranged from 0.2 to 0.4 which were within expectations. The intrinsic viscosities and molecular weight relationship was established with the two-parameter classical models of Staudinger-Mark-Houwink-Sakurada and Stockmayer-Fixman. Conformational parameter C∞ and σ indicated 35PDMPA be semi flexible. Also, the rigidity of 35PDMPA was confirmed by Yamakawa-Fuji wormlike theory modified by Bohdanecky. The molecular parameters were estimated and compared. The results showed that 35PDMPA behaves like a semi-rigid polymer in toluene at 40℃ rather than a random coil flexible macromolecule.

Studies on interacting Blends of Acrylated Epoxy resin based Poly(Ester-Amide)s and Vinyl EsterResin

Epoxy resin based Unsaturated poly(ester-amide) resins (UPEAs) can be prepared by many methods but here these were prepared by reported method [1]. These UPEAs were then treated with acrylotl chloride to afford acrylated UPEAs resin (i.e. AUPEAs). Interacting blends of equal proportional AUPEAs and vinyl ester epoxy (VE) resin were prepared. APEAs and AUPEAs were characterized by elemental analysis, molecular weight determined by vapour pressure osmometer and by IR spectral study and by thermogravimetry. The curing of interacting blends was monitored on differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Based on DSC data in situ glass reinforced composites of the resultant blends have been prepared and characterized for mechanical, electrical and chemical properties. Unreinforced blends were characterized by thermogravimetry (TGA).

Removal of manganese from waste water by complexation-ultrafiltration using copolymer of maleic acid and acrylic acid

Copolymer of maleic acid and acrylic acid （PMA-100）, combining with polyvinyl butyral （PVB） ultrafiltration membrane was used for the removal of Mn（II） from waste water by complexation-ultrafiltration. The carboxylic group content of PMA-100 and the rate of complexation reaction were measured. Effects of the mass ratio of PMA-100 to Mn（II） （n）, pH, background electrolyte, etc on the rejection rate （R） and permeate flux （J） were investigated. The results show that carboxylic group content of PMA-100 is 9.5 mmol/g. The complexation of Mn（II） with PMA-100 is rapid and completed within 5 min at pH 6.0. Both R and J increase with pH increasing in the range of 2.5-7.0, and R increases with the increase of n at pH 6.0 while J is little affected. The background electrolyte leads to the decrease of R, and CaCl2 has much greater effect on R than NaCl at the same ionic strength.

Antimicrobial Expanded Polytetrafluoroethylene Film Prepared by 3-ray Radiation Induced Grafting of Poly（acrylic acid）

The simultaneous γ-ray-radiation-induced grafting polymerization of acrylic acid on ex- panded polytetrafluoroethylene （ePTFE） film was investigated. It was found that the degree of grafting （DG） of poly（acrylic acid） （PAA） can be controlled by the monomer concentration, absorbed dose, and dose rate under an optimal inhibitor concentration of [Fe2＋]=18 mmol/L. SEM observation showed that the macroporous structure in ePTFE films would be covered gradually with the increase of the DG of PAA. The prepared ePTFE-g-PAA film was im- mersed in a neutral silver nitrate solution to fabricate an ePTFE-g-PAA/Ag hybrid film after the addition of NaBH4 as a reduction agent of Ag＋ to Ag atom. SEM, XRD, and XPS results proved that Ag nanoparticles with a size of several tens of nanometers to 100 nanometers were in situ immobilized on ePTFE film. The loading capacity of Ag nanoparticles could be tuned by the DG of PAA, and determined by thermal gravimetric analysis. The quart- titative antibacterial activity of the obtained ePTFE-g-PAA/Ag hybrid films was measured using counting plate method. It can kill all the Escherichia coli in the suspension in 1 h. Moreover, this excellent antibacterial activity can last at least for 4 h. This work provides a facile and practical way to make ePTFE meet the demanding antimicrobial requirement in more and more practical application areas.

Pretreatment of poly(acrylic acid) sodium by continuous diafiltration and time revolution of filtration potential

The pretreatment for the removal of small molecules from poly(acrylic acid) sodium (PAAS) solution by continuous diafiltration was investigated using ultrafiltration membrane. The effects of PAAS concentration, pH, trans-membrane pressure and pretreatment time on the permeate concentration and permeate flux were studied. The results show that the necessary pretreatment time (NPT) increases with PAAS concentration, decreases with TMP. The change trend of permeate flux with time is affected by pH. The permeate fluxes rapidly decrease from the start, and then increase gradually to stable values at pH 5.0, pH 7.0 and pH 9.3. However, it decreases gradually with time till a state value at pH 3.0 (iso-electric point, IEP). The removal of small molecules is easy at pH greater than iso-electric point (IEP). The change of filtration potential with time indicates the similar trend to that of permeation concentration, but the former is more convenient for indication of NPT.

Redox active polymer metal chelates for use in flexible symmetrical supercapacitors:Cobalt-containing poly(acrylic acid)polymer electrolytes

The novel polymer metal chelate electrolytes(polychelates)were prepared by incorporation of cobalt sulfate(Co)into poly(acrylic acid)(PAA)host matrix.Quasi-solid state supercapacitor devices were fabricated using polychelates,PAA-Co X(X:3,5,7,and 10)where X represents the doping fraction(w/w)of Co in PAA.All polymer metal electrolytes were showed excellent bending-stretching properties,thermal stability and electrochemical durability with an optimum ionic conductivity of 3.15×10^(-4) S cm^(-1).Hierarchically porous activated carbon and nano-sized conductive carbon were used to form carbon composite symmetrical device electrodes.The electric double-layer capacitor(EDLC)and redox reactions of Co-incorporated polychelates at the interfaces of porous activated carbon provided an optimum specific capacitance of 341.33 F g^(-1) with a device of PAA-Co7,which is at least 15 times enhancement compared to the device of pristine PAA.The PAA-Co7 device also provided energy density of 21.25 Wh kg^(-1) at a power density of 117.69 W kg^(-1).A prolonged cyclic stability of the device exhibited superior capacitive performance after 10,000 charge-discharge cycles and the maintained 90%of its initial performance.In addition,the supercapacitor with a dimension of 1.5 cm×3 cm containing PAA-Co7 successfully operated the red-blue-green(RGB)LED light.

PREPARATION OF POLY(ETHYLENEGLYCOL-co-ACRYLIC ACID) MICROSPHERES WITH DIVINYLBENZNE AS CROSSLINKER BY DISTILLATION-PRECIPITATION POLYMERIZATION

Monodisperse poly（poly（ethyleneglycol） methyl ether acrylate-co-acrylic acid） （poly（PEGMA-co-AA）） microspheres were prepared by distillation-precipitation polymerization with divinylbenzene （DVB） as crosslinker with 2,2＇- azobisisobutyronitrile （AIBN） as initiator in neat acetonitrile without stirring. Under various reaction conditions, four distinct morphologies including the sol, microemulsion, microgels and microspheres were formed during the distillation of the solvent from the reaction system. A 2D morphological map was established as a function of crosslinker concentration and the polar monomer AA concentration, in comonomer feed in the transition between the morphology domains. The effect of the covalent crosslinker DVB on the morphology of the polymer network was investigated in detail at AA fraction of 40 vol%. The ratios of acid to ethylene oxide units presenting in the comonomers dramatically affected the polymer-polymer interaction and hence the morphology of the resultant polymer network. The covalent crosslinking by DVB and the hydrogen bonding crosslinking between two acid units as well as between the acid and ethylene oxide unit played key roles in the formation of monodisperse polymer microspheres.

CONFORMATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF POLY(ACRYLIC ACID) AND POLY(METHACRYLIC ACID)

A full-relaxation optimization of molecule and the Dreiding force field are employed to obtain the geometry parameters and the conformational energy surfaces of meso or racemic dyad of poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA). Three different carbonyl-bond orientations of side-groups resulted in the differences in depth of potential wells in their energetic contours for a meso or a racemic dyad. These discrepancies are interpreted as a result of various fine structures corresponding to grid search conformations as well as thereby different interactions. The analysis on the most stable conformations of PMAA confirmed that the ester groups are nearly perpendicular to the plane defined by the two adjacent skeletal bonds but may possibly change their relative orientations to meet the requirement of lower energy during the conformational state transition. For each polymer, two global energy maps of a meso and a racemic dyad were finally constructed from the superposition of energy data for the three kinds of side-group orientations by the Boltzmann factors. From an ensemble average, the proposed scheme with three rotational isomeric states (RIS) allowed us to access the experimentally unperturbed dimensions of PAA chain via the configurational statistical mechanics. Although the calculation was based on the short-range, local interactions, it was interested to note that the experimental characteristic ratios just fell within the range calculated for atactic chains.

Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Poly (Vinyl Chloride) Modified by Silica Fume /Acrylic Core-Shell Impact Modifier Blends

This research explored replacing acrylic core-shell impact modifier （AIM） by silica fume to toughen PVC. 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% of AIM （8 phr） were substituted by silica fume in PVC respectively, and then processed by dry blending and twin-screw extrusion. Severe silica fume agglomeration was observed by scanning electron microscope （SEM） in the PVC matrix when 8 phr pure silica fume was used and processed by screw speed of 20 rpm. Its tensile strength was thereby reduced by 38% comparing to unmodified PVC. The silica fume was successfully dispersed while the screw speed was slowed down to 10 rpm to give a stronger screw torque and a longer melt residential time in the extruder. The tensile strength was ’recovered’ to a level comparable to unmodified PVC. Impact test were performed on all formulations extruded at 10 rpm screw speed and synergetic toughening effect was found with 50% substitution and it had the impact strength that was comparable to 8 phr pure AIM toughened PVC.

Poly (Acrylamide-co-Acrylic Acid) Hydrogel Induced by Glow-Discharge Electrolysis Plasma and Its Adsorption Properties for Cationic Dyes

In this paper, poly （acrylamide-co-acrylic acid） （P（AM-co-AA）） hydrogel was pre- pared in an aqueous solution by using glow-discharge electrolysis plasma （GDEP） induced copoly- merization of acrylamide （AM） and acrylic acid （AA）, in which N,N＇-methylenebisacrylamide （MBA） was used as a crosslinker. A mechanism for the synthesis of P（AM-co-AA） hydrogel was proposed. To optimize the synthesis condition, the following parameters were examined in detail： the discharge voltage, discharge time, the content of the crosslinker, and the mass ratio of AM to AA. The results showed that the optimum pH range for cationic dyes removal was found to be 5.0-10.0. The P（AM-co-AA） hydrogel exhibits a very high adsorption potential and the ex- perimental adsorption capacities for Crystal violet （CV） and Methylene blue （MB） were 2974.3 mg/g and 2303.6 mg/g, respectively. The adsorption process follows a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. In addition, the adsorption mechanism of P（AM-co-AA） hydrogel for cationic dyes was also discussed.

Molecular Imprinting Fibrous Membranes of Poly(acrylonitrile-co-acrylic acid) Prepared by Electrospinning

IntroductionOver the past few decades, molecular imprinting has been described as a technology for preparing ＂molecular doors＂ which can be matched to ＂template keys＂. It has been found to be a simple and effective approach to introduce specific recognition sites into synthetic polymers, namely, to create molecular imprinting polymers Remarkable features such as stability, ease of preparation and low cost, have made molecular imprinting polymers particularly attractive in chemical sensors, catalysis, drug delivery, and dedicated separations. Practical applications of molecular imprinting polymers require accessible sites, fast mass transfer, and quick binding. However, present techniques used to prepare molecular imprinting polymers most often result in materials exhibiting a high affinity and selectivity but a low capacity and poor site accessibility for the target molecules. It is also very difficult to remove the imprinted molecules located in these molecular imprinting polymers because the highly cross-linked structures do not allow the templates to move freely. To some extent, combining molecular imprinting technology with membrane separation and surface imprinting can overcome the shortcomings, such as mass transfer limitations and non-quantitative recovery of the template molecules seen for imprinted materials fabricated by conventional bulk methods. In that ease, it appears to us that molecular imprinting polymers with high surface area to volume ratios are particularly desirable for largescale applications. Eleetrospun nano and ultrafine fibrous membranes are the most suitable materials due to advantages such as： （1） large specific surfaces, providing relatively high imprinting sites per unit mass; （2） fine porous structures, resulting in the accessibility of imprinting sites and low diffusion resistance necessary for high efficiency; and （3） easy recoverability from practical operation or applicability for continuous usages. Therefore, in this work, we prepared a unique kind of imprinted material--molecularly imprinted fibrous membranes of poly （ acrylonitrile-co-acrylic acid） fabricated by means of an electrospinning process.