Preparation and properties of RE^(3+) doped luminescent co-polymer by solution copolymerization

Bonded type RE3+ doped luminescent co-polymer was synthesized by solution free radical copolymerization. The influence of charge sequence, monomers and co-polymerized method on properties and structures of the co-polymers was studied. The emission intensity of the co-polymers at different RE3+ concentrations was tested. The results showed that the co-polymers of Eu-PSt and Eu-PMMA both had wide absorption peak at 200-400 nm and the strongest peak appeared at 235 nm. The fluorescent intensity of Eu3+ doped polystyrene co-polymer was stronger than that of Eu3+ doped PMMA copolymer. The characteristic emission of europium ions was observed in the co-polymers. The copolymer doped with rare earth elements showed the 'sensitization effect' for the central ions. The bonded-type rare earth copolymer not only enhanced the energy transfer efficiency, but also improved the fluorescence intensity by increasing the rigidity of main and side chain.

Pervaporation Recovery of n-butanol from Its Dilute Solution with Natural Rubber/Styrene-butadiene-styrene Blend Membrane

Natural rubber/styrene-butadiene-styrene(NR/SBS)membrane was prepared by solution blend,and then used for recovery of butanol from its dilute solution by pervaporation(PV).The thermodynamic and mechanical properties of NR/SBS blend membrane were characterized by TGA and tensile test,respectively.A layer of relatively dense blend membrane with the thickness of about 37μm was closely cast on a layer of porous polyvinylidene difluoride(PVDF)support.And there was no obvious phase separation observed between the interface of two layers.Both flux and separation factor increased with increasing feed temperature.Butanol flux increased as feed concentration increased consistently.The blend membrane which got the best performance obtained membrane separation factor of 28.8 with total flux of 2695.2 g/m^(2)h at 70℃ when feed concentration was 4.00wt%.

Fabrication and Characterization of Poly(Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene)/Thermoplastic Polyurethane Blends

This investigation presents thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) based on poly (styrene-butadiene-styrene) (SBS) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) materials were prepared with varying compositions. A series of works were conducted on the relationships between rheological, optical properties, morphology, mechanical properties, abrasion resistance and thermostability given. The results showed that the shear viscosity of SBS not obvious effect with TPU content. The optical properties of the SBS/TPU blend that its uniform transparency. The morphology characteristics indicating the phase diversion and the variation in the size of the SBS domains from large to small as the TPU contents increased, with heterogeneous domain dispersions. Additionally, the mechanical properties, abrasion resistance and thermal resistance are improved as the amount of added TPU is increased, suggesting that the blending of SBS with TPU is consistent with the compound rule.

Thermal Stability Improvement and Structural Change of Oil Gels Formed by Styrene-Butadiene-Styrene Triblock Copolymer Induced by Adding Poly(phenylene ether)

The thermal stability of oil gels formed by styrene-butadiene-styrene triblock copolymer (SBS) was improved by adding a small amount of poly(phenylene ether) (PPE), which has a higher glass transition temperature (Tg). In naphthenic oil which is a good solvent for the butadiene blocks, but a non-solvent for the styrene blocks and PPE, PPE was selectively included into styrene blocks in SBS, and induced the increase of the Tg of these blocks. The melting temperature determined by viscoelastic measurements and softening temperature of the gels were elevated by adding PPE, while no significant change was detected by adding polystyrene. The gel became opaque by adding PPE, and partially separated phases were observed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The dependence of the viscoelastic behavior on the PPE concentration can be explained by the structural change observed by FE-SEM.

Laboratory Study on CR/SBS Modified Asphalt:Preparation and Performance Characterization

Crumble rubber(CR)can be used to prepare CR and styrene-butadiene-styrene(SBS)composite modified asphalt with a good high-and low-temperature performance,meanwhile the addition of CR could work as the substitute for SBS and help reduce the content of SBS.This study contains three main parts:effect of preparation and effect of material composition as well as rheological performance characterization.Factors during the preparation,including shearing temperature,shearing time,mixing time and swelling time,were selected,while base binder,CR content,CR particle size and SBS content in material composition were considered.The effects of these factors were assessed in terms of the conventional performance(penetration,softening point,ductility and storage stability).After identifying these effects,the sample of CR and SBS modified asphalt at the selected preparing condition and material composition(CR/SBSMA)was made,and the corresponding SBS modified and CR modified asphalt(SBSMA and CRMA)were produced for the comparing reason.Subsequently,temperature sweeps from 0℃ to 80℃ were utilized to depict the viscoelasticity of these modified asphalt binders by complex modulus and phase angle.Multiple stress creep recovery tests(MSCR)at 64℃ and bending beam rheometer tests(BBR)at various low temperatures were employed to evaluate the high-and low-temperature performance,respectively.Results highlight that that CR/SBSMA could exhibit an excellent high-temperature performance(better than SBSMA),and a good low-temperature performance(reaching the level of base binder).

Open tubular capillary electrochromatography with block co-polymer coating for separation of β-lactam antibiotics

A new open-tubular capillary electrochromatography (OT-CEC) method for analysis of β-lactam antibiotics has been developed with unique block co-polymer coating. To obtain the highly ordered block polymer chains, reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer radical polymerization method was used to synthesize poly (maleic anhydride-styrene-N-isopropylacrylamide). The prepared block copolymer coating was characterized with NMR, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope. Several key separation factors of OT-CEC, which including polymer amount,stability of the coating, temperature, species of organic additives, buffer pH and concentration, were investigated in detail. Our results indicated that the separation efficiency was improved greatly with the coating capillary and the three test analytes could be baseline separated. Then, the separation mechanism was briefly explored. Moreover, the proposed OT-CEC method displayed promising quantitative analysis property of the three test analytes with good linearity (R2>0.99), repeatability (relative standard deviations <0.9%) and high recovery (95.4%-106.2%). Further, the assay was applied in monitoring the three test β-lactam antibiotics (cephradine, cephalexin and amoxicillin) in serum samples, providing a useful platform for construction of novel polymer coatings in OT-CEC system and for analysis of drugs in real bio-samples.

Structural and functional evidence for two separate oligosaccharide binding sites of Pasteurella multocida hyaluronan synthase

Pasteurella multocida hyaluronan synthase (PmHAS) is a bi-functional glycosyltransferase, containing a β1,3-glucuronyltransferase and β1,4-N-acetylglucosaminetransferase domain. PmHAS catalyzes the elongation of hyaluronan (HA) through the sequential addition of single monosaccharides to the non-reducing end of the hyaluronan chain. Research is focused on the relation between the length of the HA oligosaccharide and the single-step elongation kinetics from HA4 up to HA9. It was found that the turnover number kcat increased with length to maximum values of 11 and 14 s-1 for NAc- and UA-transfer, respectively. Interestingly, the specificity constant kcat/KM increased with polymer length from HA5 to HA7 to a value of 44 mM-1s-1, indicating an oligosaccharide binding site with increasing specificity towards a heptasaccharide at the UA domain. The value of kcat/KM remained moderately constant around 8 mM-1s-1 for HA4, HA6, and HA8, indicating a binding site with significantly lower binding specificity at the NAc domain than at the UA domain. These findings are further corroborated by a structural homology model of PmHAS, revealing two distinct sites for binding of oligosaccharides of different sizes, one in each transferase domain. Structural alignment studies between PmHAS and glycosyltransferases of the GT-A fold showed significant similarity in the binding of the UDP-sugars and the orientation of the acceptor substrate. These similarities in substrate orientation in the active site and in essential amino acid residues involved in substrate binding were utilized to localize the two HA oligosaccharide binding sites.

Effects of Hydrophobicity of Ethylene Oxide-Propylene Oxide Copolymers on Phase Diagrams of Aqueous Two-Phase Systems and Partition Behaviors of Cephalexin and 7-Aminodeacetoxicephalos-poranic Acid

A series of ethylene oxide (EO)-propylene oxide (PO) randomco-polymers (EOPO) were used to form aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS)with ammonium sulfate. Effects of EOPO's properties on the phaseseparation behaviors and on the partition of cephalexin and7-aminodesacetoxicephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA) in ATPS wereinvestigated. Both the molar mass and molar ratio of EO to PO of EOPOcould greatly influence partition behaviors of cephalexin and 7-ADCAas well as the binodal curve of ATPS.

1-D polymer ternary composites:Understanding materials interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism toward ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors

A series of 1-D polymer ternary composites based on poly(styrene-butadiene-styrene)(SBS)/carbon nanotubes(CNTs)/few-layer graphene(FLG) conductive fibers(SCGFs)were prepared via wet-spinning. Employed as ultra-high stretchable and super-sensitive strain sensors, the ternary composite fiber materials’ interaction, percolation behaviors and mechanism were systematically explored. The resultant SCGFs-based strain sensors simultaneously exhibited high sensitivity, superior stretchability(with a gauge factor of 5,467 under 600% deformation) and excellent durability under different test conditions due to excellent flexibility of SBS, the synergistic effect of hybrid conductive nanofibers and the strong π-π interaction. Besides, the conductive networks in SBS matrix were greatly affected by the mass ratio of CNTs and FLG, and thus the piezoresistive performances of the strain sensors could be controlled by changing the content of hybrid conductive fillers. Especially, the SCGFs with 0.30 wt.%CNTs(equal to their percolation threshold 0.30 wt.%) and 2.7 wt.% FLG demonstrated the highest sensitivity owing to the bridge effect of FLG between adjacent CNTs. Whereas, the SCGFs with 1.0 wt.% CNTs(higher than their percolation threshold) and 2.0 wt.% FLG showed the maximum strain detection range(600%) due to the welding connection caused by FLG between the contiguous CNTs. To evaluate the fabricated sensors, the tensile and the cyclic mechanical recovery properties of SCGFs were tested and analyzed. Additionally, a theoretical piezoresistive mechanism of the ternary composite fiber was investigated by the evolution of conductive networks according to tunneling theory.

Effect of GMA Polymer Compatibilizers on Highly Filled Composites of Low Density Polyethylene/Magnesium Hydroxide

Functional polymers such as polyethylene grafted glycidyl methacrylate （PE-g-GMA） and ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate terpolymer （E/MA/GMA） were used as compatibilizers in the preparation of highly filled composites of polyethylene/magnesium hydroxide（PE/MH）. Comparative studies were performed on the effect of magnesium hydroxide and stearic acid on the interface within polymer and magnesium hydroxide composites. The effect of polymeric compatibilizers on the properties of the composites was studied using tensile and impact tests, torque rheological analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and environmental scanning electron microscopy （ESEM）. The microstructure of highly filled PE/MH composites changed after the addition of functional polymers. The mechanical properties of the composite material increased after compatibilization. The compatibilization processes of PE-g-GMA and E/MA/GMA were different. The grafted polymer was more compatible with polyethylene, which led to a polar polymer phase. In contrast, the tercopolymer tended to adhere to the surface of MH particles.