Ultrahydrophobic melamine sponge via interfacial modification with reduced graphene oxide/titanium dioxide nanocomposite and polydimethylsiloxane for oily wastewater treatment

Three-dimensional(3D)porous absorbents have attracted significant attention in the oily wastewater treatment technology due to their high porosity and elasticity.Given their amphiphilic surface,they have a propensity to simultaneously absorb water and oil,which restricts their range of applications.In this study,a reduced graphene oxide and titanium dioxide nanocomposite(rGO/TiO_(2))was used to fabricate an ultra-hydrophobic melamine sponge(MS)through interfacial modification using a solution immersion technique.To further modify it,poly-dimethylsiloxane(PDMS)was grafted onto its surface to establish stronger covalent bonds with the composite.The water contact angle of the sponge(rGO/TiO_(2)/PDMS/MS)was 164.2°,which satisfies the condition for ultrahydrophobicity.The evidence of its water repellency was demonstrated by the Cassie-Baxter theory and the lotus leaf effect.As a result of the increased density of rGO/TiO_(2)/PDMS/MS,it recorded an initial capacity that was 2 g/g lower than the raw MS for crude oil absorption.The raw MS retained 53% of its initial absorption capacity after 20 cycles of absorption,while rGO/TiO_(2)/PDMS/MS retained 97%,suggesting good recyclability.Excellent oil and organic solvent recovery(90%-96%)was demonstrated by rGO/TiO_(2)/PDMS/MS in oil-water combinations.In a continuous separation system,it achieved a remarkable separation efficiency of 2.4×10^(6)L/(m^(3)·h),and in turbulent emulsion separation,it achieved a demulsification efficiency of 90%-91%.This study provides a practical substitute for massive oil spill cleaning.

Influence of water vapor on the separation of volatile organic compound/nitrogen mixture by polydimethylsiloxane membrane

In the industrial treatment of waste volatile organic compound(VOC)streams by membrane technology,a third impurity,generally,water vapor,coexists in the mixture of VOC and nitrogen or air,and can affect membrane performance and the design of the industrial process.This study focused on the investigation of the effect of water vapor on the separation performance of the separation of VOC/water/nitrogen mixtures by a polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)membrane.Three types of VOCs:water-miscible ethanol,water-semi-miscible butanol,and water-immiscible cyclohexane,were selected for the study.Different operating parameters including,concentration of the feed VOC,feed temperature,and concentration of the feed water were compared for the separation of binary and ternary VOC/nitrogen mixtures.The interaction between the VOC and water was analyzed to explain the transportation mechanism after analyzing the difference in the membrane performance for the separation of binary and ternary mixtures.The results indicated that the interaction between the VOC(or nitrogen)and water is the key factor affecting membrane performance.Water can promote the permeation of hydrophilic VOC but prevent hydrophobic VOC through the membrane for the separation of ternary VOC/water/nitrogen mixtures.These results will provide fundamental insights for the design of the recovery application process for industrial membrane-based VOCs,and also guidance for the investigation of the separation mechanism in vapor permeation.

Impact of polydimethylsiloxanes on physicochemical and tribological properties of naphthenic mineral oil(KN 4010)-based titanium complex grease

Titanium complex greases were prepared by using naphthenic mineral oil and polydimethylsiloxane as the mixed base oil. The effect of polydimethylsiloxane molecular weight and polydimethylsiloxane content in mixed base oil on the physicochemical and tribological properties of titanium complex greases was investigated.As compared to the sole mineral oil-based titanium complex grease, the use of polydimethylsiloxane(H201-350)as a co-base oil increased the dropping point from 310 to 329℃, decreased the oil separation from 3.7% to 2.3%,reduced the corrosion extent, and obviously improved the tribological properties. When the mixed oil-based titanium complex grease was used as a lubricant, lubricating films of polydimethylsiloxane were probably formed on the surfaces of friction pairs, giving good lubricating property.

Recent advances in lithographic fabrication of micro-/nanostructured polydimethylsiloxanes and their soft electronic applications

The intensive development of micro-/nanotechnologies offers a new route to construct sophisticated architectures of emerging soft electronics.Among the many classes of stretchable materials,micro-/nanostructured poly(dimethylsiloxane)(PDMS)has emerged as a vital building block based on its merits of flexibility,stretchability,simple processing,and,more importantly,high degrees of freedom of incorporation with other functional materials,including metals and semiconductors.The artificially designed geometries play important roles in achieving the desired mechanical and electrical performances of devices and thus show great potential for applications in the fields of stretchable displays,sensors and actuators as well as in health-monitoring device platforms.Meanwhile,novel lithographic methods to produce stretchable platforms with superb reliability have recently attracted research interest.The aim of this review is to comprehensively summarize the progress regarding micro-/nanostructured PDMS and their promising soft electronic applications.This review is concluded with a brief outlook and further research directions.

Moth-eye Structured Polydimethylsiloxane Films for High-Efficiency Perovskite Solar Cells

Large-area polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)films with variably sized moth-eye structures were fabricated to improve the efficiency of perovskite solar cells.An approach that incorporated photolithography,bilayer PDMS deposition and replication was used in the fabrication process.By simply attaching the moth-eye PDMS films to the transparent substrates of perovskite solar cells,the optical properties of the devices could be tuned by changing the size of the moth-eye structures.The device with 300-nm moth-eye PDMS films greatly enhanced power conversion efficiency of ~21 % due to the antireflective effect of the moth-eye structure.Furthermore,beautiful coloration was observed on the 1000-nm moth-eye PDMS films through optical interference caused by the diffraction grating effect.Our results imply that moth-eye PDMS films can greatly enhance the efficiency of perovskite solar cells and building-integrated photovoltaics.

A STUDY ON RADIATION CROSSLINKING OF POLYDIMETHYLSILOXANE (PDMS) RUBBER LATEX

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) rubber latex with two sorts of sensitizers, trimethylol propane tri-methacrylate (TMPTMA) and diethylene glycol di-acrylate (DEGDA), was irradiated with γ-rays and electron beams in various conditions. The radiation crosslinking reaction of PDMS occurs in the inner phase of the latex and is relatively isolated from the water phase. Therefore the oxygen and the radicals produced by the radiolysis reaction of water almost have no effect on the crosslinking reaction of polymer. The experimental data correspond with the Charlesby-Pinner relationship in the main. The gelation doses, degree of crosslinking and degradation as well as G values of crosslinking were calculated. From them, the sensitization coefficients were derived to offer a quantitative measurement of the enhancing effect of sensitizer on the radiation crosslinking.

Synthesis and characterization of a novel hydroxypolyether blocked polydimethylsiloxane PEO-b-PDMS-b-PEO

A novel hydroxypolyether blocked polydimethylsiloxane, poly（ethylene oxide） propyl-b-polydimethylsiloxane-b-propyl poly（ethylene oxide） （PEO-b-PDMS-b-PEO） was synthesized by simple hydrosilation reaction of poly（ethylene glycol） monoallyl ether with α,ω-dihydrogen terminated PDMS （HPDMS）. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） and IH NMR were used to identify the structure of PEO-b-PDMS-b-PEO and intermediate product HPDMS. Based on the effect investigations of temperature, reactant molar ratio, catalyst and time on the hydrosilation, it was found that the conversion of Si-H bond to SiC bond increased with the increase of catalyst and time, and the reaction completed when the content of catalyst was 22μg/g and the time was 5 h, respectively. Urethane reaction of OH and NCO group confirms that PEO-b-PDMS-b-PEO is more reactive toward to diisocyanate than α,ω-dihydroxylbutyl terminated PDMS.

INFLUENCE OF SURFACE-MODIFICATION FOR CALCIUM CARBONATE ON THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE FILLERS AND POLYDIMETHYLSILOXANE

The surface of calcium carbonate(CaCO_3)particles was modified with stearic acid(SA)and the chemical structures of the product were characterized by FT-IR analysis.The interaction between polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)and CaCO_3 fillers with different surface character was investigated by means of dynamic rheological and bound rubber tests for uncured compounds and mechanical properties measurements for the corresponding vulcanites.The results of dynamic tests indicate that with the increase of SA mass fraction...

Synthesis and characterization ofα-{3-[(2,3-dihydroxy) propoxy]propyl}-ω-butylpolydimethylsiloxanes

Hydrosilylation has been carried out between Si-H terminated polydimethylsiloxanes with narrow molecular weight distribution and protected 3-allyloxy-l,2-propanediol, and after subsequently alcoholyzed, α-{3-[（2,3-dihydroxy）propoxy]propyl}-ω- butyl-polydimethylsiloxanes with varying number of （（Si（CH3）2-O） unit were obtained. At each step, the produced compounds were carefully characterized. The results showed that each step was successfully carried out and target products were achieved.

Synthesis and characterization of poly(phthalazinone ether nitrile) (PPEN)-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) block copolymers

Block copolymers with different backbone compositions have been prepared by the condensation of dimethylamino terminated poly（dimethylsiloxane） （PDMS） and hydroquinone terminated poly（phthalazinone ether nitrile） （PPEN） in the presence of chlorobenzcne/N-methyl pyrrolidone （NMP） as solvents. The products were characterized by FTIR, ^1H NMR and gel permeation chromatography. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis indicated that the block copolymers showed separated microphase.

Properties of polydimethylsiloxane hydrophobic modified duplex microarc oxidation/diamond-like carbon coatings on AZ31B Mg alloy

A reliable,high-performance coating procedure was developed using PDMS to modify a duplex MAO/DLC coating on an AZ31B Mg alloy.First,the duplex MAO/DLC coating was fabricated via a combined MAO and unbalanced magnetron sputter process.Subsequently,a PDMS solution was used to modify the MAO/DLC coating via a conventional dip-coating method.The surface characteristics,bond strength,hardness,tribological behaviour,and corrosion resistance of the coated samples were evaluated via SEM,CA,Raman spectroscopy,friction and wear behaviour,polarisation curve,and NSS tests.The PDMS modification reduced the HIT of MAO/DLC coating from 15.96 to 8.34GPa;this is ascribed to the penetration of PDMS,which has good rheological properties to form a viscoelastic Si-based organic polymer layer on the MAO/DLC coating.However,the PDMS-modified MAO/DLC coating was denser,hydrophobic,and had higher bond strength compared with MAO-and MAO/DLC-coated samples.Moreover,the PDMS modification reduced the COF and wear rate of the duplex MAO/DLC coating.This indicates that the PDMS improved the tribological behaviour owing to the transferred Si oxide that originated from the Si-O network of the PDMS,as well as the low graphitisation of the DLC layer during sliding.Furthermore,the corrosion current density of the MAO/DLC-coated sample modified by PDMS for 10min decreased by two order of magnitude compared with that of the MAO/DLC-coated sample but by five orders of magnitude compared with that of the bare substrate.The NSS tests proved that the PDMS layer slowed the corrosion of the Mg alloy under long-term service,enhancing the corrosion protection efficiency.The results are attributed to the high bond strength and lubricant MAO/DLC layer,and the dual role of sealing and hydrophobicity of PDMS.Therefore,PDMS modification is promising for the fabrication of protective materials for Mg alloys that require corrosion and wear resistance.

Ethanol Recovery from Fermentation Broth by Pervaporation Using a Composite polydimethylsiloxane Membrane

The pervaporation behavior of fermentation broth was investigated experimentally and compared with those started with ethanol mixtures. Ethanol was produced by Saccharomyces cerevisiae utilizing technical grade glucose and recovered by pervaporation using a composite polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane prepared in our laboratory. Ethanol concentration in fermentation broth decreased to a relatively low level when pervaporation was coupled with fermentation. The more active cells appeared in the fermentation broth, the better the membrane performance was.

Separation of Sulfur/Gasoline Mixture with Polydimethylsiloxane/ Polyetherimide Composite Membranes by Pervaporatlon

Worldwide environment has resulted in a limit on the sulfur content of gasoline.It is urgent to investigate the desulfurization of gasoline.The polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)/polyetherimide(PEI)composite membranes were prepared by casting a PDMS solution onto porous PEI substrates and characterized by scanning electron microscope(SEM).The membranes were used for sulfur removal from gasoline by pervaporation.The effects of feed temperature,sulfur content in the feed and PDMS layer thickness on membrane performance were investigated,and an activation energy of permeation was obtained.Experimental results indicated that higher feed temperature yielded higher total flux and lower sulfur enrichment factor.The total flux varied little with the increase of sulfur content in the feed,but the sulfur enrichment factor first increased with the amount of thiophene added into the gasoline,and then the variation was little.The increase of PDMS layer thickness resulted in a smaller flux but a larger sulfur enrichment factor.The result indicates that the PDMS/PEI composite membranes are promising for desulfurization by pervaporation.

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) Composite Membrane Fabricated on the Inner Surface of a Ceramic Hollow Fiber: From Single-Channel to Multi-Channel

The fabrication of a separation layer on the inner surface of a hollow fiber (HF) substrate to form an HF composite membrane offers exciting opportunities for industrial applications, although challenges remain. This work reports on the fabrication of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite membrane on the inner surface of a single-channel or multi-channel ceramic HF via a proposed coating/crossflow approach. The nanostructures and transport properties of the PDMS HF composite membranes were optimized by controlling the polymer concentration and coating time. The morphology, surface chemistry, interfacial adhesion, and separation performance of the membranes were characterized by fieldemission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, the nano-indentation/scratch technique, and pervaporation (PV) recovery of bio-butanol, respectively. The formation mechanism for the deposition of the PDMS layer onto the inner surface of the ceramic HF was studied in detail. The optimized inner surface of the PDMS/ceramic HF composite membranes with a thin and defect-free separation layer exhibited a high flux of ~1800 gm-2h-1 and an excellent separation factor of 35–38 for 1 wt% n-butanol/water mixtures at 60
C. The facile coating/cross-flow methodology proposed here shows great potential for fabricating inner-surface polymer-coated HFs that have broad applications including membranes, adsorbents, composite materials, and more.

Comparison of Apical Leakage in Root Canal Obturation Using Bioceramic and Polydimethylsiloxane Sealer (<i>In Vitro</i>)

Background: One of the ideal properties of a root canal sealer is to have a good sealing ability, especially at the apical third of the root. Objective: To evaluate the comparison of the apical leakage between obturation using bioceramic sealer (BS) and polydimethylsiloxane sealer (PS). Materials and Methods: Thirty-six mandibular premolars were equally divided into two groups and were obturated with single cone technique. The sealers used for Group I and Group II were BS and PS respectively. After obturation, the samples were incubated (37&deg;C, 24 h), sealed with two coats of nail polish except for 2 mm from the apex, submerged in the Indian ink for 7 days, decalcified, dehydrated, and made transparent according to Robertson technique. Dye penetration was evaluated under stereomicroscope. Samples without dye penetration were given score 0, dye penetration ≤ 0.5 mm were given score 1, 0.51 - 1 mm were given score 2, and >1 mm were given score 3. Result: The largest proportion distribution in BS group was at the score 1 (55.6%), whereas in PS group was at the score 2 (44.4%). Conclusion: Bioceramic sealer showed similar apical leakage to polydimethylsiloxane sealer. Clinical Relevance: Based on this study, bioceramic sealer can be recommended to be used as sealer with low level of apical leakage as well as polydimethylsiloxane sealer.

Modeling of Pervaporation Separation Benzene from Dilute Aqueous Solutions Through Polydimethylsiloxane Membranes

A modified solution-diffusion model was established based on Flory-Huggins thermodynamic theory and Fujita's free volume theory. This model was used for description of the mass transfer of removal benzene from dilute aqueous solutions through polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membranes. The effect of component concentration on the interaction parameter between components, that of the polymer membrane on the selectivity to benzene, and that of feed concentration and temperature on the permeation flux and separation factor of benzene/water through PDMS membranes were investigated. Calculated pervaporation fluxes of benzene and water were compared with the experimental results and were in good agreement with the experimental data.

MHD graphene-polydimethylsiloxane Maxwell nanofluid flow in a squeezing channel with thermal radiation effects

The magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) graphene-polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanofluid flow between two squeezing parallel plates in the presence of thermal radiation effects is investigated. The energy efficiency of the system via the Bejan number is studied extensively. The governing partial differential equations are converted by using the similarity transformations into a set of coupled ordinary differential equations. The set of these converted equations is solved by using the differential transform method (DTM). The entropy generation in terms of the Bejan number, the coefficient of skin-friction, and the heat transfer rate is furthermore investigated under the effects of various physical parameters of interest. The present study shows that the Bejan number, the velocity and thermal profiles, and the rate of heat transfer decrease with a rise in the Deborah number De while the skin-friction coefficient increases. It is also observed that the entropy generation due to frictional forces is higher than that due to thermal effects. Thus, the study bears the potential application in powder technology as well as in biomedical engineering.

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF POLYDIMETHYLSILOXANE/POLYSTYRENE SEMIINTERPENETRATING POLYMER NETWORKS

The synthesis of pseudo- and semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) based on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polystyrene (PS) is described. IPNs were obtained by simultaneous and in situ sequential synthesis procedure. The preliminary studies on IPNs properties such as transition temperature, microphase separation and mechanical behaviors have been carried out by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental evidence clearly showed that semi-IPNs obtained by sequential synthesis procedure have higher interpenetrating extent than pseudo-IPNs synthesized by simultaneous procedure. Over the full composition, the PDMS/PS IPNs are immiscible. The pseudo-IPNs microphase separation can be greatly subdued through the formation of grafting bonds between two networks as well as the kinetic rate-matching of the individual network crosslinking.

Regulatable pervaporation performance of Zn-MOFs/polydimethylsiloxane mixed matrix pervaporation membranes

Pervaporation(PV)is an emerging separation technique for liquid mixture.Mixed matrix membranes(MMMs)often demonstrate trade-off relationship between separation factor and flux.In this study,by changing the organic linkers(2-methyl imidazolate,imidazole-2-carboxaldehyde,2-ethyl imidazolate),ZIF-8,ZIF-90 and MAF-6 were prepared and filled in polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS)membranes for dealcoholization of 5%(mass)n-butanol solution,and the membranes properties and pervaporation performances were adjusted.Compared with the pure PDMS membrane,the addition of ZIF-8 resulted in a 9%increase in flux(1136 g·m^(-2)·h^(-1))and a 22.5%increase in separation factor(28.3),displaying antitrade-off effect.For the MAF-6/PDMS MMMs(2.0%mass loading),the pervaporation separation index(PSI)and separation factor were 32347 g·m^(-2)·h^(-1) and 58.6 respectively(increased by 34%and 154%in contrast with that of the pure PDMS membrane),and the corresponding permeation flux was 552 g·m^(-2)·h^(-1),presenting great potential in the removal butanol from water.It was deduced that the large aperture size combined with moderate hydrophobicity of metal–organic frameworks(MOFs)favor the concurrent increase in permeability and selectivity.

A novel method for fabricating polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic chip master molds

We proposed a novel method of fabricating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic chip polymer master molds in this paper. The method mainly includes two steps. First, a stainless steel slice was laser etched to form a metal model. Then, the organic solution of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was casted onto the metal model to fabricate the PMMA master which subsequently would be used to fabricate PDMS chips. We systematically researched different laser parameters influencing the surface status of microchannels and obtained optimized etching parameters. We investigated and optimized the organic solution composition of PMMA while casting chip masters, and developed a method to form fine polymer masters using two different viscosity solutions to cast the model in turn, and studied the repeatable replication. Then, we investigated physical performance of this chip and evaluated the practicability by analyzing Rhodamine B. Compared with present methods, the proposed method does not need photolithography on photoresistant and chemical etching. The entire fabricating progress is simple, fast, low-cost and can be controlled easily. Only several minutes are required to make a metal model, 3 hours for a PMMA master, and one day for PDMS chips.