Haiyang Ding

Development and characterization of ricinoleic acid-based sulfhydryl thiol and ethyl cellulose blended membranes

Ethyl cellulose (EC) membranes can be combined with efficient plasticizers derived from renewable resources to form supramolecular systems. In this paper, a novel ricinoleic acid-based sulfhydryl triol (STRA) was first synthesized and used as a plasticizer for EC membranes. A supramolecular membrane of EC and STRA using van der Waals forces was designed. The morphology, hydrophilic performance, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. While pure EC is brittle, its membrane ductility and hydrophilic performance can be improved by integration with STRA. The highest tensile strength was found in EC/STRA (90/10) (8.37MPa). Impressively, the EC/STRA(60/40) and EC/STRA(50/50) elongation at break values were 17.4 and 20.2 times higher, respectively, than that of pure EC. This novel ricinoleic acid-based sulfhydryl triol can be used as a feedstock for hydrophobic EC membranes.

Plasticization and thermal behavior of hydroxyl and nitrogen rich group-containing tung-oil-based ester plasticizers for PVC

Hydroxyl and nitrogen rich group-containing tung-oil-based ester (GEHTMA-1, GEHTMA-2, GEHTMA-3 and GEHTMA-4) plasticizers were successfully synthesized from tung-maleic anhydride and utilized to plasticize poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC). In comparison to petroleum-based plasticizers (e.g. DOTP), the mechanical test shows that bio-based GEHTMA-3 displays better mechanical properties, which means that GEHTMA-3 could endow PVC resins with well-balanced properties of flexibility and strength. With the addition of GEHTMA-3 into DOTP, PVC/DOTP/GEHTMA-3 exhibits better mechanical properties, plasticization performance, migration resistance and thermal stability compared with the PVC/DOTP system. Above all, PVC/28DOTP/12GEHTMA-3 shows the highest tensile strength and elongation of 32.19 MPa and 345.20%, respectively. PVC/32DOTP/8GEHTMA-3 displays the best thermal stability. The superior performance is attributed to the molecular interaction of GEHTMA-3 and DOTP with PVC. The interaction originates from the simultaneous introduction of hydroxyl, epoxy, benzene ring, ester and nitrogen rich groups into GEHTMA-3 structures. Besides, GEHTMA-3 presented good miscibility with PVC resins, particularly when a mixture of DOTP and GEHTMA-3 was used. In addition, possible plasticization of the PVC/DOTP/GEHTMA-3 system was presented.