Jinggang Wang

Soft segment free thermoplastic polyester elastomers with high performance

A soft segment free thermoplastic polyester elastomer is fabricated by controlling the stereochemical structure of molecular chains with the utilization of the cis 1,4-cyclohexylene ring moiety (cis-CHRM) in poly(butylene 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) (PBC). PBC with 71% cis-CHRM exhibits good elasticity with shape recovery rates of 64% at 200% strain and 92% at break, tensile modulus, strength and elongation at break at 111 and 18 MPa and 1230%, respectively.

Hydrolysis behavior of regenerated celluloses with different degree of polymerization under microwave radiation

This work studied the hydrolysis behavior of regenerated celluloses (RCs) with different degree of polymerization (DP) by using the catalyst of dilute acid under microwave radiation. Results showed that the DP had a considerable influence on hydrolysis of cellulose. The reactivity of RCs was significantly improved when DP was lower than 51. The highest sugar yield of 59.2% was achieved from RC with lowest DP of 23 at 160 °C for 15 min. But the lowest yield of 32.6% was obtained when RC with highest DP of 132 was used. Recrystallization of cellulose was found to hinder the further hydrolysis particularly with the high DP. The effect of recrystallization can be reduced by the decrease of DP of RCs. This research demonstrates that the DP of RCs plays a crucial role on hydrolysis and it provides a preliminary guide based on DP to find a suitable pretreatment method for cellulose hydrolysis.

Synthesis of eugenol-based multifunctional monomers via a thiol–ene reaction and preparation of UV curable resins together with soybean oil derivatives

Two kinds of UV-curable monomers (EM2G and EM3G) were synthesized from eugenol via a thiol–ene reaction. Their chemical structures were confirmed by FT-IR, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR before they were employed to copolymerize with acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO). Bio-based UV curable resins were prepared and their thermal and mechanical properties were investigated by tensile testing and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). Their coating properties on tinplate were also studied. The results showed that the tensile strength, tensile modulus and glass transition temperatures of the cured AESO were significantly improved after the introduction of eugenol-based monomers. In addition, the UV-cured resins could be well coated on the surface of tinplate and good coating properties, such as hardness, flexibility, adhesion, solvent resistance and water absorption were demonstrated.

Responsive behavior of regenerated cellulose in hydrolysis under microwave radiation

This work studied the responsive behavior of regenerated cellulose (RC) in hydrolysis under microwave radiation. Four types of RC with different crystallinity (Cr) and degree of polymerization (DP) are produced to evaluate the reactivity of RC by step-by-step hydrolysis. Results show Cr is the key factor to affect the reactivity of RCs. With hydrolysis of amorphous region and the formation of recrystallization, the Cr of RC reaches a high value and thus weakens the reactivity. As a result, the increment of cellulose conversion and sugar yield gradually reduces. Decrease of the DP of RC is helpful to increase the speed at the onset of hydrolysis and produce high sugar yield. But, there is no direct influence with the reactivity of RC to prolong the time of pretreatment. This research provides an accurate understanding to guide the RC preparation for sugar formation with relative high efficiency under mild reaction conditions.

Role of cis-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid in the regulation of the structure and properties of a poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) copolymer

A unique non-planar ring structure 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (CHDA) is introduced to synthesize a poly(butylene adipate-co-butylene 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) (PBAC) copolyester. The impact of the stereochemistry of CHDA on the structure and properties of PBAC, especially the role of cis-CHDA in tuning the thermal, tensile and elastic properties of PBAC is explored in depth. Instead of considering PBAC as a diblock random copolymer consisting of poly(butylene adipate) (PBA) and poly(butylene 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylate) (PBC), our results reveal that PBAC can be considered as a random copolymer consisting of actually three blocks, namely PBA, a PBC unit with only trans-CHDA (trans-PBC), and PBC unit with only cis-CHDA (cis-PBC). The role of cis-CHDA is found to be rigid which initiates a high modulus and strength, and soft which results in a decreased melting temperature and increased elongation at break and elasticity.

Incorporation of 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid into poly(butylene terephthalate)-b-poly(tetramethylene glycol) to alter thermal properties without compromising tensile and elastic properties

Thermal and tensile properties of thermoplastic elastomers (e.g. poly(butylene terephthalate)-b-poly(tetramethylene glycol) (PBT–PTMG)) are usually tuned by changing the composition of hard and soft segment parts. Simply increasing the amount of soft segment results in a lower melting temperature and better elastic properties, but the thermal stability and tensile properties are inevitably sacrificed. In this work, by incorporation of an aliphatic ring structure (i.e. 1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid) (CHDA) to partially replace the aromatic ring (i.e. terephthalic acid) in PBT-PTMG, the properties of the material can be tuned in such a way that the melting temperature decreases, while the thermal stability, tensile and elastic properties are not compromised. Moreover, manipulation of the stereo-chemistry of the CHDA unit discloses the “elastic” nature of the non-planar ring structure. Samples with a greater amount of cis-CHDA tend to have better tensile and elastic properties compared with their trans-CHDA counterparts.

Synthesis of poly(butylene terephthalate)-poly(tetramethylene glycol) copolymers using terephthalic acid as starting material: A comparation between two synthetic strategies

Poly(butylene terephthalate)-poly(tetramethylene glycol) (PBT-PTMG) copolymer is prepared with terephthalic acid (PTA) rather than its dimethyl ester (DMT) as starting material by a two-step melt polycondensation. This process includes the synthesis of PBT prepolymer from PTA with 1,4-butanediol (BDO) in the first step, followed by the synthesis of PBT-PTMG copolymer from PBT prepolymer with PTMG in the second step. The molecular weight, composition as well as thermal and mechanical properties of the products from the two-step melt polycondensation are compared with the properties of the PBT-PTMG from the traditional one-step melt polycondensation. When the PTMG content is low, there is only slight difference in molecular weight, composition, thermal and mechanical properties among PBT-PTMG copolymers obtained from these two methods. However, when the PTMG content is high, only the two-step strategy is able to give high molecular weight products, and the products have comparable thermal and mechanical properties with those from traditional one-step strategy using DMT as starting material.

Activation of corn cellulose with alcohols to improve its dissolvability in fabricating ultrafine fibers via electrospinning

Water and four small molecular alcohols are respectively used to activate corn cellulose (CN cellulose) with the aim to improve the dissolvability in DMAc/LiCl. Among all these activated agents, monohydric alcohols are found to produce the optimal effect of activation in the whole process including of activating, dissolving, and electrospinning of CN cellulose. Meanwhile, well distributed fibers with the diameter of 500nm-2μm are fabricated in electrospinning. Understanding the activation effect of monohydric alcohols with water and polyhydric alcohols, the most effective activated agent is ascertained with the characteristics of small molecular size, low viscosity, and single functionality. This work is definitely initiated to understand the critical principle of CN cellulose in dissolving. Accordingly, a feasible methodology is also established to prepare ultrafine cellulose fibers with good morphology in electrospinning.

Copolyesters Based on 2,5-Furandicarboxylic Acid (FDCA): Effect of 2,2,4,4-Tetramethyl-1,3-Cyclobutanediol Units on Their Properties

Bio-based polyesters derived from 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), including poly (ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF), poly(propylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PPF), and poly(butylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PBF) have been synthesized and modified with 2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol (CBDO). Copolyesters with increased glass transition temperature, good barrier and better mechanical properties, as well as higher transparency were reported in this work. The chemical structures, composition, and sequence distribution of the copolyesters were determined by 1H NMR and 13C NMR. The degree of random (R) was close to 1 for all the copolyesters, indicating their random chemical structures. With the introduction of 10% CBDO units, the semi-crystalline PEF and PPF were changed into completely amorphous polyesters and the higher transparency was easily achieved. The glass transition temperature was increased from 87 °C for PEF to 91.1 °C for PETF-18, from 55.5 °C for PPF to 63.5 °C for PPTF-18, and from 39.0 °C for PBF to 43.5 °C for PBTF-18. The barrier properties investigation demonstrated that although the O2 and CO2 barrier of PEF/PPF/PBF were decreased by the addition of CBDO units, the modified copolyesters still showed good barrier properties.

Synthesis of polyurethane containing carbon–carbon double bonds to prepare functionalizable ultrafine fibers via electrospinning

Polyurethanes (TPUs) containing carbon–carbon double bonds are synthesized for use as novel materials with the ability to form functionalizable ultrafine fibers via electrospinning. By adjusting the molecular structure, a series of TPU products with different amounts of carbon–carbon double bonds are obtained. After investigating the reactivity of the TPU with 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctanethiol, all of the TPU samples exhibit effective functionalizability. The more carbon–carbon double bonds contained in the molecular structure, the stronger the functionalizability. Besides, these TPUs can easily form uniform ultrafine fibers via electrospinning. Upon comparison, the functionalizability of the electrospun fibers is similar to that observed in the bulk TPU materials. This work suggests a feasible methodology to produce a functionalized ultrafine fibrous carrier. Accordingly, TPU containing carbon–carbon double bonds is expected to be exploited as a fibrous carrier of solid catalysts in the future.