Vladimir Djoković

Thermal and mechanical properties of cross-linked and uncross- linked linear low-density polyethylene-wax blends

Abstract The influence of the wax content and different concentrations of the crosslinking agent on the thermal and mechanical properties of linear low-density polyethylene–wax blends has been investigated. It was found that an increase in wax content induces an increase in elastic modulus and yield stress of the blends. This is a consequence of the higher crystallinity of the blends in the presence of a higher amount of wax. The average tie chain concentration in the blends is estimated in order to explain detrimental effects of the wax on the ultimate properties. A significant correlation was found between stress and strain at break and the concentration of tie chains. Cross-linking improves the ultimate properties of the blends and pure polyethylene. On the other hand, because of its low molecular weight, thermal stability decreases with an increase in wax content and this trend remains unchanged after crosslinking.

Adsorption of sulfur onto a surface of silver nanoparticles stabilized with sago starch biopolymer.

Adsorption of sulfide ions onto a surface of starch capped silver nanoparticles upon addition of thioacetamide was investigated. UV-vis absorption spectroscopy revealed that the adsorption of the sulfide ion on the surface of the silver nanoparticles induced damping as well as blue shift of the silver surface plasmon resonance band. Further increase in thioacetamide concentration led to shift of the resonance band toward higher wavelengths indicating the formation of the continuous Ag2S layer on the silver surface. Thus fabricated nanoparticles were investigated using electron microscopy techniques (TEM, HRTEM, and HAADF-STEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which confirmed their core-shell structure.

Stress relaxation in hematite nanoparticles‐polystyrene composites

The viscoelastic behavior of a polystyrene matrix filled with hematite nanoparticles was investigated using the stress relaxation method. An increase in the elastic moduli of the composites, as well as in the magnitude of stress relaxation was found with increasing content of the inorganic phase. The obtained results are discussed in terms of a one-process model.

Characterization of polystyrene filled with HgS nanoparticles

A polystyrene (PS)–HgS nanocomposite has been synthesized by first preparing a copolymer of styrene and mercury–acrylamide (5% by weight) and further reaction of it with H2S in chloroform solution. The effect of the HgS nanoparticles on the physical properties of the composite has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The glass transition temperature of the composite is 20 jC higher than that of polystyrene. The thermal stability of the composite is higher than that of polystyrene as evidenced by the shift of onset temperature of degradation by 12 jC as measured by TGA. D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ferroelectric nanocomposites of polyvinylidene fluoride/polymethyl methacrylate blend and BaTiO3 particles: Fabrication of β-crystal polymorph rich matrix through mechanical activation of the filler

Nanocomposites of polyvinylidene fluoride/polymethyl methacrylate (PVDF/PMMA) blend and mechanically activated barium titanate (BaTiO3) particles were prepared by melt mixing. Modification of filler by means of mechanical activation has a profound effect on the crystallization of PVDF in the blend matrix. Raman analysis showed that the modified BaTiO3 particles, due to higher specific surfaces, induce, predominantly, the crystallization of the electrically active β-phase of PVDF, while the initial micron size particles induce the formation of the most common but non-polar α-crystal form. The introduction of activated particles reduces the overall crystallinity but slightly affects the crystallization and melting temperatures of the matrix. Dielectric spectroscopy revealed that at fixed filler content the dielectric constant of the blend increases with decreasing of the particle size (increasing of the activation time). A similar trend was observed for the storage moduli in dynamic mechanical analysis; the...

ZnO-modified cellulose fiber sheets for antibody immobilization.

Cellulose fiber sheets impregnated with saccharide capped-ZnO nanoparticles were used as bioactive materials for antibody immobilization. First, ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized in the presence of glucose (monosaccharide), sucrose (disaccharide) as well as alginic acid and starch (polysaccharides). The pine cellulose fibers were then modified by the obtained saccharide capped nanoparticles and further incorporated into the sheets. The presence of ZnO significantly improved the immobilization of the antibodies on the surface of the sheets. After rewetting the alginic acid-ZnO modified sheets with saline solution, the retention of antibodies was about 95%. A high degree of the immobilization of biomolecules is an important feature for possible fabrications of bioactive- or biosensing-papers and we successfully tested the sheets on the detection of blood types using (A, B, and D blood antibodies). The ZnO nanoparticles affected also the other properties of the sheets. The ZnO-modified fiber sheets showed higher values of tensile index (strength), smoothness and opacity, while the value of porosity was substantially lower than that of the unmodified sheet. The presence of ZnO nanoparticles provided also the antimicrobial activity to the sheets. They showed a strong activity against bacteria (Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus) and strong resistance to the attack of cellulase producing fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum.

Viscoelastic properties and antimicrobial activity of cellulose fiber sheets impregnated with Ag nanoparticles

A silver nanoparticle colloid was prepared by a modified Tollens method using d-glucose as the reduction agent. The obtained nanoparticles were used for the modification of pine, linter and recycled cellulose fibers. Although the silver contents were relatively low (0.05-0.13 wt.%), the cellulose-sheets prepared from the modified fibers show improved mechanical and viscoelastic properties. The tensile index (strength) increased with up to 30% in comparison to the index of the sheets obtained from the untreated fibers. The influence of the nanoparticles on the viscoelastic properties of the cellulose sheets was investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) in the temperature range from -120 to 20 °C and with a force frequency of 100 Hz. A broad relaxation transition positioned at -80 °C was observed in the loss modulus spectrum of all the cellulose sheets, while the Ag-modified sheets exhibited higher storage moduli values in the whole temperature range. The antimicrobial activity tests show that the pine, silver and recycled cellulose fiber sheets with silver nanoparticles can be successfully employed to prevent the viability and growth of the common pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans.

Biopolymer-protected CdSe nanoparticles.

A synthetic procedure for the encapsulation of cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanoparticles in a sago starch matrix is introduced. The nanocomposite was investigated using structural, spectroscopic, and thermal methods. TEM micrographs of the nanocomposite showed spherical CdSe particles of 4-5 nm in size coated with a biopolymer layer. The absorption edges of both the aqueous solution and the thin film of the CdSe-starch nanocomposite were shifted toward lower wavelengths in comparison to the value of the bulk semiconductor. Infrared measurements revealed that the interaction of CdSe nanoparticles and starch chains takes place via OH groups. Although the onset of the temperature of decomposition of CdSe-starch nanocomposite is lower than that of the pure matrix, thermogravimetric analysis also showed that introduction of CdSe nanoparticles significantly reduced starch degradation rate leading to high residual mass at the end of the degradation process.

Conduction of heat in inhomogeneous solids

In this letter we present a method for calculation of linear heat flow in inhomogeneous solids. The method is based on the evaluation of transfer matrices for each layer in a multilayered structure from the Laplace transformation of the partial differential equation of heat conduction. The multilayered structure is then described by a matrix obtained as a chain of products of individual layer transfer matrices and corresponding boundary thermal resistivity matrices. The analytic expression for the nth power of the multilayered transfer matrix is found, describing a periodic multilayered structure composed of n equal multilayered structures. The application of the presented method for calculation of photothermal signals is also shown. Dispersion relation for the thermal waves in inhomogeneous solids is obtained from the matrix elements of the transfer matrix. Finally, from the dispersion relation explicit expressions for the effective values of thermal diffusivity and conductivity of both the discontinuously and continuously inhomogeneous solids are evaluated.

Inhibition of Microbial Growth by Silver–Starch Nanocomposite Thin Films

A sago starch biopolymer with embedded silver nanoparticles has been studied as a material for the prevention of microbial growth. Approximately 8 nm in size, silver nanoparticles have been synthesized by reduction of the silver salt in aqueous solution in the presence of sago starch using sodium borohydride as a reducing agent. The obtained solutions were cast on glass plates to obtain thin supported silver–starch nanocomposite films. The morphology of the nanocomposites was investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy showed that during the film formation a part of the silver nanoparticles has been trapped in the water present in the sample, which enabled their partial oxidation into active Ag+ species. The oxidation of the silver nanoparticles was confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The antimicrobial activity tests have shown that the nanocomposite material can be successfully employed to prevent the viability and growth of the common pathogens Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans.