Yuzhi Xu

Preparation and characterization of phenolic foams with eco-friendly halogen-free flame retardant

The high solid resol phenolic resin was prepared via step polymerization of formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde, and phenol using sodium hydroxide and calcium oxide as catalysts, and employed to prepare the phenolic foams (PFs) by the introduction of retardant additives including eco-friendly halogen-free flame retardants (ammonium polyphosphate), char-forming agents (pentaerythritol), and synergists (zinc oxide, molybdenum trioxide, cuprous chloride, and stannous chloride). The effects of these additives on flame retardancy, heat resistance, and fire properties of flame-retardant composite phenolic foams (FRCPFs) were evaluated by limiting oxygen index (LOI) tests, thermogravimetric analyzer, and cone calorimeter tests. It was found that the flame retardan significantly increased the LOIs of FRCPFs. Compared with PF, heat release rate, total heat release, effective heat of combustion, production or yield of carbon monoxide (COP or COY), and Oxygen consumption (O2C) of FRCPFs all remarkably decreased. However specific extinction area and total smoke release significantly increased, which agreed with the gas-phase mechanism of the flame-retardant system. The results indicate that FRCPFs have excellent fire-retardant performance and less smoke release. APP/PER/ZnO is shown to be better flame-retardant system for PFs.

Lignin and soy oil-derived polymeric biocomposites by “grafting from” RAFT polymerization

“Grafting from” RAFT polymerization was carried out on lignin using three soybean oil-derived methacrylate monomers toward sustainable biocomposites. These grafted biocomposites showed structure-dependent thermal and mechanical properties. The presence of hydrogen bonding between secondary amides resulted in grafted copolymers with much higher glass transition temperature and different tensile behaviors. Epoxy resins prepared from epoxide-containing grafted polymers exhibited much tougher mechanical properties compared with uncured biocomposites.

Preparation and characterization of lignin based macromonomer and its copolymers with butyl methacrylate

Copolymerization of butyl methacrylate (BMA) with biobutanol lignin (BBL) was achieved by free-radical polymerization (FRP) using a lignin-based macromonomer. The lignin-based macromonomer containing acrylic groups was prepared by reacting acryloyl chloride with biobutanol lignin using triethylamine (TEA) as absorb acid agentin. From the results of elemental analysis and GPC, the average degree of polymerization (DP) of BBL was estimated to be five. A detailed molecular characterization has been performed, including techniques such as (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and UV-vis spectroscopies, which provided quantitative information about the composition of the copolymers. The changes in the solubility of lignin-g-poly(BMA) copolymers in ethyl ether were dependent on the length of poly(BMA) side chain. TGA analysis indicated that the lignin-containing poly(BMA) graft copolymers exhibited high thermal stability. The bulky aromatic group of lignin increased the glass-transition temperature of poly(BMA). In order to confirm the main structure of copolymer, (AC-g-BBL)-co-BMA copolymer was also synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), and the results revealed that the copolymer prepared by ATRP had the same solution behavior as that prepared by FRP, and the lignin-based macromonomer showed no homopolymerizability due to the steric hindrance. In addition, the lignin-co-BMA copolymer had a surprisingly higher molecular weight than poly(BMA) under the same reaction condition, suggesting that a branched lignin based polymer could be formed.

Preparation and characterization of acorn starch/poly(lactic acid) composites modified with functionalized vegetable oil derivates

Composites of acorn starch (AS) and poly(1actic acid) (PLA) modified with dimer fatty acid (DFA) or dimer fatty acid polyamide (DFAPA) were produced by a hot-melt extrusion method. The effects of DFA and DFAPA contents on the mechanical, hydrophobic, thermal properties and melt fluidity of the composites were studied under an invariable AS-to-PLA mass ratio of 40/60. SEM and DMA research results show that the compatibility of AS/PLA composites are determined by the dosage of DFA or DFAPA. The hydrophobicity and melt fluidity of composites are improved with the addition of DFA and DFAPA. The glass transition temperatures of the composites are all reduced remarkably by additives DFA and DFAPA. However, DFA and DFAPA exert different effects on the mechanical properties of AS/PLA composites. In the DFAPA-modified system, the tensile and flexural strength first increase and then decrease with the increase of DFAPA dosage; the mechanical strength is maximized when the dosage of DFAPA is 2 wt% of total weight. In the DFA-modified system, the tensile and flexural strength decrease with the increase of DFA dosage.

Combination of lignin and l-lactide towards grafted copolymers from lignocellulosic butanol residue

A series of BBL-graft-poly (L-lactide) copolymers were synthesized via ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of L-lactide (L-LA) with a biobutanol lignin (BBL) initiator and a triazabicyclodecene (TBD) catalyst under free-solvent at 135 °C. By manipulating the mass ratio of BBL/LLA, BBL-g-PLLA copolymers with tunable number-average molecular weight (Mn) (2544-7033 g mol(-1)) were obtained. The chemical structure of PLLA chains was identifiable by FT-IR, (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR spectroscopies, in combination with UV-vis spectra to provide support for the existence of the BBL in the copolymer. This provided solid evidence for the successful synthesis of BBL-g-PLLA copolymer. The thermal properties and surface characterization of BBL-g-PLLA copolymers were different from those of linear PLLA. Furthermore, the BBL-g-PLLA copolymer film showed good absorption capacity in the UV region and high transparency in the visible light region, which was expected to find significant applications in UV-protective coating film.

Fabrication of polyacrylate core–shell nanoparticles via spray drying method

Fine polyacrylate particles are thought to be environmental plastisols for car industry. However, these particles are mainly dried through demulsification of the latexes, which is not reproducible and hard to be scaled up. In this work, a spray drying method had been applied to the plastisols-used acrylate latex. By adjusting the core/shell ratio, spray drying process of the latex was fully studied. Scanning electronic microscopy observation of the nanoparticles before and after spray drying indicated that the core–shell structures could be well preserved and particles were well separated by spray drying if the shell was thick enough. Otherwise, the particles fused into each other and core–shell structures were destroyed. Polyacrylate plastisols were developed using diisononylphthalate as a plasticizer, and plastigels were obtained after heat treatment of the sols. Results showed that the shell thickness also had a great influence on the storage stability of the plastisols and mechanical properties of the plastigels.Graphical Abstract