• Composites Research
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.126-131
• /
• 2023

Growing environmental concerns regarding pollution caused by conventional plastics have increased interest in biodegradable polymers as alternative materials. The purpose of this study is to develop a 100% biodegradable nanocomposite material by introducing organic nucleating agents into the biodegradable and thermoplastic resin, poly(lactic acid), to improve its properties. Accordingly, cellulose nanofibers, an eco-friendly material, were adopted as a substitute for inorganic nucleating agents. To achieve a uniform dispersion of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) within PLA, the aqueous solution of nanofibers was lyophilized to maintain their fibrous shape. Then, they were subjected to primary mixing using a twin-screw extruder. Test specimens with double mixing were then produced by injection molding. Differential scanning calorimetry was employed to confirm the reinforced physical properties, and it was found that the addition of 1 wt% CNFs acted as a reinforcing material and nucleating agent, reducing the cold crystallization temperature by approximately 14℃ and increasing the degree of crystallization. This study provides an environmentally friendly alternative for developing plastic materials with enhanced properties, which can contribute to a sustainable future without consuming inorganic nucleating agents. It serves as a basis for developing 100% biodegradable green nanocomposites.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.34 no.6
• /
• pp.674-678
• /
• 2023

The effect of Pt was investigated to the catalytic methane decomposition of CH₄ to H₂ over Pt(1)-Fe(30)/MCM-41 and Fe(30)/MCM-41 using a fixed bed flow reactor under atmosphere. The Fe₂O₃ and Pt crystal phase behavior of fresh Pt(1)-Fe(30)/MCM-41 were obtained via XRD analysis. SEM, EDS analysis, and mapping were performed to show the uniformed distribution of nano particles such as Fe, Pt, Si, O on the catalyst surface. XPS results showed O^2-, O^- species and metal ions such as Pt⁰, Pt²⁺, Pt⁴⁺, Ft⁰, Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺ etc. When 1 wt% of Pt was added to Fe(30)/MCM-41, automic percentage of Fe2p increased from 13.39% to 16.14%, and Pt4f was 1.51%. The yield of hydrogen over Pt(1)-Fe(30)/MCM-41 was 3.2 times higher than Fe(30)/MCM-41. The spillover effect of H₂ from Pt to Fe increased the reduction of Fe particles and moderate interaction of Fe, Pt and MCM-41 increased the uniform dispersion of fine nanoparticles on the catalyst surface, and improved hydrogen yield.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF PACKAGING SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.63-72
• /
• 2024

Poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) is one of the representative biodegradable polymers with high ductility and processability to replace petroleum-based polymers. Many investigations have been conducted to broaden the applications of PBAT in a variety of industries, including the food packaging, agricultural mulching film, and logistics and distribution fields. Foaming process is widely known technique to generate the cell structure within the polymer matrix, offering the insulation and light weight properties. However, there was no commercially feasible foam product based on biodegradable polymers, especially PBAT, and maintaining a proper melt viscosity of the polymer would be a key parameter for the foaming process. In this study, chemical foaming agent and cross-linking agent were introduced to PBAT, and a compression molding process was applied to prepare a foam sheet. The correlation between cell morphological structures and mechanical and physical properties was evaluated. It was found that PBAT with foam structures effectively reduced the density and thermal conductivity, allowing them to be suitable for applications such as insulation and lightweight packaging or cushion materials.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.258-265
• /
• 2009

An anionic polyurethane dispersions (PUDs) were synthesized from the poly (tetramethylene glycol) (PTMG, Mw = 2000 g/mol), mixed isocyanate of dicyclohexylmethane-4,4'-diisocyanate $(H_{12}-MDI)$ and 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), and dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) as anionic site, following a prepolymer mixing process. Triethylamine (TEA) was used as a neutralization agent and the ethylenediamine (EDA) as the chain extender of the prepolymer. The effects of the DMPA molar ratio and aromatic diisocyanate content in the mixed isocyanate on the particle size and viscosity of PUD were studied. Also, the mechanical and thermal properties of the PUD cast films were discussed according to the molar ratio of DMPA and aromatic isocyanate content. It was found that the particle size and the viscosity of an anionic PUD decreased with increasing DMPA molar ratio but increased with increasing aromatic isocyanate (MDI) content in the mixed isocyanate at the constant DMPA content. Tensile strength of the PUD cast films increased and elongation at break decreased with increasing DMPA content at the constant mixed isocyanate molar ratios. In thermal degradation temperature of PUD cast films, the effect of DMPA contents was great but the effect of aromatic isocyanate contents at the low DMPA content was very slight respectively.

• Polymer(Korea)
• /
• v.39 no.1
• /
• pp.88-98
• /
• 2015

4-Amino-N-hexadecylbenzamide-graphene sheets (AHB-GSs), used in the preparation of the polyimide (PI) nanocomposite films, were synthesized by mixing a dispersion of graphite oxide with a solution of the ammonium salt of AHB. The atomic force microscope image of functionalized-GS on mica and a profile plot revealed the average thickness of AHB-GS to be ~3.21 nm. PI films were synthesized by reacting 4,4'-biphthalic anhydride and bis(4-aminophenyl) sulfide. PI nanocomposite films containing various contents of AHB-GS over the range of 0-10 wt% were synthesized using the solution intercalation method. The PI nanocomposite films under different thermal imidization temperatures, 250 and $350^{\circ}C$, were examined. The graphenes, for the most part, were well dispersed in the polymer matrix despite some agglomeration. However, micrometer-scale particles were not detected. The average thickness of the particles was <10 nm, as revealed from the transmission electron microscope images. Only a small amount of AHB-GS was required to improve the gas barrier, and electrical conductivity. In contrast, the glass transition and initial decomposition temperatures of the PI hybrid films continued to decrease with increasing content of AHB-GS up to 10 wt%. In general, the properties of the PI hybrid films heat treated at $350^{\circ}C$ were better than those of films heat treated at $250^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.5-11
• /
• 2016

$MWCNT-TiO_2$ nano composites and $Ag-MWCNT-TiO_2$ nano composites were prepared from Multi-Walled Carbon NanoTube (MWCNT), titanium (IV) butoxide (TNB) solution and silver nitrate ($AgNO_3$) by the sol-gel method. The dispersion and structure of Ag in the synthesized composites was observed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Field Emission Transmission Electron Microscopy (FE-TEM). X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns of the composites showed that the composites contained an anatase phase. The Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) showed the presence of C, O, Ti and Ag peaks. The $TiO_2$ particles were distributed uniformly in the MWCNT network, and Ag particles were virtually fixed on the surface of the tubes. Also decomposition of the methylene blue was investigated according to UV radiation times for study photocatalytic activity. $Ag-MWCNT-TiO_2$ nano composites show high photodegradation than $MWCNT-TiO_2$ nano composites. The results indicate that the high conductivity of Ag improved the photoactivity of the $MWCNT-TiO_2$ composite.

• Journal of the Korean Applied Science and Technology
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.702-708
• /
• 2018

Hydrogels are natural polymer networks that can contain huge quantities of water and many cosmetical ingredients. Their hydrophilic functional groups creates a matrix, which allows high efficacy in delivering active ingredients into the skin. In industry, hydrating properties and strength of the hydrogels are of great interest in manufacturing hydrogel mask packs. We have used the cellulose in various forms such as powder, cotton fiber and cellulase treated cotton fiber to investigate the property changes of cellulose/hydrogel sheets. When 0.1% and 0.3% of cellulose powder were added to hydrogels, tensile strength of hydrogel sheets were decreased by 10% and 14% respectively. Vise versa, when 0.5 ~ 2 cm of cotton fibers were added, tensile strength of hydrogel sheets were significantly increased by about 20%. The hydrogels which contain cotton fibers also gave an excellent moisturizing effect. Especially cellolose/hydrogels containing cellulase-treated cotton fibers showed the best effect on retaining moisture content increasing upto 380% in comparison with the one containing untreated cotton as well as excellent dispersibility.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
• /
• v.27 no.6
• /
• pp.651-656
• /
• 2005

Toluene, which is emitted from textile process, is considered as an important hazardous air pollutant. In this study, the catalytic activity of transition metal oxides(Cu, Mn, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Ce, Sn, Fe, Sr, Cs, Mo, La, W, Zn)/${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ catalysts was investigated to carry out the complete oxidation of toluene. The metal catalysts were characterized by XRD-ray diffraction), FE-SEM(Field Emission Scanning Electron Micrograph), BET(Brunauer Emmett Teller) method and TPR(Temperature Programmed Reduction). Among the catalysts, Cu/${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ was highly promising catalyst for the oxidation of toluene. From the BET results, it seems that the catalytic activity is not correlated to the specific surface area. XRD results indicated that most of catalysts exist as amorphous phase. From the FE-SEM results, it was observed that copper on ${\gamma}-Al_2O_3$ surface was well dispersed among catalysts. The catalytic activity for the toluene oxidation could be explained with that metal oxide catalyst was dispersed well over supports and was attributed to reduction activity in surface of catalysts.

• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.68-77
• /
• 2008

We have developed an inversion algorithm for loop-loop electromagnetic (EM) data, based on the localised non-linear or extended Born approximation to the solution of the 2.5D integral equation describing an EM scattering problem. Source and receiver configuration may be horizontal co-planar (HCP) or vertical co-planar (VCP). Both multi-frequency and multi-separation data can be incorporated. Our inversion code runs on a PC platform without heavy computational load. For the sake of stable and high-resolution performance of the inversion, we implemented an algorithm determining an optimum spatially varying Lagrangian multiplier as a function of sensitivity distribution, through parameter resolution matrix and Backus-Gilbert spread function analysis. Considering that the different source-receiver orientation characteristics cause inconsistent sensitivities to the resistivity structure in simultaneous inversion of HCP and VCP data, which affects the stability and resolution of the inversion result, we adapted a weighting scheme based on the variances of misfits between the measured and calculated datasets. The accuracy of the modelling code that we have developed has been proven over the frequency, conductivity, and geometric ranges typically used in a loop-loop EM system through comparison with 2.5D finite-element modelling results. We first applied the inversion to synthetic data, from a model with resistive as well as conductive inhomogeneities embedded in a homogeneous half-space, to validate its performance. Applying the inversion to field data and comparing the result with that of dc resistivity data, we conclude that the newly developed algorithm provides a reasonable image of the subsurface.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
• /
• v.32 no.3
• /
• pp.249-264
• /
• 2011

A multi-Gaussian kriging approach extended to space-time domain is presented for uncertainty modeling as well as time-series mapping of environmental variables. Within a multi-Gaussian framework, normal score transformed environmental variables are first decomposed into deterministic trend and stochastic residual components. After local temporal trend models are constructed, the parameters of the models are estimated and interpolated in space. Space-time correlation structures of stationary residual components are quantified using a product-sum space-time variogram model. The ccdf is modeled at all grid locations using this space-time variogram model and space-time kriging. Finally, e-type estimates and conditional variances are computed from the ccdf models for spatial mapping and uncertainty analysis, respectively. The proposed approach is illustrated through a case of time-series Particulate Matter 10 ($PM_{10}$) concentration mapping in Incheon Metropolitan city using monthly $PM_{10}$ concentrations at 13 stations for 3 years. It is shown that the proposed approach would generate reliable time-series $PM_{10}$ concentration maps with less mean bias and better prediction capability, compared to conventional spatial-only ordinary kriging. It is also demonstrated that the conditional variances and the probability exceeding a certain thresholding value would be useful information sources for interpretation.