• Clean Technology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.24-31
• /
• 2022

Petroleum-based plastics are used for various purposes and pose a significant threat to the earth's environment and ecosystem. Many efforts have been taken globally in different areas to find alternatives. As part of these efforts, this study manufactured alginate-based polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blended films by casting from an aqueous solution prepared by mixing 10 wt% petroleum-based PVA with biodegradable, marine biomass-derived alginate. Glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linking agent, and cardanol, an alkyl phenol-based bio-oil extracted from cashew nut shell, was added in the range of 0.1 to 2.0 wt% to grant antibacterial activity to the films. FTIR and TGA were performed to characterize the manufactured blended films, and the tensile strength, degree of swelling, and antibacterial activity were measured. Results obtained from the FTIR, TGA, and tensile strength test showed that alginate, the main component, was well distributed in the PVA by forming a matrix phase. The brittleness of alginate, a known weakness as a single component, and the low thermal durability of PVA were improved by cross-linking and hydrogen bonding of the functional groups between alginate and PVA. Addition of cardanol to the alginate-based PVA blend significantly improved the antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. The antibacterial performance was excellent with a death rate of 98% or higher for S. aureus and about 70% for E. coli at a contact time of 60 minutes. The optimal antibacterial activity of the alginate-PVA blended films was found with a cardanol content range between 0.1 to 0.5 wt%. These results show that cardanol-containing alginate-PVA blended films are suitable for use as various antibacterial materials, including as food packaging.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
• /
• v.60 no.4
• /
• pp.588-593
• /
• 2022

Terephthalaldehyde (TPA) is introduced as a cross liker to enhance electron transfer of hemin-based cathodic catalyst consisting of polyethyleneimine (PEI), carbon nanotube (CNT) for hydrogen peroxide reduction reaction (HPRR). In the cyclic voltammetry (CV) test with 10 mM H₂O₂ in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.4), the current density for HPRR of the suggested catalyst (CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/TPA) shows 0.2813 mA cm^-2 (at 0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl), which is 2.43 and 1.87 times of non-cross-linked (CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI) and conventional cross liker (glutaraldehyde, GA) used catalyst (CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/GA), respectively. In the case of onset potential for HPRR, that of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/TPA is observed at 0.544 V, while those of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI and CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/GA are 0.511 and 0.471 V, respectively. These results indicate that TPA plays a role in facilitating electron transfer between the electrodes and substrates due to the π-conjugated cross-linking bonds, whereas conventional GA cross-linker increases the overpotential by interrupting electron and mass transfer. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) results also display the same tendency. The charge transfer resistance (R_ct) of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/TPA decreases about 6.2% from that of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI, while CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/GA shows the highest R_ct. The polarization curve using each catalyst also supports the superiority of TPA cross liker. The maximum power density of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/TPA (36.34±1.41 μWcm^-2) is significantly higher than those of CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI (27.87±0.95 μWcm^-2) and CNT/PEI/hemin/PEI/GA (25.57±1.32 μWcm^-2), demonstrating again that the cathode using TPA has the best performance in HPRR.