• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.73-79
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• 2002

Nanoscaled PVA fibers were prepared by electrospinning. This paper described the electrospinning process, the processing conditions fiber morphology, and some potential applications of the PVA nato-fibers. PVA fibers with various diameters (50-250 nm) were obtained by changing solution concentration, voltage and tip to collector distance (TCD). The major factor was the concentration of PVA solution which affected the fiber diameter evidently. Increasing the concentration, the fiber diameter was increased, and the amount of beads was reduced even to 0%. The fibers were found be efficiently crosslinked by glyoxal during the curing process. Phosphoric acid was used as a catalyst activator to reduce strength losses during crosslinking. Scanning electron micrograph (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) techniques were employed to characterize the morphology and crosslinking of PVA fibers. It was fecund that the primary factor which affected the crosslinking density was the content of chemical crosslinking agent.

• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.323-327
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• 2006

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) composite films were prepared by casting a DMSO solution of PVA and MWNTs, whereby the MWNTs were dispersed by sonication. A significant improvement in the mechanical properties of the PVA drawn films was achieved by the addition of a small amount of MWNTs. The initial modulus and the tensile strength of the PVA drawn film increased by 30 % and 45 %, respectively, with the addition of 1 wt% MWNTs, which are close to those calculated from the rule of mixtures, and were strongly dependent upon the orientation of the PVA matrix. The mechanical properties, however, were not improved with a further increase in the MWNT content. The orientation of MWNTs in the composite was not well developed compared to that of the PVA matrix. This result suggests that the improvement of the molecular orientation of the PVA matrix plays a major role in the increase of the mechanical propeties of the drawn PVA/MWNT composite films.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.405-412
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• 2003

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and N-(2-hydroxy)propyl-3-trimethylammonium chitosan chloride (HTCC), a water soluble chitosan derivative synthesized by the reaction of quaternary ammonium compound with chitosan, were blended using water as a solvent and the PVA/HTCC blend films with various compositions were prepared by solution casting method. The miscibility between the two polymers and the thermal properties of the blend films were investigated using FT-IR, DSC, DMA, and TGA. Single glass transition temperatures and single melting temperatures of the blend films along with the strong and clear film state for the whole composition of blending ratios suggest the miscibility between PVA and HTCC. The PVA/HTCC blend films with HTCC content of 1% and greater showed excellent antimicrobial activity.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2008.05a
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• pp.51-57
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• 2008

Mixed matrix membranes of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), loaded with phosphomolybdic heteropolyacid (HPA) and crosslinked with glutaraldehyde have been prepared by the solution casting technique. Pervaporation (PV) experiments have been performed at $30^{\circ}C$ to separate water-isopropanol feed mixtures containing 10 to 40 wt.% of water. The membranes were characterized by DSC and DMTA to understand their thermal behavior and mechanical strength properties. At high content (i.e. 7 wt.% with respect to weight of PVA) of HPA, the mixed matrix membranes could extract water efficiently on the permeate side with a selectivity of 90,000 and a flux of 0.032 $kg/m^2h$ for 10 wt.% of water containing feed mixture (the lowest feed composition of water studied). Flux of the mixed matrix membranes decreased with increasing concentrations of HPA.

• Macromolecular Research
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.476-482
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• 2009

The crystallization behavior of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) in the presence and absence of polypyrrole nanoparticles (PPy NPs) was investigated in terms of the heterogeneous nucleation effect of PPy NPs using FTIR, X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimeter and polarized optical microscope analysis. PPy NPs were prepared by dispersion polymerization method stabilized by PVA in aqueous solution. A polymer nanocomposite with uniform dispersity could be readily obtained due to the enhanced compatibility between the filler and matrix. Compared with the PPy NP-absent PVA, the PPy NP/PVA nanocomposite exhibited an enhanced degree of crystallinity. The degree of crystallinity increased up to 17% at the PPy NP concentration of 1 wt%, compared to the pristine PVA. The PPy NP acted as an effective nucleating agent during the crystallization process, thereby enhancing the degree and rate of crystallization. The kinetics study of the crystallization also revealed the decreased value of the Avrami coefficient in the case of the PPy NP/PVA nanocomposite.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.30 no.6
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• pp.563-567
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• 2006

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and gelatin (GEL) blend membranes were prepared by solution casting method under a high electric field. SEM observation of the membrane showed that gelatin rich domains were elongated and oriented to the direction of the applied electric field in PVA matrix. This can be attributed to the electrostatic emulsifying effects due to a reduction in interfacial tension. In addition, it was observed through WAXD and swelling measurements that the degree of crystallinity of membranes increased with applied electric field strength. This may be interpreted to be caused by the orientation effect of GEL domains in the blend membrane, and the self-annealing effect due to some heat generated from high electric field during casting.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.276-284
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• 2014

In this study, a hydrophobic polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane was modified by coating neutral hydrophilic poly(vinyl alcohol). The flux of pure water was measured and then fouling test was conducted with bovin serum albumin (BSA) as model protein foulant. As a result, the experiments showed that pure water flux was decreased but anti-fouling property was significantly enhanced. Pure water flux with increasing molecular weights of the polymer was decreased and fouling resistance was enhanced. Also, Pure water flux with increasing solution concentration was decreased and fouling resistance was enhanced. It is probably due to the increase in hydrophilicity and decrease in roughness of the membrane surface, as revealed by contact angle and AFM analysis.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.713-720
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• 2000

A polymer/iodine complex film was prepared using syndiotactic poly(vinyl alcohol) (s-PVA) with number-average degree of polymerization of 900 and syndiotactic diad content of 63.1%. In comparison with atactic-PVA/iodine films, degree of polarization of the s-PVA/iodine film was improved up to over 99% although a lower transmittance was obtained. By soaking in iodine/potassium iodide aqueous solution of a lower iodine concentration and subsequent drawing by 4 times, s-PVA/iodine film of a higher transmittance and degree of polarization was produced. The degree of iodine desorption of the s-PVA/iodine film in water were very low. The crystallinity and the d-spacing and crystal size of (100) plane increased at the early stage of soaking time, however, remained constant or decreased slightly with increasing soaking time. In consequence, s-PVA/iodine complex formation took place mainly inside crystal region at the initial stage of soaking time, whereas it occurred outside crystal region or physical adsorption of iodine dominated after sufficient soaking.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.225-231
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• 2013

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) hybrid films containing 5 wt% pristine clay mineral were synthesized in the water solution. The various PVA hybrid films were synthesized from structurally different pristine clays: saponite (SPT), montmorillonite (MMT), hectorite (SWN), hydrophilic bentonite (PGV), and mica (Mica). The thermo-optical properties and morphologies of the PVA hybrid films were evaluated with various pristine clays. The nanostructure of the hybrid films was observed using transmission electron microscopy, which showed that the clay layers were well dispersed into the matrix polymer, although some clusters or agglomerated particles were also detected. The addition of pristine clay was more effective with regard to improving the thermal properties and gas barrier characteristics, whereas the optical transparency of the PVA hybrid films deteriorated with pristine clay.

• Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.386-398
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• 2020

This study compared dip-coating and in situ polymerization methods for the development of nanofiber-based E-textile using polypyrrole. Nanofiber webs were fabricated by electrospinning an aqueous poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solution. Subsequently, the PVA nanofiber web underwent thermal treatment to improve water resistance. Dip-coating and in situ polymerization methods were used to deposit polypyrrole on the surfaces of the nanofiber web. An FE-SEM analysis was also conducted to examine specimen surface characteristics along with EDS and FT-IR that analyzed the chemical bonding between polypyrrole and specimens. The line resistance and sheet resistance of the treated specimens were measured. Finally, an electrocardiogram (ECG) was measured with textile sensors made of the polypyrrole-deposited PVA nanofiber webs. The polypyrrole-deposited PVA nanofiber webs fabricated by dip-coating dissolved in the dip-coating solution and indicated damage to the nanofibers. However, in the case of in situ polymerization, polypyrrole nanoparticles were deposited on the surface and inter-web structure of the PVA nanofiber web. The resistance measurements indicated that polypyrrole-deposited PVA nanofiber webs fabricated by in situ polymerization with an average sheet resistance of 5.3 k(Ω/□). Polypyrrole-deposited PVA nanofiber webs fabricated by dip-coating showed an average sheet resistance of 57.3 k(Ω/□). Polypyrrole-deposited PVA nanofibers fabricated by in situ polymerization showed a lower line and sheet resistance; in addition, they detected the electrical activity of the heart during ECG measurements. The electrodes made from polypyrrole-deposited PVA nanofiber webs by in situ polymerization showed the best performance for sensing ECG signals among the evaluated specimens.