scholarly journals Effect of Different Compatibilization Systems on the Rheological, Mechanical and Morphological Properties of Polypropylene/Polystyrene Blends

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 2335
Author(s):  
Martina Seier ◽  
Sascha Stanic ◽  
Thomas Koch ◽  
Vasiliki-Maria Archodoulaki

The influence of reactive processing, non reactive and reactive copolymers on immiscible polypropylene (PP)–polystyrene (PS) blends with varying PS concentrations (10 wt.% and 25 wt.%) was evaluated by mechanical (tensile and tensile impact), rheological (melt flow rate, extensional and dynamic rheology) and morphological (scanning electron microscopy) analysis. As an extended framework of the study, the creation of a link to industrial applicable processing conditions as well as an economically efficient use of compatibilzing agent were considered. For radical processed blends, a high improvement in melt strength was observed while non reactive copolymers exhibited a pronounced increase in toughness and ductility correlated with overall best phase homogeneity. Conversely, the influence of the reactive copolymer was quite different for the varied PS concentrations not allowing the assumption of a specific trend for resulting blend properties, but nevertheless in the case of a lower PS concentration the tensile impact strength exceeded the value of virgin PP. Since PS and PP are widely used, the findings of this work could not only be relevant for the generation of more versatile blends compared to virgin components but also for recycling purposes, allowing the enhancement of specific properties facilitating the production of more valuable secondary materials.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandra Pisciotta ◽  
Michele De Maria ◽  
Tommaso Verdina ◽  
Elisa Fornasari ◽  
Anto de Pol ◽  
...  

Purpose. Comparative evaluation of morphological features of anterior capsules and apoptosis induction in epithelial cells after femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) and standard phacoemulsification surgery. Methods. Group 1: 30 FLACS anterior capsulotomies and Group 2: 30 manual anterior continuous curvilinear capsulorhexes. All patients were operated on by the same experienced surgeon. Morphological features of the anterior capsules and apoptosis induction in epithelial cells were evaluated. Results. All patients revealed a significant mean best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) improvement 3 months after surgery, and no major intraoperative nor postoperative complications occurred. The capsular epithelium appeared to be preserved in both groups. Scanning electron microscopy analysis revealed irregular saw-tooth shaped edges in capsules from Group 1 whereas capsules from Group 2 showed regular and smooth edges. A statistically significant higher expression of the downstream apoptotic effector cleaved caspase 3 was observed in Group 1. Conclusions. The saw-tooth appearance was likely due to the progressive sequence of laser pulses on the capsule. The low energy/high frequency properties of the laser pulse, combined with an overlapped pulse pattern, resulted in highly continuous morphology of capsule edges. The higher apoptosis induction in FLACS group might be due to photodisruption-dependent plasma generation and formation of cavitation bubbles.


BioResources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 5118-5132
Author(s):  
Rudi Dungani ◽  
Ihak Sumardi ◽  
Yoyo Suhaya ◽  
Pingkan Aditiawati ◽  
Safar Dody ◽  
...  

In recent times, the indiscriminate disposal of post-consumer plastic packaging material has received global attention. There is a need to develop an alternative packaging material from bio-based polymers to reduce plastic waste pollution. This work studied the effects of loading seaweed nanoparticles into an agar matrix by analyzing the physical, mechanical, water vapor barrier, and biodegradation properties, as well as the surface morphological properties of biopolymer composite. The results showed that the addition of seaweed nanoparticles in the biopolymer matrix improved the properties of the agar-based biopolymer composite, except for the water vapor barrier properties of the biopolymer composite. The biopolymer composite film loaded with 6 w/w% seaweed nanoparticles appeared to achieve the highest mechanical strength. In addition, scanning electron microscopy analysis verified that the 6% w/w% seaweed nanoparticles biopolymer composite showed a homogenous surface morphology and had a strong adhesion on the interfaces of the filler and matrix. The samples had a desirable density of 0.0131 cm-1g-1 and a desirable biodegradability when 8 w/w% nanoparticles was used. This study verified that seaweed nanoparticles are compatible with agar matrix in terms of the enhancement of biopolymer composite properties.


Author(s):  
J. P. Benedict ◽  
R. M. Anderson ◽  
S. J. Klepeis

Ion mills equipped with flood guns can perform two important functions in material analysis; they can either remove material or deposit material. The ion mill holder shown in Fig. 1 is used to remove material from the polished surface of a sample for further optical inspection or SEM ( Scanning Electron Microscopy ) analysis. The sample is attached to a pohshing stud type SEM mount and placed in the ion mill holder with the polished surface of the sample pointing straight up, as shown in Fig 2. As the holder is rotating in the ion mill, Argon ions from the flood gun are directed down at the top of the sample. The impact of Argon ions against the surface of the sample causes some of the surface material to leave the sample at a material dependent, nonuniform rate. As a result, the polished surface will begin to develop topography during milling as fast sputtering materials leave behind depressions in the polished surface.


2021 ◽  
pp. 232020682199798
Author(s):  
Beyza Unalan Degirmenci ◽  
Alperen Degirmenci ◽  
Emine Kara

Aim: Natural antioxidants were offered as the answer of dentin adhesion issue. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of proanthocyanidin and lycopene as pretreatment agents on the sound and caries-affected dentin surface on microtensile bond strength and microleakage. Materials and Methods: This study was designed as in vitro because of that 84 mandibular molar teeth were collected. Forty-two of the included teeth were carious teeth, while the other 42 were without caries. Sixty of them were used for microleakage and 24 for microtensile bond strength testing and scanning electron microscopy analysis. The samples were divided into six subgroups randomly according to dentin pretreatments: 5% proanthocyanidin, 5% lycopene, and no antioxidant application. After the restorative procedures, samples were attached to the microtensile tester. Samples were subjected to tensile stress in the load cell until they broke at a speed of 0.5 mm per min. Microtensile bond strength (µTBS) and microleakage test data were analyzed with two-way analysis of variance, Bonferroni correction, and Tamhane’s T2 tests. Results: Two-way variance analysis showed that dentin pretreatment applications, dentin substrate, and the interaction between these two parameters had statistically significant effects on µTBS values ( P < .001). There was no difference between dentin pretreatment applications in terms of microleakage scores ( P > .05). Conclusion: The application of dentin pretreatment with proanthocyanidin is a successful procedure that increases the bond strength in both dentin substrate, while pretreatment with lycopene in caries-affected dentin reduces it.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 686
Author(s):  
Raquel Porto ◽  
Ana C. Mengarda ◽  
Rayssa A. Cajas ◽  
Maria C. Salvadori ◽  
Fernanda S. Teixeira ◽  
...  

The intravascular parasitic worm Schistosoma mansoni is a causative agent of schistosomiasis, a disease of great global public health significance. Praziquantel is the only drug available to treat schistosomiasis and there is an urgent demand for new anthelmintic agents. Adopting a phenotypic drug screening strategy, here, we evaluated the antiparasitic properties of 46 commercially available cardiovascular drugs against S. mansoni. From these screenings, we found that amiodarone, telmisartan, propafenone, methyldopa, and doxazosin affected the viability of schistosomes in vitro, with effective concentrations of 50% (EC50) and 90% (EC90) values ranging from 8 to 50 µM. These results were further supported by scanning electron microscopy analysis. Subsequently, the most effective drug (amiodarone) was further tested in a murine model of schistosomiasis for both early and chronic S. mansoni infections using a single oral dose of 400 mg/kg or 100 mg/kg daily for five consecutive days. Amiodarone had a low efficacy in chronic infection, with the worm and egg burden reduction ranging from 10 to 30%. In contrast, amiodarone caused a significant reduction in worm and egg burden in early infection (>50%). Comparatively, treatment with amiodarone is more effective in early infection than praziquantel, demonstrating the potential role of this cardiovascular drug as an antischistosomal agent.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 2264
Author(s):  
Raphael H. M. Reis ◽  
Fabio C. Garcia Filho ◽  
Larissa F. Nunes ◽  
Veronica S. Candido ◽  
Alisson C. R. Silva ◽  
...  

Fibers extracted from Amazonian plants that have traditionally been used by local communities to produce simple items such as ropes, nets, and rugs, are now recognized as promising composite reinforcements. This is the case for guaruman (Ischinosiphon körn) fiber, which was recently found to present potential mechanical and ballistic properties as 30 vol% reinforcement of epoxy composites. To complement these properties, Izod impact tests are now communicated in this brief report for similar composites with up to 30 vol% of guaruman fibers. A substantial increase in impact resistance, with over than 20 times the absorbed energy for the 30 vol% guaruman fiber composite, was obtained in comparison to neat epoxy. These results were statistically validated by Weibull analysis, ANOVA, and Tukey’s test. Scanning electron microscopy analysis disclosed the mechanisms responsible for the impact performance of the guaruman fiber composites.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (S1) ◽  
pp. 3168-3170
Author(s):  
Hazel Jaynelle Morales-Rodriguez ◽  
Javier Camarillo-Cisneros ◽  
María Alejandra Favila-Pérez ◽  
Alva Rocío Castillo-González ◽  
Celia María Quiñonez-Flores ◽  
...  

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 (S02) ◽  
pp. 1270-1271
Author(s):  
M Olszta ◽  
J Dougherty ◽  
M Horn ◽  
EC Dickey

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2006 in Chicago, Illinois, USA, July 30 – August 3, 2005


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