The effects of aqueous solutions were evaluated on the properties of regenerated cellulosic nanofibers prepared from pure cellulose fibers in various formulations of aqueous solutions. Thermoplastic composites were prepared with reinforcement of the regenerated cellulosic nanofibers. The regenerated cellulosic fibers from cellulosic woody biomass were obtained from dissolved cellulose solutions...

A self-healing approach for optically transparent thermoplastic polymers, based on plasticizer-induced solvent welding, is reported. For the specifi c system investigated, dibutylphthalate (DBP) fi lled urea-formaldehyde capsules are dispersed in a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) matrix. Upon a damage event, DBP is released into the crack, and locally plasticizes and swells the polymer, enabling ...

Coupling agents in wood fiber and polymer composites (WFPC) play a very important role in improving the compatibility and adhesion between polar wood fibers and non-polar polymeric matrices. In this paper, we review coupling agents, pretreatment, and mixing technology for wood fiber and polymer currenrly used in the manufacture of WFPC. So far, over forty coupling agents have been used in produ...

Metals, such as copper and silver, can be extremely toxic to bacteria at exceptionally low concentrations. Because of this biocidal activity, metals have been widely used as antimicrobial agents in a multitude of applications related with agriculture, healthcare, and the industry in general. Unlike other antimicrobial agents, metals are stable under conditions currently found in the industry al...

The need to activate thermoplastic surfaces using robust and efficient methods has been driven by the fact that replication techniques can be used to produce microfluidic devices in a high production mode and at low cost, making polymer microfluidics invaluable for in vitro diagnostics, such as circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis, where device disposability is critical to mitigate artifacts a...

The accumulation and disposal of polymer wastes including waste plastics, waste rubber, waste synthetic fibers and waste composites is a worldwide concern. Until now, there are many technical barriers in recycling polymer wastes with crosslinked structure, such as vulcanized rubber, crosslinked polyolefine and other thermoset materials. In this study, a mechanochemical approach was used to cond...

Biphenyl was successfully degraded by Burkholderia xenovorans LB400, initially described as Pseudomonas sp. LB400, in a solid–liquid wo-phase partitioning bioreactor (TPPB). Solid–liquid TPPBs are comprised of an aqueous, cell containing phase, and a solid polymeric phase hat partitions toxic and/or poorly soluble substrates (in this case biphenyl) based on maintaining a thermodynamic equilibri...

Polymer nanocomposites are new classes of composite materials derived from nanoparticles with at least one dimension in the nanometric range. Polypropylene nanocomposites have attracted a considerable interest due to its most widely used and fastest growing classes of thermoplastic polymer with low cost and low density. However, a problem associated with polypropylene is its dyeability. There h...

Many metallic structural and non-structural parts used in the transportation industry can be replaced by textile-reinforced composites. Composites made from a polymeric matrix and fibrous reinforcement have been increasingly studied during the last decade. On the other hand, the fast development of smart textile structures seems to be a very promising solution for in situ structural health moni...

This work shows the possibility of obtaining hybrid layered metal-polymer composites based on low-carbon steel and aluminum alloys with interlayers basalt fiber reinforced thermoplastic polymer — polyetheretherketone by methods hot cold bonding use curing adhesives, respectively. The adhesive tear shear strength obtained two alternative impact steel-polymer alloy-polymer joints were evaluated. ...