Search results for " thermal stability"
showing 6 items of 6 documents
Dispersions of nanosilica in biocompatible copolymers
2010
Dispersions of nanosilica in matrices of biocompatible copolymers were prepared by melt blending. Copolymers with variable molecular size at fixed hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio and nanosilicas with different interfacial areas were studied. For comparison, a nanoclay was also investigated. The interfacial area played a relevant role in conferring peculiar properties on the nanohybrids. Amazingly, the macromolecule adsorbed on the nanosilica surface maintains some crystallinity which was quantitatively evaluated. In contrast, all the macromolecule anchored to the nanoclay surface is amorphous. The change of the crystalline state was reflected in the dielectric and the electrical conductivity …
The Role of Eucalyptus Species on the Structural and Thermal Performance of Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNCs) Isolated by Acid Hydrolysis
2022
Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are attractive materials due to their renewable nature, high surface-to-volume ratio, crystallinity, biodegradability, anisotropic performance, or available hydroxyl groups. However, their source and obtaining pathway determine their subsequent performance. This work evaluates cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) obtained from four different eucalyptus species by acid hydrolysis, i.e., E. benthamii, E. globulus, E. smithii, and the hybrid En × Eg. During preparation, CNCs incorporated sulphate groups to their structures, which highlighted dissimilar reactivities, as given by the calculated sulphate index (0.21, 0.97, 0.73 and 0.85, respectively). Although the impact o…
Trehalose effects on α-crystallin aggregates
2007
alpha-Crystallin in its native state is a large, heterogeneous, low-molecular weight (LMW) aggregate that under certain conditions may progressively became part of insoluble high-molecular weight (HMW) systems. These systems are supposed to play a relevant role in eye lens opacification and vision impairment. In this paper, we report the effects of trehalose on alpha-crystallin aggregates. The role of trehalose in alpha-crystallin stress tolerance, chaperone activity and thermal stability is studied. The results show that trehalose stabilizes the alpha-crystallin native structure, inhibits alpha-crystallin aggregation, and disaggregates preformed LMW systems not affecting its chaperone acti…
Lemongrass Plant as Potential Sources of Reinforcement for Biocomposites: A Preliminary Experimental Comparison Between Leaf and Culm Fibers
2022
AbstractNowadays, the world requires more sustainable and eco-friendly materials to replace or limit the usage of synthetic materials. Moreover, several researchers focused their attention on the use of agricultural sources as reinforcement for biocomposites since they are abundant, cost-effective and environmentally favorable sources. In such a context, purpose of the present paper is the evaluation of lemongrass plant (Cymbopogon flexuosus) as possible source of natural reinforcement for biocomposites. To this aim, natural fibers were obtained from the leaf and the stem of lemongrass and their main properties were compared for the first time. To this scope, mechanical and thermal characte…
Structure and thermal properties of a chitosan coated polyethylene bilayer film
2012
The thermal and the structural properties of chitosan coated polyethylene (PE) films were studied. The coating process did not significantly influence the thermal stability and the PE surface structure and/or composition of the polyolefin. Dehydration temperature of chitosan films reflected the strength of water/acetic acid/chitosan chains interactions. Glycerol, used as a plasticizer, formed new hydrophilic centres in the film matrix. Moreover it was better integrated in the CSEGLY than in CSAGLY network. Besides, the addition of a plasticizer in the chitosan films decreased the film degradation temperature. There were two main steps for the PE chitosan coated films degradation. The first …
Effect of Heating Time and Temperature on the Chemical Characteristics of Biochar from Poultry Manure
2014
Poultry manure (PM) chars were obtained at different temperatures and charring times. Chemical-physical characterization of the different PM chars was conducted by cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CPMAS) (13)C NMR spectroscopy and thermal analysis. CPMAS (13)C NMR spectra showed that the chemical composition of PM char is dependent on production temperature rather than on production duration. Aromatic and alkyl domains in the PM chars obtained at the lowest temperatures remained unchanged at all heating times applied for their production. The PM char obtained at the highest temperature consisted only of aromatic structures having chemical nature that also appeared invariant with hea…