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This work reports the thermal, rheological, and crystallographic structural behavior of recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) derived from bottle waste. The intent is to optimize it to an upcoming source for additive manufacturing by modulating its behavior using a chain extender triphenyl phosphite (TPP), nanofiller montmorillonite (MMT K-10), and catalyst antimony trioxide (Sb2[O.sub.3]). FT-IR (Fourier Transform Infrared) analysis showed an increase in absorbance due to the Sb2[O.sub.3]. The thermal analysis of the rPET using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) ascertains a 10[degrees]C decrease in [T.sub.g] with a substantial increase in the degradation onset of 7[degrees]C due to MMT content. The melt flow index (MFI) study showed an increase with a similar range in intrinsic viscosity and weight average molecular weight ([M.sub.w]) due to the additives. The percentage crystallinity, interlayer distance, and average crystallite size are determined and analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and DSC curves. The results are within the comparative range of both tests. The presence of Sb2[O.sub.3] with higher MMT content showed agglomeration, and increased TPP showed low crystalline properties. These results provide that rPET can be altered to manufacture feedstock to suit different 3D printing techniques for prototyping. KEYWORDS additive manufacturing, nanocomposite, recycled PET, sustainability, 1 | INTRODUCTION Additive manufacturing has been gaining attention in the product manufacturing field for the last decade. This is because it removes the need to manufacture molds to make [...]

Sulfonated poly(oxy‐1,4‐phenylene‐oxy‐1,4‐phenylenecarbonyl‐1,4‐phenylene) also known as SPEEK is a chemically robust cation conductor with good solution processability. A thin film (approx. 0.7 μm) coated asymmetrically over a 10 μm diameter microhole in a Teflon substrate film (5 μm thickness) produces ionic diode effects in aqueous electrolyte media even at high ionic strengths up to 2 M NaCl. The enhancement in the ionic diode performance under high salt conditions is tentatively attributed to a (partial) switch from a concentration polarisation effect (dominant for high diode currents) to interfacial polarisation (dominant at low current; proposed for molecularly rigid ionomers). Ionic strength effects on the diode performance seem relatively low further indicative of a mechanism for the diode effect caused by interfacial polarisation without significant concentration polarisation. Preliminary comparison of diode phenomena in aqueous HCl, LiCl, NaCl, and MgCl2 reveals cation specific effects due to interaction with the polymer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pure organic films consisting of polypyrrole, polyaniline and a composite of polypyrrole and polyaniline electrodeposited in the ionic liquid EMIM‐TFSI onto mesoporous carbon electrodes are tested for their hydrogen evolution reaction capabilities. The use of these intrinsically conducting polymers is seen as a way of stepping away from expensive and rare metallic catalysts. Co‐polymerisation of polypyrrole and polyaniline in a 1 : 10 ratio in EMIM‐TFSI was found to be doped with the TFSI− anion and be much more active to the hydrogen evolution reaction when compared to pure polymers. Tafel analysis of the composite gave a value of 144 mV/dec indicating that the Volmer step is the rate limiting step. However, stability tests showed an improvement in the composite's overpoential performance for the hydrogen evolution reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a new waterborne acrylic copolymer resin (acrylic-co-resin) was synthesized to develop water-based printing inks on polyester (PET) film. The synthesized acrylic resin showed good water solubility, high acid value (120 mg KOH/g), about 57% solid content. The developed water-based inks (cyan, magenta, and yellow) exhibited small particle size ( KEYWORDS acrylic resin, adhesion, printing, water-based printing ink, 1 | INTRODUCTION Printing ink plays an essential role in the packaging area, and the demand for printing inks is increasing day-by-day all over the world. [1,2] Due to the [...]

Novel sodium carboxymethyl cellulose- g -poly (sodium acrylate)/Ferric chloride (CMC- g -PNaA/FeCl 3 ) nanoporous hydrogel beads were prepared based on the ionic cross-linking between CMC- g -PNaA and FeCl 3 . The structure of CMC and CMC- g -PNaA were elucidated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and the elemental composition was analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The physicochemical properties of the CMC- g -PNaA/FeCl 3 hydrogel beads were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The swelling percentage of hydrogel beads was studied at different time periods. The obtained CMC- g -PNaA/FeCl 3 hydrogel beads exhibited a higher nanoporous morphology than those of CMC- g -PNaA and CMC beads. Furthermore, an AFM image of the CMC- g -PNaA/FeCl 3 beads shows granule type topology. Compared to the CMC- g -PNaA (189 °C), CMC- g -PNaA/FeCl 3 hydrogel beads exhibited improvement in thermal stability (199 °C). Furthermore, CMC- g -PNaA/FeCl 3 hydrogel beads depicted a higher swelling percentage capacity of around 1452%, as compared to CMC- g -PNaA (1096%). Moreover, this strategy with preliminary results could be useful for the development of polysaccharide-based hybrid hydrogel beads for various potential applications.