In this work, the grafting of maleic anhydride onto two types of linear low density polyethylene with hexene-1 comonomer (LLDPE-H1) and butene-1 comonomer (LLDPE-B1), in the presence of styrene monomer (St) and dicumyl peroxide initiator (DCP) has been studied. The combined influences of MAH, St and DCP on the grafting efficiency via a melt reactive mixing process have been investigated using r...

Hollow-structured g-C3N4 polymers with a high thermal stability up to 550 °C and an enhanced photocatalytic activity have been developed by post-annealing treatment, which effectively modifies the textural, crystal, and electronic properties of the g-C3N4 semiconductors without extra chemical assistance. This is a unique example of thermally and chemically stable conjugated polymers with hollow...

Aqueous suspensions of polysaccharide (cellulose, chitin or starch) nanocrystals can be prepared by acid hydrolysis of biomass. The main problem with their practical use is related to the homogeneous dispersion of these nanoparticles within a polymeric matrix. Water is the preferred processing medium. A new and interesting way for the processing of polysaccharide nanocrystals-based nanocomposit...

We report a facile and versatile scanning probe based approach-dip-pen nanodisplacement lithography (DNL)--for manipulating nanostructures of polymer brushes. Nanostructured polymer brushes with sizes as small as 25 nm are made by DNL patterning of the initiator molecules and subsequent surface-initiated polymerization. Nanoconfinement effects including chain collapsing and spreading are observ...

Polylactic acid-g-polyvinyl acetate (PLLA-g-PVAc) was used as a compatibilizer for 50/50 starch/PLLA blend. PLLA-gPVAc with different mol% of PVAc contents were prepared by grafting PVAc onto PLLA backbone via free radical polymerization in solution process. Various conditions such as type and the amount of initiator, monomer concentration, polymerization time and temperature were studied. Resu...

Although water-soluble synthetic polymers find wide applications as flocculants, the potential problem associated with their use is lack of biodegradability and high cost. Polysaccharides owing to their distinctive features like ability to undergo different chemical reactions, biodegradability and sustainability inspire hope to obtain effective, economical viable and safe substitute of the synt...

In this study, chemical or physical modifications on the surface of multi-walled carbon nanotubes are carried out using either a three-step chemical treatment or a surfactant method. In the first scheme, following the conventional nanotube oxidation procedure, a novel reduction step involving the conversion of all the miscellaneous functional groups on the nanotube surface to hydroxyl groups is...

Surface chemical reactivity is imaged by combining electrochemical activation of a surface transformation process with spatiotemporal ellipsometric microscopy. An imaging ellipsometric microscope is built, allowing ellipsometric images of surfaces with a lateral resolution of ∼1 μm and a thickness sensitivity of ∼0.1 nm in air and 0.4 nm in a liquid. These performances are particularly adapted ...