Siliceous mesoporous molecular sieve (Si-MCM-41) material with highly ordered hexagonal pore arrangement was synthesized at 373 K for 8-days duration by hydrothermal method, dried at 393 K and calcined at 823 K in N2 atmosphere. The calcined Si-MCM-41 was later functionalized with 10-50 wt. % monoethanolamine (MEA) by impregnation method and dried in vacuum at 343 K. The MEA-Si-MCM-41 samples were characterized for their physicochemical properties with FTIR, XRD, TGA, HRTEM, FESEM, BET and elemental analysis. XRD results showed that the intensity of the characteristic peaks of Si-MCM-41 reduces with increasing loading of MEA indicating that the MEA molecules are loaded in the pores as well as on the surface of Si-MCM-41. The appearance of FTIR peaks corresponding to N-H, C-N and C-H bonds suggested that Si-MCM-41 has been functionalized with MEA. The presence of Si-O-Si peaks in FTIR spectra of MEA-Si-MCM-41 samples indicates that the hexagonal pore arrangement remains intact and this is supported by HRTEM images. FESEM images show that MEA-Si-MCM-41 samples became agglomerated with increase loading of MEA. TGA analyses show that the MEA-Si-MCM-41 samples are thermally stable up to 528 K. N2 adsorption-desorption isotherms show that the textural properties of Si-MCM-41 material slowly change from a mesoporous material to non-porous material as the MEA loading increases due to pore filling effect during functionalization with MEA. Detection of N, C and H by elemental analysis confirms the presence of MEA in MEA-Si-MCM-41 samples.
Komposit UPR/LNR/gentian kaca telah disediakan dengan menggunakan resin poliester tak tepu daripada hasil pengitaran semula bahan buangan PET. Kajian dimulai dengan pengitaran semula botol minuman PET melalui proses glikolisis dan hasilnya ditindakbalaskan dengan maleik anhidrida untuk mendapatkan resin poliester tak tepu. Kajian diteruskan dengan penyediaan adunan resin poliester tak tepu (UPR) dengan cecair getah asli (LNR) iaitu komposisi penambahan LNR ke dalam UPR telah diubah dari 0-7.5% (wt). Komposisi UPR/LNR dengan sifat mekanik terbaik dipilih sebagai matrik untuk penyediaan komposit berpenguat gentian kaca. Rawatan silana ke atas gentian kaca turut dilakukan dengan menggunakan (3-Aminopropil)triethoxysilane. Hasil daripada kajian mendapati adunan UPR/LNR dengan penambahan 2.5% LNR mempunyai sifat mekanik dan morfologi terbaik dengan partikel-partikel getah yang bersaiz kecil dapat tersebar dengan sekata dalam UPR. Kajian juga menunjukkan berlakunya peningkatkan dalam nilai tegasan, modulus regangan dan kekuatan hentaman bagi komposit UPR/LNR/gentian kaca terawat berbanding dengan penggunaan gentian tanpa rawatan.
In this study, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) wastes bottle was recycled by glycolysis process using ethylene glycol. The unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) was then prepared by reacting the glycolysed product with maleic anhydride. The blend of UPR based on recycled PET wastes with liquid natural rubber (LNR) was carried out by varying the amount of LNR from 0 to 7.5 wt%. Mechanical tests such as tensile and impact were conducted to investigate the effects of LNR on the mechanical properties. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to analyze the morphology of the breaking area resulted from the tensile tests on the UPR and blend samples. From the results, the blend of 2.5 wt% LNR in UPR based recycled PET wastes achieved the highest strength in the mechanical properties and showed a well dispersed of elastomer particles in the sample morphology compared to other blends concentrations. This blend sample was then compared to the optimum blend of LNR with commercial resin through the glass transition temperature value Tg, mechanical strength and morphology properties. The comparison study showed that the Tg for UPR based recycled PET was higher than the value represented from commercial resin due to the degree of crystalinity in the molecular structure of the materials. LNR was found to be an effective impact modifier which gave a greater improvement in UPR from recycled PET wastes structure but not to the commercial one which needs 5% LNR to achieve the optimum properties. Thus, the compatibility between the UP resin based recycled PET and LNR was much better than with the commercial resin.
Enhancing the catalytic activity of titania (TiO2) nanomaterials by controlling the size, surface area and percentage of highly reactive exposed {001} facets has become attractive in the recent years because of its wider applications in the different fields of scientific research. In the present study, anatase TiO2 nano-sized sheets (TNS) were synthesized using a simple ethanol assisted solvothermal chemical route. The TNS structures were characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM), Transmission electron microscopic (TEM), Raman analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Accelerated surface area and porosimetry (ASAP) analysis. The results from TEM, Raman and XRD analysis confirmed the presence of anatase crystalline structure of TNS with the size range of 20-40 nm. The synthesized TNS structures possess 60% of highly reactive exposed {001} facets with a total surface area of 73 m²/g. These tremendous crystalline properties of solvothermally synthesized TNS structure makes it as an attractive catalyst for environmental and bio-fuel applications.