Facile fabrication of polyolefin/carbon nanotube composites via in situ friedel-crafts polyalkylation : structure and properties

Despite major advances in addressing the dispersion of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in polymers and their interfacial interactions, exploring a facile approach for massively creating them is still fascinating. We interestingly find that the CNT dispersion is considerably improved in polypropylene (PP), and ?19.1 wt % of PP chains were in situ chemically grafted onto CNT surfaces only using a trace of AlCl3 via a one-step melt-blending. Compared with the PP/CNT composite, adding 0.2 wt % of AlCl3 enables an increase in tensile strength and Young's modulus of 30% and 25%, respectively. Moreover, the elongation at break is almost maintained, while adding CNTs alone causes significant decreases. Additionally, 0.2 wt % AlCl3 makes the thermal degradation temperature further improved. These remarkable improvements in properties are mainly attributed to better dispersion of CNTs and enhanced interfacial compatibility. This work opens up an innovative approach for scalable preparation of polyolefin/CNT composites applying to industrial production.

Conformational change in a urea catalyst induced by sodium cation and its effect on enantioselectivity of a Friedel-Crafts reaction

While developing bis-camphorsulfonyl urea as a hydrogen-bonding catalysts, we discovered that the native conformation of the catalyst is unsuitable for inducing enantioselectivity. By complexing the catalyst with weakly Lewis acidic sodium cations, we were able to change the conformation of the catalyst and attain a significant improvement in the selectivity. We provide structural information from X-ray crystallography to show that the uncomplexed catalyst is indeed in an unfavorable conformation. Infrared and Raman spectroscopic studies show that sodium binds the catalyst through the carbonyl and sulfonyl groups. Simulated IR and Raman spectra match well with the experimentally recorded spectra, thereby corroborating the proposed conformational change. This result shows that weak Lewis acids can be used to tune the conformation of hydrogen-bonding catalysts and enhance the selectivity of reaction catalyzed by these systems.

Synthesis and characterization of soluble conducting polymers

Although conducting polymers have various potential applications, lack of solubility is an impediment in their direct application to material surfaces. Synthesis of alkyl pyrrole monomers and subsequent polymerization into soluble conducting polymers are aimed as alternatives to conventional methods of application of conducting polymers on substrates. Alkyl chains are attached to a pyrrole ring to produce solubility in the resulting conducting polypyrroles, which allow direct application of conductive polymer emulsions to any desired surface. Friedel-Crafts acylation of the tosyl-protected pyrrole provides high yields of the 3-acylated product. The conductivity values of poly-3- and 3, 4-substituted pyrroles are generally less than the unmodified polypyrrole. Increasingly bulkier groups attached to the pyrrole means lower conductivity of the resultant polymer. As the carbon chain length attached to the 3-position of pyrrole increases, the solubility also increases. However, the magnitude of change in conductivity of films and pellets of soluble conducting polypyrroles over the alkyl range is not significant.

Synthesis and polymerisation of α,ω-bis(3-pyrrolyl)alkanes

The synthesis, characterisation and polymerisation studies of a homologous series of α,ω-bis(pyrrolyl)alkanes are described. These α,ω-bis(pyrrolyl)alkanes were produced using Friedel–Crafts acylation followed by reduction of the carbonyl group using Red-Al®. Chemical polymerisation of the resultant dimers using FeCl₃ produced poly(α,ω-bis(pyrrolyl)alkane) films, which were characterised by SEM, FTIR and tested for conductivity.

Learning from history : social movements, arts and crafts and anti-consumption

Contemplating the lCAR Agenda, I wondered what value was to be found in history and is historical research an appropriate methodology for this contemporary discussion? I reviewed articles from social sciences and marketing literature that discuss history as a research methodology and present some of the criticisms and benefits. Social movements like the Arts and Crafts contain themes and agendas that resonate today, including protest and boycott, sustainable solutions, and technophobia that can be found in contemporary crafts movements like Stitch'nBitch. Researchers, heeding some cautions, can use history to build agendas that contribute directly to the study of anti consumption

Crafts and successful aging: the Découpage Guild Australia

The haystack that got away

The National Library and the National Folk Festival have joined forces to foster a tradition-bearers oral history project aimed at recording the practical skills and knowledge of those engaged in traditional Australian crafts.

"Our fingers were never idle" : women and domestic craft in the Geelong region, 1900-1960

This thesis is an exploration of women's domestic crafts in the Geelong region, between 1900 and I960, Through analysing oral testimony and the women's handicraft artefacts, the nature of the domestic production of handicrafts and the meanings the makers have constructed around their creations and their lives is illuminated. The thesis is organised around the themes of work, space, the construction of femininity, memory, time and meaning. The thesis argues that until recently, the discipline of history has privileged the experiences of men over those of women. It challenges the trivialising of women’s handicrafts. It also argues that within the restrictive social structures around them and within the confined nature of their situations, the women of my study asserted themselves to transform their environments and to improve their situations through labour in the home. In ‘making do’, recycling materials and creating functional and decorative needlework items for their homes and families, the women were often finding solutions to pressing practical and economic problems. Doing handicrafts was rarely just a passive way of filling in time. Rather, making and creating was for these women a multi-layered activity that similtaneously fulfilled a complex range of needs for themselves and their families. A multiplicity of deeply personal, aesthetic, familial, social, practical and economic needs were met in the making of domestic craft artefacts, whose symbolism reflected the values and meanings of the women's cultures, homes and families.

Creative pedagogies : "art-full" reading and writing

This paper reports on a small-scale research inquiry, designed to support teachers in a Melbourne primary school to bring together the arts, reading and writing in their classrooms in ways that create possibilities for "art-full" teaching and learning. The principal, concerned by underperformance on State literacy tests of the school’s largely working-class and NESB population, requested David Hornsby and other members of the project team from the Education Faculty at La Trobe University to offer whole-school professional development. The focus was on developing oral language as a foundation for literacy learning, enacting Britton’s claim that “reading and writing float on a sea of talk”. The project team introduced the teachers to a range of innovative classroom practices for using visual and performance arts, literature, music and crafts. Drawing on video, interviews and writing samples, a number of teachers worked collaboratively with the research team to develop case studies of individual students with a range of literacy aptitudes and social skills. A key research question was: "What do children take from their engagement in arts-based activities into reading of literary texts, and potentially into writing from the perspective of another character?" In this paper we ponder this from three vantage points: by outlining the informing principles in our research project; confirming insights from current interdisciplinary work about children learning to see, do, act and say in play; and analysing the research data from the initial phase.

Every day you learn something : learning for life? Neighbourhood houses, adult learning and transitions to higher education

This book comes from a research project titled ‘Lifelong Learning? Neighbourhood Houses, Adult Learning and Transitions to Higher Education’ (T Ollis, Starr, Ryan, Angwin, & Harrison, 2016). This research has examined adult learning in the context of Neighbourhood Houses in the regions of Geelong and South Western Victoria.The research was conducted in 2015 and 2016 and sought to examine the learning experiences of adult learners who participate in the education programs of Neighbourhood Houses. The focus was on second chance learners and their transition pathways to higher education such as TAFE and University. A second group of learners were identified during the research process – later life learners. These learners were engaging with Neighbourhood Houses for personal interest learning and social and community connection. This small book provides a snapshot of the stories of learners who were involved in this research. It tells the lived stories of the participants, which is important as learning and education are connected with the ongoing development of ourselves as human beings. Learning is essential to our personhood and impacts on adults in terms of their welfare, health and prosperity over a lifetime. Many of the learners’ stories outlined in this book reveal checkered histories of education. Some have experienced learning difficulties, others have experienced family trauma that prevented them from finishing secondary schooling. Some of the stories describe issues related to reskilling or retraining in later life, responding to industry changes and work in the Greater Geelong and South West regions. Others were pursuing recreation and social connection and came to the Neighbourhood Houses to learn crafts, writing, photography and computer literacy skills. In almost all accounts of learning in this book, individuals had experienced less social isolation by being connected to others in the unique social environment of Neighbourhood houses.