Studies on short Nylon-6 fiber - elastomer composites with epoxy resin as bonding agent

The thesis describes the development and evaluation of epoxy resin as interfacial bonding agent for short Nylon-6 fiber elastomer composites. Epoxy resin is well known for its adhesive property. The potential use of it as interfacial bonding agent in short fiber composite is not explored yet. Three rubbers viz., acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), Neoprene rubber (CR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) were selected and different fiber loading were tried. The resin concentration was optimized for each fiber loading with respect to cure characteristics and mechanical properties. Rheological characteristics and thermal degradation of the composites containing different fiber loading and different resin concentrations were studied in detail to find the effect of epoxy resin bonding system. The mechanical properties were studied in detail. The short Nylon -6 fiber improved most of the mechanical properties of all the three rubbers. Tensile strength showed a dip at 10 phr fiber loading in the case of CR while it was continuously increased with fiber loading in the case of NBR and SBR. All the composites showed anisotropy in mechanical properties. The epoxy resin is an effective bonding agent for short Nylon -6 fiber reinforced NBR and CR composites. Epoxy resin improved tensile strength, abrasion resistance and modulus of these composites. SEM studies confirmed the improved bonding of fiber and matrix in the presence of epoxy bonding agent. Epoxy resin was not effective as bonding agent in the case of short Nylon fiber- SBR composite. From the rheological studies of the composites with and without bonding agent it was observed that all the composite exhibited pseudoplasticity, which decreased with temperature. At higher shear rates all the mixes showed plug flow. SEM pictures showed that maximum orientation of fibers occured at a shear rate, just before the onset of plug flow. The presence of fiber reduced the temperature sensitivity of the flow at a given shear rate. Die swell was reduced in the presence of fiber. Shear viscosity of the composite was increased in the presence of resin. Die swell was increased in the presence of epoxy resin for composites at all shear rates. The thermal degradation of NBR and SBR composites with and without bonding agent followed single step degradation pattern. Thermal stability of the composites was improved in the presence of bonding agent. The degradation of virgin elastomer and the composites followed first order kinetics.

Studies on Conducting Polymers and Conductive Elastomer Composites

The primary aim of this work has been to develop conductive silicone and nitrile rubbers, which are extensively used for making conductive pads in telephone sets, calculators and other applications. Another objective of the work has been to synthesise and characterize novel conducting polymers based on glyoxal and paraphenylenediamine- poly(p-phenylenediazomethine. Conducting polymer matrices were developed from polymer blends such as poly(pphenylenediazomethine), polyethylene, PVC and silica and their properties were studied.

Liquid-phase Friedel-Crafts acylation using NixMn(l-x)Fe2O4 spinel catalysts

The liquid-phase Friedel-Crafts acylation of toluene using benzoyl chloride as benzoylating agent has heen carried out over Nix, Mn(l-x)Fe2 O4 (x=O, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) type systems under different reaction conditions. It is observed that the systems with high 'x' values are effective for the conversion of BOC and the selective formation of 4-MBP. Selectivity for 4-MBP over MnFe2O4 is more than 90% under the optimized reaction conditions. Sites of moderate acidity is effective in calalyzing the benzoylation reaction.

Liquid phase benzylation of o-xylene over pillared clays

Iron, aluminium and mixed iron aluminium pillared clays have been prepared by partial hydrolysis method and doped with IO% Mo, V and Cr. The samples have been characterised by XRD, FTIR and surface area and pore Volume measurements. The surface acid site distribution has been determined by temperature programmed desorption of ammonia. Vanadia incorporated systems show maximum acidity. Benzylation of o-xylene has been done as probe reaction to test catalytic activity. Benzyl chloride is a superior benzylating agent compared to benzyl alcohol in activity and selectivity. Cent percent selectivity towards monobenzylated product is obtained in all the cases. Fe pillared systems exhibit maximum activity. The catalytic activities of the systems can be correlated with the amount of strong add sites. The effects of various reaction variables on the reaction have been studied. Presence of moisture has a diminishing effect on the reaction rate.

Studies on adhesives for bonding rubber to rubber and rubber to textiles

The primary objective of this investigation has been to develop more efficient and low cost adhesives for bonding various elastomer combinations particularly NR to NR, NR/PB to NR/PB, CR to CR,NR to CR and NR to NBR.A significant achievement of the investigation was the development of solventless and environment friendly solid adhesives for NR to NR and NR/PB to NR/PB particularly for precured retreading. Conventionally used adhesives in this area are mostly NR based adhesive strips in the presence of a dough. The study has shown that an ultra accelerator could be added to the dough just before applying it on the tire which can significantly bring down the retreading time resulting in prolonged tire service and lower energy consumption. Further latex reclaim has been used for the preparation of the solid strip which can reduce the cost considerably.Another significant finding was that by making proper selection of the RF resin, the efficiency and shelflife of the RFL adhesive used for nylon and rayon tire cord dipping can be improved. In the conventionally used RFL adhesive, the resin once prepared has to be added to the latex within 30 minutes and the RFL has to be used after 4 hours maturation time maximum shelf life of the RFL dip solution being 72 hours. In this study a formaldehyde deficient resin was used and hence more flexibility was available for mixing with latex and maturing. It also has a much longer shelf life. In the method suggested in this study, formaldehyde donors were added only in the rubber compound to make up the formaldehyde deficiency in the RFL. The results of this investigation show that the pull through load by employing this method and the conventional method are comparable. This study has also shown that the amount of RF resin with RFL adhesive can be partially replaced by other modifying agents for cost reduction.Cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) resin can be employed for improving the bonding of dipped nylon and rayon cord with NR.Since CNSL resin cannot be added in the dip solution since it is not soluble in water, it was added in the rubber compound. The amount of wood rosin in the rubber compound can be reduced by using CNSL resin.Another interesting result of the investigation was the use of CR based adhesive modified with chlorinated natural rubber for CR to CR bonding. Addition of chlorinated natural rubber was found to improve sea water resistance of CR based adhesive. In the bonding of a polar rubber like nitrile rubber or polychloroprene rubber to a non polar rubber like natural rubber, an adhesive based on polychloroprene rubber was found to be effective.

Liquid phase benzoylation of arenes over iron promoted sulphated zirconia

The present work undertakes the preparation and physico-chemical characterisation of iron promoted sulphated zirconia (SZ) with different amounts of iron loading and their application to Friedel-Crafts benzoylation of benzene, toluene and xylene under different experimental conditions, XRD and laser Raman techniques reveal the stabilisation of the tetragonal phase of zirconia and the existence of iron in highly dispersed form as Fe203 on the catalyst surface. The surface acidic properties were determined by ammonia temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and perylene adsorption, The results were supported by the TGA studies after adsorption of pyridine and 2,6-dimethylpyridine (2,6-DMP), Strong Lewis acid sites on the surface, which are evident from TPD and perylene adsorption studies. explain the high catalytic activity of the systems towards benzoylation. The experimental results provide evidence for the truly heterogeneous nature of the reaction. The studies also establish the resistance to deactivation in the metal incorporated sulphated systems.

Studies on Thermoplastic Elastomers Based on Polyethylene/Elastomer Blends

Department of Polymer Science and Rubber Technology, Cochin University of Science and Technology.

Vanadia supported on ceria: Characterization and activity in liquid-phase oxidation of ethylbenzene

Vanadia/ceria catalysts (2–10 wt% of V2O5) were prepared by wet impregnation of ammonium metavanadate in oxalic acid solution. Structural characterization was done with energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area measurements, FT-IR spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic spectral analysis (51V MASNMR). XRD and 51V MASNMR results show highly dispersed vanadia species at lower loadings and the formation of CeVO4 phase at higher V2O5 loading. The catalytic activity of catalysts was conducted in liquid phase oxidation of ethylbenzene with H2O2 as oxidant. The oxidation activity is increased with loading up to 8 wt% V2O5 and then decreased with further increase in V2O5 content to 10 wt%. Different vanadia species evidenced by various techniques were found to be selective towards ethylbenzene oxidation. The CeVO4 formation associated with increased concentration of vanadia on ceria results the production of acetophenone along with 2-hydroxyacetophenone.

Use of mirage effect for the detection of phase transitions in liquid crystals

he phenomenon of single beam mirage effect, otherwise known as photothermal deflection (PTD) effect using a He–Ne laser beam has been employed to detect phase transitions in some liquid crystals. It has been observed that anomalous changes in amplitude occur in the PTD signal level near the transition temperature. The experimental details and the results of measurements made in liquid crystals E8, M21 and M24 are given in this paper.

Open-cell photoacoustic investigation of the thermal effusivity of liquid crystals

We report the use of an open photoacoustic cell configuration for the evaluation of thermal effusivity of liquid crystals. Initially, the method is calibrated using water and glycerol as transparent liquid samples, and the role of thermal conductivity of these liquids on the photoacoustic signal amplitude is discussed. To demonstrate the application of the present method for the evaluation of thermal effusivity of liquid crystals, we have used certain multicomponent nematic liquid crystal mixtures, namely BL001, BL002, BL032, and BL035. Each of these liquid crystal mixtures contains four to nine components and are primarily based on the cyanobiphenyl structure. The measured values of thermal effusivity of BL001 and BL002 were found to be almost the same, but differ from those of BL032 and BL035, which implies a difference in composition of the latter two from the former two mixtures.

Laser Induced Photoacoustic Technique for the Detection of Phase Transitions in Liquid Crystals

In this paper we report the use of a laser induced phoroacoustic technique for the detection of multiple phase transitions in heptyl-oxy-cyanobiphenyl (70CB) and octyl-oxy-cyanobiphenyl (80CB) liquid crystals. The observed photoacoustic signal amplitude profile carries clear signatures of two tirst order transitions in 70CB and two tirst order and a second order transitions in 80CB. Analysis of the experimental data using Rosencwaig-Gersho theory shows that the sudden decrease in the photoacoustic (PA) signal amplitude during phase transitions is due to a sharp increase in the heat capacity of the samples near the transition temperatures.

Simultaneous determination of nonlinear optical and thermo-optic parameters of liquid samples

The authors apply the theory of photothermal lens formation and also that of pure optical nonlinearity to account for the phase modulation in a beam as it traverses a nonlinear medium. It is used to simultaneously determine the nonlinear optical refraction and the thermo-optic coefficient. They demonstrate this technique using some metal phthalocyanines dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide, irradiated by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with 10 Hz repetition rate and a pulse width of 8 ns. The mechanism for reverse saturable absorption in these materials is also discussed.

Observation of Multiphoton Process in Liquid CS2 Using Pulsed Photoacoustic Technique

Pulsed photoacoustic measurements have been carried out in liquid CS2 using 532 nm radiation from a frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser. Variation of signal amplitude with laser fluence clearly indicates the role of multiphoton processes in the generation of photoacoustic effect. It is also shown that four photon induced dissociation and five photon induced ionization are likely processes in CS2 and 532 nm radiation.

Full complex Fresnel holograms displayed on liquid cristal displays

We propose a method to display full complex Fresnel holograms by adding the information displayed on two analogue ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulators. One of them works in real-only configuration and the other in imaginary-only mode. The Fresnel holograms are computed by backpropagating an object at a selected distance with the Fresnel transform. Then, displaying the real and imaginary parts on each panel, the object is reconstructed at that distance from the modulators by simple propagation of light. We present simulation results taking into account the specifications of the modulators as well as optical results. We have also studied the quality of reconstructions using only real, imaginary, amplitude or phase information. Although the real and imaginary reconstructions look acceptable for certain distances, full complex reconstruction is always better and is required when arbitrary distances are used.