| 1. |
- Nilsson, Robin, 1993
(författare)
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Interactions Between Water and Cellulose Esters
- 2022
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Biopolymers, which are produced from natural sources, are gaining interest as a potential replacement for fossil-based polymers. As such, they are already widely used in several industries, including the food, healthcare, and personal care industries. To harness the full potential of biopolymers as materials in new products designed for specific tasks, an ability to accurately predict their properties and how these properties change in different environments, is desirable. Hansen Solubility Parameters (HSP) combine dispersive, polar, and hydrogen bonding energies to understand interactions between molecules. This thesis explores the potential use of HSP as predictors of glass transition temperatures (Tg) and water interactions. It also focuses on elucidating the effect of an increased side-chain length of cellulose esters on their thermal properties, structural properties, and water interactions, together with how these properties are affected by the absorption of water. The cellulose esters studied here were cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate propionate, and cellulose acetate butyrate. The HSP showed that the dispersive energy dominates the total cohesive energy, followed by the hydrogen bonding and then the polar energy. Counter-intuitively, the Tg decreased with an increased total cohesive energy. The HSP explained this phenomenon, namely, that the increased length of the substituents screened the short-range hydrogen bonds. A similar effect was observed for water solubility and penetration into the cellulose esters, which decreased with increasing side-chain lengths despite the approximately constant hydrogen bonding energies. This indicates the importance of focusing on each of the different interaction parameters instead of only the total HSP.
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| 2. |
- Valencia, Luis, et al.
(författare)
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Multivalent ion-induced re-entrant transition of carboxylated cellulose nanofibrils and its influence on nanomaterials' properties
- 2020
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Ingår i: Nanoscale. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2040-3372 .- 2040-3364. ; 12:29, s. 15652-15662
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this work, we identify and characterize a new intriguing capability of carboxylated cellulose nanofibrils that could be exploited to design smart nanomaterials with tuned response properties for specific applications. Cellulose nanofibrils undergo a multivalent counter-ion induced re-entrant behavior at a specific multivalent metal salt concentration. This effect is manifested as an abrupt increase in the strength of the hydrogel that returns upon a further increment of salt concentration. We systematically study this phenomenon using dynamic light scattering, small-angle X-ray scattering, and molecular dynamics simulations based on a reactive force field. We find that the transitions in the nanofibril microstructure are mainly because of the perturbing actions of multivalent metal ions that induce conformational changes of the nanocellulosic chains and thus new packing arrangements. These new aggregation states also cause changes in the thermal and mechanical properties as well as wettability of the resulting films, upon water evaporation. Our results provide guidelines for the fabrication of cellulose-based films with variable properties by the simple addition of multivalent ions.
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| 3. |
- Andersson Trojer, Markus, et al.
(författare)
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Elastic strain-hardening and shear-thickening exhibited by thermoreversible physical hydrogels based on poly(alkylene oxide)-grafted hyaluronic acid or carboxymethylcellulose
- 2020
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Ingår i: Physical Chemistry, Chemical Physics - PCCP. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 1463-9076 .- 1463-9084. ; 22:26, s. 14579-14590
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The formation of strongly elastic physical gels based on poly(alkylene oxide)-grafted hyaluronan or carboxymethylcellulose, exhibiting both shear-thickening and strain-hardening have been studied using rheometry and explained using a slightly different interpretation of the transient network theory. The graft copolymers were prepared by a quantitative coupling reaction. Their aqueous solutions displayed a thermoreversible continuous transition from Newtonian fluid to viscoelastic solid which could be controlled by the reaction conditions. The evolution of all material properties of the gel could be categorized into two distinct temperature regimes with a fast evolution at low temperatures followed by a slow evolution at high temperatures. The activation energy of the zero shear viscosity and the relaxation time of the graft inside the interconnecting microdomains were almost identical to each other in both temperature regimes. This suggests that the number of microdomains remained approximately constant whereas the aggregation number inside the microdomains increased according to the binodal curve of the thermosensitive graft.
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| 4. |
- Hosseini, Seyedehsan, 1994
(författare)
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Additive-Driven Improvements in Interfacial Properties and Processing of TMP-Polymer Composites
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Efforts to address environmental concerns have resulted in new regulations designed to plan the reduction of plastic and synthetic polymer usage, necessitating the search for sustainable natural alternatives with comparable cost-effectiveness and mechanical performance. Thermomechanical pulp (TMP) fibres are one of the most affordable natural fibres that have no chemical refining in production, production have a high yield of 90-98% and TMP fibres have been demonstrated to improve the mechanical characteristics (strength, stiffness and toughness) of wood-polymer composites (WPCs) compared to the pure polymer. The integration of TMP fibres with non-polar synthetic polymers remains a challenge due to surface polarity differences. This PhD thesis aims to ease the processing of TMP fibre composites through the incorporation of additives. The hypothesis posits that incorporating magnesium stearate (MgSt), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) as additives in TMP composites will enhance interfacial properties, resulting in improved processability and flow behaviour at high temperatures. MoS2 is known for its interaction with lignin, which exists in TMP and MgSt is recognised for its ability to improve flow in pharmaceutical processing when combined with cellulose, also a component of TMP. AKD modifies the hydrophilic properties of lignocellulosic surfaces. The experimental work explores the effect of these additives on the properties of TMP composites of ethylene acrylic acid copolymer (EAA) and polypropylene (PP) matrices. The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and mechanical analysis results reveal that MoS2 exhibits superior interaction with TMP fibres, yielding enhanced interfacial properties compared to MgSt in between EAA and TMP fibres. Rheological studies elucidate the transition from a fluid-like state to a network-like structure upon the incorporation of TMP into the PP matrix. The incorporation of AKD with C18 reduces the viscosity of TMP-PP composites and PP itself, and, as determined through theoretical Hansen solubility parameter (HSP) calculations, increases compatibility between cellulose in TMP fibres and PP. The addition of AKD influences both the colour (lighter) and shape (smoother surface) of the extrudate filaments in the TMP-PP composites, indicative of improved processing. In addition, frictional analysis demonstrates the reduction of the coefficient of friction (COF) between metal and TMP fibre by MgSt and AKD treatments.
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| 5. |
- Hosseini, Seyedehsan, 1994, et al.
(författare)
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Alkyl ketene dimer modification of thermomechanical pulp promotes processability with polypropylene
- 2024
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Ingår i: Polymer Composites. - 1548-0569 .- 0272-8397. ; 45:1, s. 825-835
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Alkyl ketene dimers (AKDs) are known to efficiently react with cellulose with a dual polarity in their structure: a polar component and a nonpolar component. AKD of three different carbon chain lengths, 4, 10, and 16 carbons have been synthesized, and thermomechanical pulp (TMP) fibers were modified by them. The modification of TMP fibers with AKD resulted in an increased water contact angle, showing the presence of the AKDs on the TMP fibers and a new carbonyl peak in the IR spectra, suggesting modification of the TMP fibers with AKD groups. Calculating the Hansen solubility parameters of AKD and AKD conjugated to TMP in polypropylene (PP) indicates improved compatibility, especially of longer chain AKD and TMP AKD. The rheological studies of the composites showed that the AKD with the longest carbon chain decreases the melt viscosity of the PP-TMP-AKD composite, which combined with the shape and the color of the extruded composite filaments indicates improved flow properties and reduced stress build up during processing. The research findings demonstrate the ability of AKD to enhance the dispersibility and compatibility of natural fibers with PP.
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| 6. |
- Iurchenkova, Anna A., 1997-, et al.
(författare)
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MWCNT buckypaper/polypyrrole nanocomposites for supercapasitor application
- 2020
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Ingår i: Electrochimica Acta. - : Elsevier. - 0013-4686 .- 1873-3859. ; 335
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this work MWNT/polypyrrole nanocomposites were synthesized and investigated as electrode materials for supercapasitor application. The MWNT were synthesized by CCVD-method and precipitated as buckypaper film (NTBP). The polypyrrole was precipitated on the NTBP surface by chemical (sample NTBP_PPy_Chem) and electrochemical (sample NTBP_PPy_Elect) polymerization. The morphology and functional composition of individual and hybrid materials were investigated by microscopic and spectroscopic methods. It was obtained that the deposition method and presence of NTBP affects the polymer morphology. It was shown that PPy chemical deposition leads to the precipitation of a large amount of an amorphous polymer on a buckypaper surface. At the same time electrochemical deposition method promotes the synthesis of uniform polymer layers. In the second case, the mass of the precipitated polymer is smaller. It was found that both deposition methods are suitable for the polypyrrole deposition and can increase the buckypaper capacity almost twice. The material long cycling showed that the NTBP_PPy_Elect sample has the greatest stability. Thus, in this study, the relationship between morphology, functional composition and electrochemical properties of materials was studied. It was shown that the synthesis method allows controlling the morphology and/or functional composition of the materials. Also it was demonstrated that the synthesized structures are promising for use as supercapacitor electrodes due to the high specific capacitance and stability.
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| 7. |
- Liu, Shungang, et al.
(författare)
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The role of connectivity in significant bandgap narrowing for fused-pyrene based non-fullerene acceptors toward high-efficiency organic solar cells
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Materials Chemistry A. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2050-7488 .- 2050-7496. ; 8:12, s. 5995-6003
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Great attention has been paid to developing low bandgap non-fullerene acceptors (NFAs) for matching wide bandgap donor polymers to increase the photocurrent and therefore the power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of NFA organic solar cells, while pyrene-core based acceptor-donor-acceptor (A-D-A) NFAs have been mainly reported via the 2,9-position connection due to their bisthieno[3′,2′-b']thienyl[a,h]pyrene fused via a five-membered ring bridge at the ortho-position of pyrene as the representative one named FPIC5, which has prohibited further narrowing their energy gap. Herein, an acceptor FPIC6 was exploited by creating the 1,8-position connection through fusing as bisthieno[3′,2′-b′]thienyl[f-g,m-n]pyrene linked at the bay-position via a six-membered bridge, with enhanced push-pull characteristics within such A-D-A structure. As a structural isomer of FPIC5, FPIC6 exhibited a much lower bandgap of 1.42 eV (1.63 eV for FPIC5). Therefore, the photocurrent and PCE of PTB7-Th:FPIC6 cells were improved to 21.50 mA cm-2 and 11.55%, respectively, due to the balanced mobilities, better photoluminescence quenching efficiency and optimized morphology, which are both ∼40% better than those of PTB7-Th:FPIC5 cells. Our results clearly proved that a pyrene fused core with 1,8-position connection with electron-withdrawing end groups instead of 2,9-position connection is an efficient molecular design strategy to narrow the optical bandgap and improve the photovoltaic performance of NFA based OSCs.
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| 8. |
- Nilsson, Robin, 1993
(författare)
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An Investigation of Mixed Cellulose Esters and Acyclic Polyacetates: Effects of Side-Chain Lengths and Degrees of Ring-Opening
- 2023
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Bio-based polymers produced from natural sources are gaining an increased interest as potential replacement for today’s conventional fossil-based plastic polymers. Their use is already wide in many large-scale industrial areas such as healthcare, personal care, and food. To widen the potential of biopolymers in new applications such as plastics, their properties need to be tuned by modification to handle factors like relative humidity, which is especially important for gas barriers in food packaging. This thesis explores the effect of two structural variations of cellulose esters, one where the average side-chain length is increased, going from cellulose acetate to cellulose acetate propionate and then cellulose acetate butyrate, and another where the polymer backbone of cellulose acetate is ring-opened. These two modifications affect the glass transition temperature, an important structural factor. The effect of the average side-chain length is explored to a greater extent where they are studied for impact on mechanical properties, water content, water sorption at different RH, the kinetics of water sorption at different RH, mechanical properties at different RH and oxygen permeation at different RH. The focus is on how water interacts with the different esters with regard to the average side-chain length and how water affects their properties. An increase of average sidechain length and the ring-opening were shown to decrease the glass transition temperature. Together with the water sorption and Hansen solubility parameter, it was concluded that longer average side-chain length screens out hydrogen bonding between the polymers. The studies on the average side-chain length and water sorption indicated that water entering the cellulose acetate creates clusters. These formed water clusters create cavities in the polymer which makes the polymer hold more water than before introducing of the water clusters. Oxygen permeation studies on prewetted films prove that these cavities created by water clustering are still present after drying the material at 0% RH and thus resulted in a higher oxygen permeation compared to films that had not been exposed to higher than 50% RH.
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| 9. |
- Pipertzis, Achilleas, 1992, et al.
(författare)
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Ion transport, mechanical properties and relaxation dynamics in structural battery electrolytes consisting of an imidazolium protic ionic liquid confined into a methacrylate polymer
- 2023
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Ingår i: Energy Materials: Materials Science and Engineering for Energy Systems. - 1748-9237. ; 3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The effect of confining a liquid electrolyte into a polymer matrix was studied by means of Raman spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry, dielectric spectroscopy, and rheology. The polymer matrix was obtained from thermal curing ethoxylated bisphenol A dimethacrylate while the liquid electrolyte consisted of a protic ionic liquid based on the ethyl-imidazolium cation [C2HIm] and the bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide [TFSI] anion, doped with LiTFSI salt. We report that the confined liquid phase exhibits the following characteristics: (i) a distinctly reduced degree of crystallinity; (ii) a broader distribution of relaxation times; (iii) reduced dielectric strength; (iv) a reduced cooperativity length scale at the liquid-to-glass transition temperature (Tg); and (v) up-speeded local Tg-related ion dynamics. The latter is indicative of weak interfacial interactions between the two nanophases and a strong geometrical confinement effect, which dictates both the ion dynamics and the coupled structural relaxation, hence lowering Tg by about 4 K. We also find that at room temperature, the ionic conductivity of the structural electrolyte achieves a value of 0.13 mS/cm, one decade lower than the corresponding bulk electrolyte. Three mobile ions (Im+, TFSI-, and Li+) contribute to the measured ionic conductivity, implicitly reducing the Li+ transference number. In addition, we report that the investigated solid polymer electrolytes exhibit the shear modulus needed for transferring the mechanical load to the carbon fibers in a structural battery. Based on these findings, we conclude that optimized microphase-separated polymer electrolytes, including a protic ionic liquid, are promising for the development of novel multifunctional electrolytes for use in future structural batteries.
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| 10. |
- Spiliopoulos, Panagiotis, 1987, et al.
(författare)
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Cellulose modified to host functionalities via facile cation exchange approach
- 2024
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Ingår i: Carbohydrate Polymers. - 0144-8617. ; 332
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Properties of cellulose are typically functionalized by organic chemistry means. We progress an alternative facile way to functionalize cellulose by functional group counter-cation exchange. While ion-exchange is established for cellulose, it is far from exploited and understood beyond the most common cation, sodium. We build on our work that established the cation exchange for go-to alkali metal cations. We expand and further demonstrate the introduction of functional cations, namely, lanthanides. We show that cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) carrying sulfate-half ester groups can acquire properties through the counter-cation exchange. Trivalent lanthanide cations europium (Eu3+), dysprosium (Dy3+) and gadolinium (Gd3+) were employed. The respective ions showed distinct differences in their ability of being coordinated by the sulfate groups; with Eu3+fully saturating the sulfate groups while for Gd3+ and Dy3+, values of 82 and 41 % were determined by compositional analysis. CNCs functionalized with Eu3+ displayed red emission, those containing Dy3+ exhibited no optical functionality, while those with Gd3+revealed significantly altered magnetic relaxation times. Using cation exchange to alter cellulose properties in various ways is a tremendous opportunity for modification of the abundant cellulose raw materials for a renewable future.
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