Superhydrophobic PLA fabrics prepared by UV photo-grafting of hydrophobic silica particles possessing vinyl groups.

Superhydrophobic poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fabrics are prepared by UV photo-grafting of hydrophobic silica particles possessing vinyl functional groups on the surfaces, which is a novel one-step process to provide surface with roughness as well as hydrophobicity simultaneously. For this purpose, hydrophobic silica particles with vinyl groups and average diameter of 1.51+/-0.

Superhydrophobicity of cotton fabrics treated with silica nanoparticles and water-repellent agent.

To obtain the superhydrophobic water-repellent cotton fabrics, cotton fabrics were treated with silica nanoparticles and/or a cost-effective water-repellent agent (WR agent). Two different silica nanoparticles were synthesized via a sol-gel process and their shapes, sizes, and compositions were characterized. It was found that silica particles are spherical and have diameters of 143 and 378 nm.

Preparation and lead ion removal property of hydroxyapatite/polyacrylamide composite hydrogels.

We report the synthesis of hydroxyapatite/polyacrylamide (HAp/PAAm) composite hydrogels with various HAp contents by free radical polymerization and their removal capability of Pb(2+) ions in aqueous solutions with controlled initial Pb(2+) ion concentrations and pH values of 2-5. The swelling ratio of the composite gels in aqueous solutions decreases with increasing the HAp content in the gels. The composite gel with higher HAp content exhibits the higher removal capacity of Pb(2+) ions owing to the higher adsorption sites for Pb(2+) ions, but shows the slower removal rate of Pb(2+) ions due to the lower degree of swelling.

Comparison of porous poly (vinyl alcohol)/hydroxyapatite composite cryogels and cryogels immobilized on poly (vinyl alcohol) and polyurethane foams for removal of cadmium.

Three novel adsorbents of hydroxyapatite/poly (vinyl alcohol) (HAp/PVA) cryogel, HAp/PVA cryogel immobilized on PVA foam and HAp/PVA cryogel immobilized on polyurethane (PU) foam have been investigated to compare the morphology and sorption performances for removal of cadmium. The adsorption kinetics was interpreted by double-exponential model, pseudo-first-order model and pseudo-second-order models. The equilibrium time was found to be 36, 24, and 12 h for cryogel, cryogel immobilized on PVA foam and PU foam, respectively.

Removal of lead ions in aqueous solution by hydroxyapatite/polyurethane composite foams.

We have prepared hydroxyapatite/polyurehthane (HAp/PU) composite foams with two different HAp contents of 20 and 50 wt.% and investigated their removal capability of Pb2+ ions from aqueous solutions with various initial Pb2+ ion concentrations and pH values of 2-6. HAp/PU composite foams synthesized exhibited well-developed open pore structures which provide paths for the aqueous solution and adsorption sites for Pb2+ ions.