Nanocelluloses from jute fibers and their nanocomposites with natural rubber: Preparation and characterization.

Nanocellulose fibers having an average diameter of 50nm were isolated from raw jute fibers by steam explosion process. The isolation of nanocellulose from jute fibers by this extraction process is proved by SEM, XRD, FTIR, birefringence and TEM characterizations. This nanocellulose was used as the reinforcing agent in natural rubber (NR) latex along with crosslinking agents to prepare crosslinked nanocomposite films.

Dynamics of phase separation in poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene)-modified epoxy/DDS system: kinetics and viscoelastic effects.

The dynamics of phase separation and final morphologies of poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS)-modified epoxy system based on diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) cured with 4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone (DDS) have been monitored in situ throughout the entire curing process by using optical microscopy (OM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), rheometry, and small-angle laser light scattering (SALLS). The evolution of phase separation and final morphologies with substructures were explored by OM. The final morphologies of the blend cured at 150 and 165 °C are of phase-inverted type and are quite different from the final morphologies of the same blend cured at 180 °C, in which the final morphologies are cocontinuous.

Complex phase separation in poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene)-modified epoxy/4,4'-diaminodiphenyl sulfone blends: generation of new micro- and nanosubstructures.

The epoxy system containing diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A and 4,4'-diaminodiphenyl sulfone is modified with poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) to explore the effects of the ABS content on the phase morphology, mechanism of phase separation, and viscoelastic properties. The amount of ABS in the blends was 5, 10, 15, and 20 parts per hundred of epoxy resin (phr). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were employed to investigate the final morphology of ABS-modified epoxy blends.