Bacterial cellulose-poly(acrylic acid-,'-methylene-bis-acrylamide) interpenetrated networks for the controlled release of fertilizers.

In this study, composite hydrogels with interpenetrated polymer networks (IPNs), based on bacterial cellulose (BC) and poly(acrylic acid-,'-methylene-bis-acrylamide) (PAA), were synthesized by radical polymerization and characterized herein for the first time. Liquid fertilizer (LF) formulations, containing potassium, phosphorus, ammonium oxides and micronutrients, were encapsulated directly into the IPNs of the composite hydrogels during synthesis. Thermal analyses and scanning electron microscopy of control and composite xerogels highlighted the formation of IPNs between BC and PAA.

Studying nanostructure gradients in injection-molded polypropylene/montmorillonite composites by microbeam small-angle x-ray scattering.

The core-shell structure in oriented cylindrical rods of polypropylene (PP) and nanoclay composites (NCs) from PP and montmorillonite (MMT) is studied by microbeam small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). The structure of neat PP is almost homogeneous across the rod showing regular semicrystalline stacks. In the NCs the discrete SAXS of arranged crystalline PP domains is limited to a skin zone of 300 m thickness.