Papers by Keyword: Poly(ethylene terephthalate)

Abstract: In modern society, it is impossible to imagine life without plastics. However, managing the waste composed of plastics is one of the most significant environmental issues confronting us today. Recycling plastic waste or recovering the secondary raw materials sources is the most crucial action available to reduce ecological impacts worldwide. With the need to recycle plastic waste, questions also arise about applying new products from recycled plastics and advanced processing technologies. Advanced technologies overlap actively with the applied design, and their implementation enables them to move from extraordinary design ideas to the final object. Therefore, this contribution shows the possibility to prepare the unique textile pattern, interior accessories, and jewelry from the post-consumer use bottle poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) by electrospinning.

Abstract: A novel nanocomposite fibers were prepared from poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) via melt spinning and their thermal and mechanical properties were investigated. Graphite oxide and rGO were characterized by the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). FT-IR spectrum of GO and rGO showed the same peak of O-H stretching of the hydroxyl and C=C stretching of aromatic rings as well as C-O stretching. The thermal stability of pristine PET and rGO/PET composite masterbatch was characterized by the thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The thermal degradation temperature of PET and rGO/PET nanocomposite masterbatch was found at 413.9 °C and 418.1 °C, respectively. The mechanical properties of rGO/PET nanocomposite fibers were investigated and it was found that the mechanical properties were improved in all aspects comparing with neat PET fiber, including tensile strength, young's modulus and elongation at break.

Abstract: In this article, the drying characteristics were studied for granules of hydrophobic polymers, in particular, poly (ethylene terephthalate). To analyze the data, the modified quasi-stationary method was used. A modified quasi-stationary method has been proposed to describe drying kinetics of particulate materials dried in convective dryers with active hydrodynamic regimes. Parameters of reduced time and hydrodynamic intensity index were obtained for the generalized drying curve. Equations with refined parameters can be used to calculate the drying time and determine the temporal change in moisture content and material temperature.

Abstract: Poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) was melt blended with metallocene polyethylene (m-PE) with an effort to achieve excellent mechanical properties, a terpolymer elastomer, ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate (E-MA-GMA), was loaded as compatibilizer through in situ reacting with the end groups of PET to bond two immiscible phases. In order to investigate the in situ effects of the compatibilizer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mechanical analysis was applied to investigate PET/m-PE blends’ properties along with the variation of compatibilizer content. Statistics of particle size were applied to demonstrate the variation of the blends’ properties along with morphology. The results revealed that an appropriate loading of compatibilizer can obtain stiffness-toughness balanced blends.

Abstract: Electrochromism refers to the reversible change of color of thin films due to a small change in the voltage. This is important for smart windows and display applications. The color change takes place because of intercalation and deintercalation of ions, which is controlled by voltage applied between transparent conductive oxide (TCO) layers. In this research, the use of graphene nano-ink and post-consumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) bottles as the flexible electrochromic windows was reported. PET film was coated with graphene ink by spin coating method. The sheet resistance value of PET/graphene electrode was 19 W/sq. The polypyrrole (PPy) also was electroactive and had good adhesion towards transparent substrate. Our results primarily indicated that the novel PET/graphene/PPy/graphene/PET electrochromic device offered an optical modulation, in which the color of the device switched from the black color to the yellow color under the applied potential at ± 2.0 V. The graphene in the electrochromic device demonstrated a potential for replacing indium tin oxide (ITO) in flexible electrochromic windows.

Abstract: The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) loading on mechanical and thermal properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/polycarbonate (PET/PC) nanocomposites. Nanocomposites containing 70PET/30PC and 2-8 phr HNTs were prepared by twin screw extruder followed by injection moulding. As the percentage of HNTs increased, the flexural modulus increased. However, the flexural strength decreased with increasing HNTs content. The impact strength also decreased when HNTs increased. Thermogravimetry analysis of PET/PC/HNTs nanocomposites showed higher thermal stability at high HNTs content. However, on further addition of HNTs up to 8 phr, thermal stability of the nanocomposites decreased due to the poor dispersion of HNTs.

Abstract: Linear and branched poly (ethylene terephthalate) were prepared by using terephthalic acid, ethylene glycol as main raw materials and pentaerythritol as polyfunctional monomer through melt polycondensation method. The samples were characterized with respect to intrinsic viscosity and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). The results show that the low branched poly (ethylene terephthalate) could be obtained by the addition of tertrafunctional pentaerythritol through common melt polycondensation process.

Abstract: Poly (ethylene terephthalate) or PET was used in many applications such as packagings, textiles, electrical devices, and auto parts as well due to its good mechanical properties and dimensional stabilities, etc. However, the main drawback of PET is poor flame retardant and melt-dripping, which needed to be solved. Therefore, the aim of this research was to improve the flame retardant properties of PET by investigating the synergistic effects of flame retardant agents between silatrane complex and montmorillonite (MMT) at various concentrations. Silatrane complex was synthesized from silica through one pot process. The characteristic of the obtained silatrane complex was determined by FT-IR, SEM, and TGA. Various ratios of PET/silatrane complex/MMT nanocomposites were prepared by melt bending using a twin screw extruder and compressed into standard shape according to ASTM standard by a compression molding, respectively. Morphology, flame retardant properties, and mechanical properties of PET nanocomposites were investigated. The flame retardant properties were evaluated by LOI values and UL-94V rating. The results showed that mechanical properties of PET/silatrane complex/MMT nanocomposites were slightly different from those of the neat PET. The flame retardant properties showed that the LOI values of PET/silatrane complex/MMT nanocomposites were greater than that of neat PET and increased with increasing the silatrane complex concentration. The LOI value of PET/7%silatrane/2%MMT nanocomposite was increased up to 60.75%, compared with that of neat PET. While neat PET was classified into V-2 rating since it showed sustainable burning and melt-dripping behavior during burning process, PET/silatrane complex/MMT nanocomposites did not show such behavior and thus could be designated as V-0 rating. In addition, the results indicated that the MMT could occur synergistic effect with silatrane complex as well.

Abstract: Poly (ethylene terephthalate)(PET)/Al₂O₃ nanocomposites via in situ polymerization were studied. The nanoparticle loading was varied from 0.3 to 1 wt.%. From the DSC results, no significant differences were recorded for melting temperatures. However, simple added PET/Al₂O₃ nanocomposites slightly changed to the lower melting temperature. Morphology of the nanocomposites has been examined by SEM. From the SEM results revealed that dispersed Al₂O₃ nanoparticles in the EG (ethylene glycol) during the polymerization can be well dispersed in PET matrix.

Abstract: Poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/SiO2/TiO2 hybrid composites were prepared via the Sol-gel method that involves two steps: the as-prepared PET was dissolved into the mixed solution of phenol and dichloroethane by adjusting the pH value of the reaction system to 2～3 using acetic acid; then both the tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and the tetrabutyltitanate (TBT) were successively added to the hybrid solution followed by the Sol-Gel reactions at strong stirring to form the three PET/SiO2/TiO2 composites with cohydrolysis-condensation reaction. The intrinsic viscosity of the hybrid composites were measured by using an Ubbelohde viscometer. The resulting products with the different SiO2-TiO2 content were thoroughly characterized with FT-IR.