M. Purushothaman¹, P. Santhana Gopala Krishnan^1,2,*, S. K. Nayak^1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.3, No.4, pp. 292-301, 2015, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634114

Abstract Four copolymers of poly(ethyl lactate acrylate-co-acrylic acid) were prepared by the solution polymerization technique by varying the comonomer content from 0.2 to 0.8 mole percent. The copolymers were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H-NMR and proton decoupled ¹³C-NMR spectroscopic techniques. The reactivity ratio of ethyl lactate acrylate (ELA) and acrylic acid (AA) was calculated using the Fineman-Ross method and the values were found to be 0.101 and 0.186, respectively, indicating the formation of an alternating copolymer. From the wide-angle X-ray diffraction studies (WAXD), the average molecular interchain spacing () was calculated from the 2θ value of amorphous halo at about 20°. The… More >

Beatrise Sture^1,*, Mikelis Kirpluks¹, Sergejs Gaidukovs², Edgars Vanags¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.8, No.9, pp. 1077-1089, 2020, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2020.09294

Abstract Photocurable systems are more effective, faster and require less energy than conventional thermal curing methods. To facilitate the ongoing transition toward a biobased economy, photoactive compounds were synthesized from tall oil fatty acids (TOFA) which is a by-product from wood pulping. In this study, photoactive monomers were synthesized by two different chemical pathways using oleic acid and TOFA as raw materials. Firstly, double bonds present in TOFA were epoxidized, followed by epoxy ring-opening with acrylic acid which introduced photoactive functional groups into the fatty acid backbone. Intermediates and final products were analysed using titration methods (acidic value, epoxy value, iodine… More >

Ying Lin¹, Yihua Cao¹, Qingping Song¹, Jiangang Gao¹, Puyou Jia^2，*, Hamed Alsulami³, Marwan Amin Kutbi³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.7, No.12, pp. 1403-1414, 2019, DOI:10.32604/jrm.2019.08380

Abstract Biocompatible and high content grafted carboxymethyl cellulose-gpoly(acrylic acid) powder was successfully synthesized in an aqueous system, and used as adsorbents for the removal of Cu(II) in aqueous solution. The copolymer was characterized by FT-IR and SEM techniques. Graft copolymerization introduced a large number of carboxyl groups in the polymer and caused the micro-surface of the material to be porous. The fundamental adsorption behaviors of the material were studied. The adsorption kinetics was well fitted with pseudo-second order equation, while the adsorption isotherm preferred to be described the Langmuir equation. The maximum adsorption capacity obtained from the Langmuir model was 154.32… More >

Jose Luis Orellana, Michael Mauhar, Christopher L. Kitchens^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.5, pp. 340-350, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2016.634126

Abstract Polylactic acid (PLA) is one of the most widely used biodegradable polymers due to the ability to synthesize it economically at industrial scale and its favorable properties for many consumer products. However, the rigid nature of PLA is not desirable for specific applications, requiring the incorporation of effective bioderived additives in order to enhance the PLA toughness and broaden applications. In this work, PLA was modified by graft polymerization of polyacrylic acid (PLA-g-PAA) to increase the hydrophilicity to promote compatibilization of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) or high molecular polyethylene glycol (PEG). CNCs were found to act as a nucleating agent for… More >