Preparation and Characterization of Dual-Modified Cassava Starch-Based Biodegradable Foams for Sustainable Packaging Applications.

Starch and its derivatives have recently emerged as a sustainable and renewable alternative for petroleum-based expanded polystyrene (EPS) and expanded polypropylene (EPP) foam materials. In this study, biodegradable foam materials were prepared from cassava starch using a novel dual modification technique, combining microwave treatment and freeze-drying. The foam materials were prepared from starch solutions microwaved over different intervals. The starch-based foam materials were characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) spectroscopy, and compression set test. Moreover, the water absorption capacities and density values of the foam materials were measured according to ASTM standards. The biodegradability test was carried out according to the aerobic compost environment test. The lowest water absorption capacities of 65.56% and 70.83% were exhibited for the cassava starch foam sample (MWB) prepared at a 20 s microwave treatment time and immersed in distilled water for 2 and 24 h, respectively. Furthermore, the lightweight cassava starch-based foam materials displayed density ranging from 124 to 245 kg/m3. The biodegradation test exhibited significant biodegradation of over 50% after 15 days for all the foam materials prepared. These results suggest that the dual-modified cassava starch-based biodegradable foams show potential in sustainable packaging applications by replacing petroleum-based materials.

Synthesis of Xylylene-Bridged Periodic Mesoporous Organosilicas and Related Hollow Spherical Nanoparticles.

A variety of organosilicas with p-xylylene bridging groups in the framework were synthesized using Pluronic F127 triblock copolymer as a micellar template under moderately acidic conditions in the presence of xylene as a micelle swelling agent. The resulting materials were characterized by using nitrogen adsorption, small-angle X-ray scattering, transmission electron microscopy, and (29)Si and (13)C cross-polarization magic angle spinning NMR. As the ratio of the organosilica precursor to Pluronic F127 was decreased, the structure evolved from highly ordered periodic mesoporous organosilica (PMO) to weakly ordered PMO, loosely aggregated hollow organosilica nanospheres, and finally to a significantly aggregated disordered structure. The highly ordered PMO with primarily face-centered cubic structure was effectively a closed-pore material. However, the weakly ordered variant exhibited large-diameter (∼15 nm) spherical mesopores, which were accessible after calcination under appropriate conditions or after extraction. The hollow nanospheres had readily accessible, uniform inner cavities whose size was readily tunable by adjusting the amount of the swelling agent used. It was also possible to convert the organosilica nanospheres into hollow silica nanospheres with inaccessible (closed) mesopores. The formation of distinct well-defined morphologies with spherical mesopores for an organosilica with large bridging groups in the framework shows that block-copolymer-surfactant templating is a powerful and versatile method for controlling the nanoscale structures of these remarkable materials.

Face-centered-cubic large-pore periodic mesoporous organosilicas with unsaturated and aromatic bridging groups.

Large-pore ethenylene-bridged (-CH═CH-) and phenylene-bridged (-C(6)H(4)-) periodic mesoporous organosilicas (PMOs) with face-centered-cubic structure (Fm3m symmetry) of spherical mesopores were synthesized at 7 °C at low acid concentration (0.1 M HCl) using Pluronic F127 triblock copolymer surfactant in the presence of aromatic swelling agents (1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, xylenes-isomer mixture, and toluene). In particular, this work reports an unprecedented block-copolymer-templated well-ordered ethenylene-bridged PMO with cubic structure of spherical mesopores and an unprecedented block-copolymer-templated face-centered cubic phenylene-bridged PMO, which also has an exceptionally large unit-cell size and pore diameter. The unit-cell parameters of 30 and 25 nm and the mesopore diameters of 14 and 11 nm (nominal BJH-KJS pore diameters of 12-13 and 9 nm) were obtained for ethenylene-bridged and phenylene-bridged PMOs, respectively. Under the considered reaction conditions, the unit-cell parameters and pore diameters were found to be similar when the three different methyl-substituted benzene swelling agents were employed, although the degree of structural ordering appeared to improve for phenylene-bridged PMOs in the sequence of decreased number of methyl groups on the benzene ring.