Influence of biobased polyol type on the properties of polyurethane hotmelt adhesives for footwear joints

Polyurethanes, one of the most used polymers worldwide, are strongly dependent of non-renewable fossil resources. Thus, boosting the production of new polyurethanes based on more sustainable raw materials is crucial to move towards the footwear industry decarbonisation. The aim of this study is to synthesise and characterise reactive hotmelt polyurethanes from biomass and CO2-based polyols as bioadhesives for the footwear industry. The influence of biobased polyols on the polyurethane structure, and therefore, on their final properties was analysed by different experimental techniques such us Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Melting viscosity, Softening temperature and T-peel strength test, in order to assess their viability for the upper to sole bonding process. The results obtained indicated that the incorporation of different amounts of the biobased polyols produces changes in the structure and final performance of the polyurethanes. Therefore, adhesion test carried out by the T-peel test 72 h after the upper -to- sole bonding of the sustainable adhesives show high final adhesion values. These sustainable raw materials provide polyurethane adhesives with additional beneficial non-toxicity and sustainable characteristics, without harming their properties during their useful life.

Effect of interface-active proteins on the salt crystal size in waterborne hybrid materials

Aqueous processes yielding hybrid or composite materials are widespread in natural environments and their control is fundamental for a multiplicity of living organisms. Their design and in vitro engineering require knowledge about the spatiotemporal evolution of the interactions between the involved liquid and solid phases and, especially, the interphases governing the development of adhesion during solidification. The present study illustrates the effects of distinct proteins on the precipitation of sodium chloride encompassing the size, shape and distribution of halite crystals formed during the drying of droplets containing equally concentrated saline protein solutions. The precipitates obtained from aqueous sodium chloride formulations buffered with tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) contained either bovine serum albumin (BSA), fibrinogen or collagen and were characterized with respect to their structure and composition using optical and electron microscopy as well as x-ray analysis. The acquired findings highlight that depending on the protein type present during droplet drying the halite deposits predominantly exhibit cubic or polycrystalline dendritic structures. Based on the phenomenological findings, it is suggested that the formation of the interphase between the growing salt phase and the highly viscous saline aqueous jelly phase containing protein governs not only the material transport in the liquid but also the material exchange between the solid and liquid phases.

Mechanical properties of unmodified and montmorillonite-modified epoxy compounds. Part I: compression test

The aim of the article was to determine the compressive strength and compressive strain of an unmodified and a modified epoxy compounds containing a montmorillonite filler, as well as to determine the effect of temperature and an aging time on the mechanical parameters of the considered epoxy compounds. The subject of the research was both the unmodified and the modified adhesive compounds. The unmodified epoxy compounds were made in four variants, which included the epoxy resins based on a bisphenol A as well as the curing agents: a triethylenetetramine and a polyamide curing agent. The modified compounds containing the montmorillonite filler, were also made in four variants. The samples were subjected in a thermal chamber at 80 °C for 1 and 2 months and in a thermal shock chamber in the temperature range from − 40 °C to 80 °C for 1 and 2 months. The reference samples were seasoned at room temperature 20–25 °C. The epoxy compounds samples were subjected to the compression strength tests in accordance with ISO 604 standard. The compressive strength is influenced by the environment and temperature, the aging time and the presence of the modifying agent. The epoxy compounds subjected at elevated or variable temperatures have higher compressive strength than the reference epoxy compounds. The operation of the climatic chamber or the thermal shock chamber makes the samples more deformable than the reference samples.

In vitro antibacterial effect of fifth generation dentin bonding agent incorporated with nisin on Streptococcus mutans

Introduction Bacterial adherence to restorative materials such as composite resin is one of the aetiology of secondary caries. This study evaluated the antibacterial efficacy of fifth generation bonding agent (BA) modified with nisin, against Streptococcus mutans based on its growth, adherence and membrane integrity. Methods Adhesive eluents of the experimental bonding agents were obtained using 250 μl Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth and the groups were control (BA with 0% Nisin), bonding agent with 1 wt% (NBA 1) and 5 wt% nisin (NBA 5). To this, 10 μl S. mutans culture was added and incubated at 37 °C. Bacterial growth was estimated by changes in optical density using spectrophotometer every 20 min for 2 h. The results were statistically analysed using one way ANOVA followed by Tukey Post Hoc test. For adherence and membrane integrity test, 10 μl of BHI supplemented with 1% sucrose and 50 μl of bacterial suspension were inoculated onto the cured specimens, and incubated for 4 h. After rinsing, 1 ml of Live/Dead BacLight bacterial viability stain was added and incubated in the dark for 15 min and observed under confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) for intact (green/live) and damaged (red/dead) bacterial membranes. Results Mean optical density was significantly higher in control group at all time intervals with maximum value at 2 h (0.83 ± 0.008), while there was a concentration dependant reduction in bacterial growth with the NBA groups (0.50 ± 0.007). Correspondingly, the NBA groups showed higher amount of dead than live bacteria, while live bacteria were predominant in the control group. Significance Addition of an antibacterial agent nisin in dentin bonding agent may render the resin dentin interface more resistant to bacterial penetration, and adherence of cariogenic bacteria like S. mutans.

Antioxidant pre-treatments are able to reduce waiting time for restorative treatment after dental bleaching: a microtensile bond strength exploratory study

The aim was to evaluate the effect of different antioxidant agents on the improvement of bond strength to enamel subjected to a whitening procedure. Samples were divided into six groups (n = 10): control; whitening immediately followed by restorative treatment (WHT); whitening and restoration after a 7-day period (WHT_7D); whitening and application of 10% sodium ascorbate (WHT_SA); application of 5% grape seed extract (WHT_GS); and application of 5% green tea (WHT_GT). All groups except for control fwere whitened (Opalescence PF Regular 16%) for 7 days (4 h/day). All samples were restored (Optibond™ FL, Kerr and Filtek™ Z250 composite, 3M ESPE). In antioxidant groups these were applied for 15 min and immediately restored. Specimens were sectioned in microspecimens (1.0 ± 0.2 mm2 area) for microtensile bond strength (μTBS) testing (0.5 mm/min) on a universal testing machine. ANOVA test with Brown-Forsythe correction and Games-Howell post-hoc test was used (significance level of 5%). Antioxidant groups presented significant higher mean μTBS values than group WHT (p < 0.001). The non-whitened control group was not significantly different to antioxidant experimental groups. Group WHT_7D exhibited a significantly higher mean μTBS value when compared to group WHT (p = 0.022). The different antioxidants significantly influenced microtensile bond strength of restored teeth after whitening.

Tannin-based extracts of Mimosa tenuiflora bark: features and prospecting as wood adhesives

Mimosa tenuiflora (Willd.) Poir. (MT) is an underutilized plant specie since its wood is mostly used for energy production. Nonetheless, the bark from this forest plant has a high amount of tannins and other valuable compounds. Tannins have high worldwide importance and, because of that, there is an increasing number of researches on biorefinery systems aiming at maximizing their exploitation. The present study evaluated tannins extracted from the MT bark and their use for producing wood adhesives. Three types of powdered tannins were extracted using different solvents: a pure aqueous solution, a 5% sodium hydroxide (NaOH) aqueous solution, and a 5% sodium bisulfite (NaHSO3) aqueous solution. Distilled water, wheat flour, and formaldehyde were also used as a solvent, a glue extender, and a catalyst, respectively. These adhesives were applied for bonding pine wood joints and their shear strengths were determined. All the MT-based adhesives showed high viscosities and, yielded glue lines with similar shear strengths and similar shear deformations if compared to each other. That tannin-based glue incorporated with the tannin extracted using NaOH or NaHSO3 stood out and yielded similar bonding performances if compared to a commercial adhesive applied as a positive control.

Adhesively bonded joints of jute, glass and hybrid jute/glass fibre-reinforced polymer composites for automotive industry

Natural fibre-reinforced composites have attracted a great deal of attention by the automotive industry mainly due to their sustainable characteristics and low cost. The use of sustainable composites is expected to continuously increase in this area as the cost and weight of vehicles could be partially reduced by replacing glass fibre composites and aluminium with natural fibre composites. Adhesive bonding is the preferred joining method for composites and is increasingly used in the automotive industry. However, the literature on natural fibre reinforced polymer composite adhesive joints is scarce and needs further investigation. The main objective of this study was to investigate experimentally adhesively bonded joints made of natural, synthetic and interlaminar hybrid fibre-reinforced polymer composites. The effect of the number of the interlaminar synthetic layers required in order to match the bonded joint efficiency of a fully synthetic GFRP bonded joint was studied. It was found that the failure load of the hybrid jute/glass adherend joints increased by increasing the number of external synthetic layers (i.e. the failure load of hybrid 3-layer joint increased by 28.6% compared to hybrid 2-layer joint) and reached the pure synthetic adherends joints efficiency due to the optimum compromise between the adherend material property (i.e. stiffness and strength) and a diminished bondline peel stress state.

The influence of epoxy adhesive toughness on the strength of hybrid laminate adhesive joints

The use of composite materials in structural applications has significantly expanded in recent years. The transport industry accounts for an increasingly larger share of the final structural weight of vehicles, as manufacturers pursue improvements in fuel economy, lighter more efficient designs, and reduction of emissions. However, the delamination of adhesively bonded composite joints causes premature failure of the bond, inhibiting the use of its full potential and leading to inefficient and over-designed components. A hybrid composite metallic material technology is studied in this work, a method inspired in the fibre metal laminate concept, and which combines the best properties of FRPs and metal alloys. The hybrid composite-metallic adherends aims to increase the joint strength in the through thickness direction, minimise peel stresses and limit delamination. The objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of hybrid joints, bonded with different adhesives by comparing them against a reference joint using a conventional Carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) adherend. The joints were experimentally tested using a universal testing machine for a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. Numerical models were developed, using the ABAQUS software, to study the behaviour of all joints studied. The numerical predictions of failure loads and modes were compared to the experimentally obtained results.

Evaluation of adhesion of epoxy resin sealant to improve the corrosion resistance of thermal sprayed coatings

The adhesion of coatings on a given substrate has fundamental importance on a coating/substrate system's functionality. The current paper presents the adhesion strength results of FeCr and CoCr-based deposits produced by the electric arc thermal spray process on carbon steel, with an intermediate layer of 95Ni5Al. Three chemical compositions were tested for coating deposition and were characterized using plate and tube specimens made of carbon steel UNS G10200 to result in a screening of performance. Microstructural evaluation by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were performed. Coating strength was measured using the standard pull-off test method. The corrosion resistance was analyzed with salt spray exposure, electrochemical polarization, and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests. The adhesion strength of FeCr and CoCr alloy coatings shows an overall average tensile strength of 27.2 MPa. All sealed conditions presented low corrosion and the samples with epoxy sealant exhibited a high resistance against corrosion. The X-ray diffraction results have revealed alpha and gamma FeCr alloys and chromite as deposited phases after the coating process.