Kun Shan University

About: Kun Shan University is a education organization based out in Tainan City, Taiwan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Heat transfer & Thin film. The organization has 1992 authors who have published 2928 publications receiving 45685 citations. The organization is also known as: Kūnshān Kējì Dàxué.

Ductile PLA nanocomposites with improved thermal stability

Abstract: Polylactide (PLA) is used as a biomedical material because it is biodegradable, but the vast majority of biodegradable polymers in clinical use are composed of rather stiff materials that are unsuitable for use in numerous applications because they exhibit limited extendibility, weak mechanical strength, and poor thermal stability. We modified PLA with 2-methacryloyloxyethyl isocyanate (MOI) to prepare ductile PLA materials. By utilizing a novel sol–gel process, PLA nanocomposites were further prepared with improved mechanical properties and thermal stability. The 10% thermal decomposition temperature for PLA modified with 5% MOI and 5–10% silica was 21–32 °C higher than that of original pristine PLA. Elongation at break increased by 4–13 times when compared to neat PLA while the tensile strength was maintained at 30–40 MPa. These synthesized PLA nanocomposites can be applied as biomaterials with improved mechanical and thermal properties.

Effect of nitrogen-plasma surface treatment to the enhancement of TiO2 photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation

Abstract: A visible-light-active commercial TiO 2 powder was prepared by thermal nitrogen-plasma processing as the surface treatment. The photoactivity of the treated TiO 2 samples was evaluated in the photocatalytic degradation of gaseous 2-Propanol (IPA) in a batch reactor. XPS analysis showed that oxygen vacancies formed in the lattice of the treated TiO 2 particles and no nitrogen peaks were detected. With increasing the treating time, the visible absorbance and oxygen vacancies were increased but the surface area of treated sample was decreased. The photodegradation rate of IPA under visible light illumination depended strongly on the treating time of the catalyst, and the photoactivity of the treated sample was higher than that of plain TiO 2 . From the results of reaction rate constant and mineralization yield of IPA, it was found that the TiO 2 powders treated for 30 min demonstrated the highest photocatalytic activity among all samples. This high visible light photoactivity was ascribed to an intermediate level of visible absorbance as well as optimal oxygen vacancies after the thermal nitrogen-plasma surface treatment.