Development and characterization of ricinoleic acid-based sulfhydryl thiol and ethyl cellulose blended membranes. (1st November 2017) - Li, Mei
Highlights: A novel ricinoleic acid based sulfhydryl triol(STRA) was synthesized. A blend membrane of ethyl cellulose(EC) and STRA was designed. EC is brittle, but membrane ductility can be improved by integrating EC with STRA. Transparency of EC/STRA supramolecular membranes was better than that of pure EC. Elongation at break of EC/STRA (50/50) was 20.2 times higher than that of pure EC. Abstract: Ethyl cellulose (EC) membranes can be combined with efficient plasticizers derived from renewable resources to form supramolecular systems. In this paper, a novel ricinoleic acid-based sulfhydryl triol (STRA) was first synthesized and used as a plasticizer for EC membranes. A supramolecular membrane of EC and STRA using van der Waals forces was designed. The morphology, hydrophilic performance, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. While pure EC is brittle, its membrane ductility and hydrophilic performance can be improved by integration with STRA. The highest tensile strength was found in EC/STRA (90/10) (8.37 MPa). Impressively, the EC/STRA(60/40) and EC/STRA(50/50) elongation at break values were 17.4 and 20.2 times higher, respectively, than that of pure EC. This novel ricinoleic acid-based sulfhydryl triol can be used as a feedstock for hydrophobic EC membranes.