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The paper's aim is to synthesise ultraviolet (UV) curable polyurethane acrylate based on polyester polyol and to study change in its mechanical, chemical, optical and weather resistance properties with varying amount of nanosilica. It also seeks to determine its optimum loading levels for property maximisation.

New UV curable polyurethane acrylate has been synthesised using polyester polyol, blend of isophorone diisocyanate and toluene diisocyanate and hydroxyl ethyl acrylate. This resin was incorporated with nanosilica (1‐3 per cent) on the basis of total solids. The newly synthesised material was characterised by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatography, X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The mechanical, chemical and optical properties of the coating films were studied and compared.

The hardness, tensile strength and abrasion resistance show significant enhancement with increasing amount of nanosilica. It is also found that UV cured polyurethane acrylate nanocoating exhibited improved weather resistance. The optimum concentration of nanosilica for better performance is found to be 3 per cent of total solids. The improvement is the result of inherent nature of nanosilica.

Nanosilica used in present context is having 10 nm mean diameter and near about 600 m²/g surface area. Nanosilica having different particle size, surface area and surface modification can be used to improve more specific properties.

Addition of nanosilica particles to polyurethane acrylate coating is a simple and inexpensive method resulting in phenomenal increase in properties.

The new organic‐inorganic hybrid nanocoating with improved weather resistance was synthesised. These coatings could find applications in demanding fields such as automotive topcoats.

A nanosilica adsorbent was prepared and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET.

The optimum conditions for the highest adsorption performance were determined by kinetic modeling. The adsorbent was used for the adsorption of acetaminophen (ACT), and the parameters affecting the adsorption were discussed like pH, initial concentration, contact time and adsorbent dosage. The adsorbent have been characterized by SEM, XRD and BET analysis. The kinetic models including pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied to investigate the kinetic and isotherms parameters.

The adsorption of ACT increased to around 95% with the increase of nanosilica concentration to 30 g/L. Moreover, the adsorption process of ACT follows the pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm with the maximum adsorption capacity of 609 mg/g.

This study provided a simple and effective way to prepare of nanoadsorbents. This way was conductive to protect environmental and subsequent application for removal of emerging pollutants from aqueous solutions.

The novelty of the study is synthesizing the morphological and structural properties of nanosilica-based adsorbent (specific surface area, pore volume and size, shape and capability) and improving its removal rate through optimizing the synthesis method; and studying the capability of synthesis of nanosilica-based adsorbent for removal of ACT as a main emerging pharmaceutical water contaminant.

The purpose of this paper is to formulate two component polyurethane coatings based on acrylic polyol, to study the effects of variable nanosilica loadings in these coatings on different morphological, optical, mechanical, corrosion resistance and weather resistance properties and to study the intercalation of acrylic polyol molecules into nanosilica crystals by XRD technique.

Two component polyurethane coatings were synthesised using acrylic polyol and isocyanate HDI. The nanosilica was incorporated in polyurethane formulation at the weight ratios of 1%, 3% and 5% based on total weight of polyol and isocyanate. The performance of nanocoatings was compared for variable loads of nanosilica for different properties such as morphological, optical, mechanical, corrosion resistance, weather resistance and were studied for intercalation of acrylic polyol into nanosilica crystals by XRD technique.

Improvement in the properties of polyurethane coatings is achieved with the incorporation of nanosilica. The improvement is the result of inherently high properties of inorganic nanosilica. Tensile strength, scratch hardness, abrasion resistance, corrosion and weathering resistance show significant improvement in performance with the incorporation of nanosilica. Properties are found to deteriorate beyond a certain loading of nanosilica; hence it is important to optimise loading level. The optimal range for high performance was found to be in the range of 1% to 3%. The improvement was a result of synergistic behaviour and good interfacial interaction between polyurethane and nanosilica at optimal levels.

The method used for incorporation of nanosilica into polyurethane was direct incorporation method. The other method of incorporation, i.e. in situ addition and its effect on properties can also be studied.

With the addition of optimal loading level of nanosilica to polyurethane coatings, properties can be enhanced up to the mark. The addition is relatively easy and cost effective.

The paper proves the significance of incorporation of nanosilica on original properties of polyurethane coatings and widens the area of applications of two component polyurethane coatings from acrylic polyol by strengthening them in their properties. The coatings can be applicable in high performance topcoats especially for automotive topcoats.

The effectiveness of centrifugation as the compacting method in preparing high filler composites has been investigated. Different size and shape of fillers were used to ensure efficient filler space filling. In situ polymerization of bisphenol-A ethoxy diacrylate after centrifugating produced biomimetic composites with 74-86 % filler content. The filler space was efficiently filled by using a combination of nano and microsize fillers, especially in the nanosilica-CaCO₃ composite. The morphology of the composites indicates that the fillers were well dispersed and embedded in the polymer matrix. The etched surface of the nanosilica-talc composite reveals that the combination of talc and nanosilica formed a biomimetic composite that displayed an ordered brick-and-mortar nacre-like structure. The wide-angle X-ray diffraction patterns indicate the crystal structure of CaCO₃ and talc were maintained in the composite.

Roller compacted concrete (RCC) pavement is used in areas subjected to heavy impact loads; therefore, higher impact resistance is a desirable property of consideration. This study aims to investigate the effect of partial replacement of fine aggregate with crumb rubber (CR) and the addition of nanosilica (NS) by weight of cementitious materials on the impact resistance of roller compacted rubbercrete (RCR).

Four replacement levels of CR (0, 10, 20 and 30 per cent) and four addition levels of NS (0, 1, 2 and 3 per cent) were considered. The impact resistance test was carried out using the drop weight test recommended by ACI 544.

The results showed that the impact resistance of RCR increases with an increase in both CR and NS addition, though for CR above 20 per cent, sudden drop in impact resistance was observed. However, NS reduces the ductility of RCR by decreasing the post-cracking impact resistance. Response surface methodology was used to develop models for predicting the impact resistance of RCR, and the developed models showed a high degree of correlation. As a result of wide variations in the impact drop test data, two-parameter Weibull distribution function was used for the data analysis, and it was found that the probabilistic distributions of the first crack and ultimate failure impact resistance follow the two-parameter Weibull distribution function.

In this work, the effect of partial replacement of fine aggregate with CR and the addition of NS by weight of cementitious materials on the impact resistance of RCC pavement has been investigated. CR has been used to increase the impact resistance of RCC Pavement.

The purpose of this paper is to study the recent work carried out in enhancing the properties of bitumen using nano-additives. Bitumen is a by-product obtained from the refining process of crude oil, therefore making it a diminishing product. It has been used by mankind since ages for various applications like sealants, binders, waterproof coatings and pavement construction material. It is a black viscous substance with adhesive nature.

Bitumen is used as a binding material because of its ability to become liquid when heated and become solid when cooled and thus used largely in construction of roads because of its unique properties. Low softening point of bitumen leads to melting of bitumen during summer and causes rutting of roads, whereas during winter it leads to cracking as bitumen acts brittle in nature during low temperature. Increasing global demand of bitumen has created gap between demand and supply which is increasing with the passage of time. Further modern life has created very high traffic volume and heavy load which makes it essential to improve performance of bitumen.

Research studies have reported that the thermal properties of bitumen are enhanced by using thermoplastic polymers such as styrene-butadiene-styrene, polyethylene and ethylene-vinyl acetate, rubber and bio waste etc.

This paper reviews various types of materials which have been used to improve the properties of bitumen and explores the possibility to synthesise bitumen composite materials with nanoadditives with improved structural, mechanical and thermal properties.

This study aims to investigate the effects of nano or inorganic fillers on unsaturated polyester’s (UPE) thermal, mechanical, and physical properties. UPE reinforced with nanoparticles shows better properties than the pure polymer itself. Nano or inorganic fillers are used in the polymeric matrix to improve thermal, mechanical and physical properties.

To improve thermal, mechanical and physical properties, UPE resin was modified with silica (S), boron nitride (BN) and S/BN hybrid nanoparticles at different ratios. Viscosity and solids content measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and thermal conductivity coefficient tests were performed on the samples.

In the SEM analysis, the UPE sample showed a smooth appearance, while all samples containing additives showed phase separation and overall heterogeneous distribution. TGA results demonstrated that the thermal stability of the resin increased in the presence of S and BN additives. According to the results, it was observed that the presence of S and BN additives in the UPE resin and the use of certain ratios improved the resin properties.

As a result of the literature search, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no study was found in which BN nanoparticles were included in the UPE resin together with S.

The purpose of this paper is to prepare coloured superhydrophobic and ultraviolet (UV) protective nylon fabrics using nanosilica copper oxide coating.

In this study, brown coloured superhydrophobic nylon fabric exhibiting UV protective properties was prepared by step-wise deposition of silica nanoparticles, copper oxide and sodium stearate. The hydrophobicity of treated fabrics was characterised by water contact angle measurement and UV protection properties of fabric were assessed by Australian/New Zealand Standard. Also, a colouring effect of treatment on nylon fabric was measured using spectrophotometer.

The modified fabric not only exhibited superhydrophobicity with the water contact angle of 150.6°, but also rendered excellent protection against UV radiation. The fabric showed retention of hydrophobic and UV protection properties up to 20 washing cycles.

A novel method for imparting superhydrophobicity and UV protective properties along with colouration effect on nylon fabrics has been reported. This type of fabric has potential application in the field of protective clothing.

The aim of this paper is to study the corrosion protection behavior of water‐borne inorganic zinc‐rich coatings based on potassium silicate/nanosilica developed with various zinc and micaceous iron oxide (MIO) contents during cathodic protection stage.

The formulated coatings were applied on carbon steel panels and were subjected to electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and free corrosion potential measurements for characterization of corrosion protection behavior. Also atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical microscopy were used to investigate the surface topography of coatings.

All of the coatings preserved the cathodic protection ability throughout 75 days of exposure to 3.5% NaCl solution. Supporting results of electrochemical tests and microscopic observations revealed that replacement of zinc by MIO particles reduced both the rate of reactivity and the duration of cathodic protection of inorganic zinc‐rich coatings. It was observed that the coatings demonstrated a reactivation step after a dry‐wet cycle implying that cyclic immersion can change the overall duration of cathodic protection stage.

The paper describes formulation and investigation of corrosion protection behavior of an environmentally friendly zero‐VOC coating as well as providing an insight into EIS of zinc‐rich coatings.