Plasticized Plasticized Polyvinyl Chloride Research Articles

Improving the Hydrophobicity of Plasticized Polyvinyl Chloride for Use in an Endotracheal Tube.

An endotracheal tube (ETT) is a greatly appreciated medical device at the global level with widespread application in the treatment of respiratory diseases, such as bronchitis and asthma, and in general anesthesia, to provide narcotic gases. Since an important quantitative request for cuffed ETTs was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns about infection have risen. The plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material used to manufacture ETTs favors the attachment of microorganisms from the human biological environment and the migration of plasticizer from the polymer that feeds the microorganisms and promotes the growth of biofilms. This leads to developing infections, which means additional suffering, discomfort for patients, and increased hospital costs. In this work, we propose to modify the surfaces of some samples taken from commercial ETTs in order to develop their hydrophobic character using surface fluorination by a plasma treatment in SF6 discharge and magnetron sputtering physical evaporation from the PTFE target. Samples with surfaces thus modified were subsequently tested using XPS, ATR-FTIR, CA, SEM + EDAX, profilometry, density, Shore A hardness, TGA-DSC, and biological antimicrobial and biocompatibility properties. The obtained results demonstrate a successful increase in the hydrophobic character of the plasticized PVC samples and biocompatibility properties.

Fluorination of PVC medical devices to prevent plasticizers migration

Medical devices (MD) are often made of plasticized polyvinylchloride (PVC). However, plasticizers may leach out into infused solutions and expose the patients to a toxic risk. The aim of the present work is to fluorinate plasticized PVC tubular MDs to create a barrier layer on their internal surface, and to study the impact of such a chemical treatment on the migration of the plasticizers. Following fluorination by pure molecular fluorine, the physico-chemical characterization of these modified MDs was carried out using various spectroscopic and microscopic techniques or tensile tests, evidencing the formation of covalent C-F bonds on the surface of the treated samples without modification of their mechanical and optical properties. The migration of plasticizers from fluorinated MDs was assessed using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and was found considerably decreased in comparison with the pristine MDs. After 24 h, the amount of tri-octyltrimellitate plasticizer (TOTM) detected in migrates from fluorinated MDs was even lower than the limit of quantification. Complementary cytotoxicity assays were performed according to the ISO EN 10993-5 standard, showing that the new fluorinated material does not cause a cytotoxic effect on L929 cells.

Plasticized polyvinyl chloride/melamine‐cyanurate modified Mg(OH)2@bentonite nanocomposites; mechanical, thermal, and flame retardant properties

AbstractIn this work, a strategy was used to combine Mg(OH)2 nanoparticles (MDH), the bentonite nano‐sheets, and melamine cyanurate (MC) to prepare dioctyl phthalate (DOP) plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) nanocomposites with increased thermal stability, Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI), and tensile strength as well as reduced total heat release. To prepare MC‐modified Mg(OH)2@bentonite nanohybrid (MMHB), MDH was installed on the calcined bentonite and consequently modified with MC. The nanocomposite thin films were prepared from plasticized‐PVC and MMHB using the solvent casting method. It was found that the combination of MDH and the bentonite nano‐sheets in the presence of MC could improve the PVC properties. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in both N2 and air atmospheres, indicated that the thermal stability of PVC was enhanced via adding MMHB, which was evident by the increased thermal decomposition temperature. The microscale combustion calorimetry (MCC) results of the PVC nanocomposites with 5% and 8% by mass of MMHB revealed that an optimal isolating layer is formed, which increased flame retardant properties. The PVC matrix nanocomposite containing 8% by mass of MMHB with LOI value of 33.4% exhibited high flame retardancy. Moreover, the tensile strength and elastic modulus of the sample containing 5% by mass of MMHB increased by 65.5% and 55.2% compared to those of pristine PVC, respectively.Highlights A nanohybrid was prepared from Mg(OH)2 (MDH) and calcined bentonite. Preparation of melamine cyanurate (MC). Preparation of MC‐modified MDH@bentonite nanohybrid (MMHB). Effects of MMHB on thermal stability and flame retardancy of plasticized PVC. The efficient flame retardancy effect of the additive on plasticized PVC.

Hyperspectral Imaging Based Detection of PVC During Sellafield Repackaging Procedures

Traditionally, special nuclear material (SNM) at Sellafield has been stored in multilayered packages, consisting of metallic cans and an overlayer of plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as an intermediate layer when transitioning between areas of different radiological classification. However, it has been found that the plasticized PVC can break down in the presence of both radiation and heat, releasing hydrochloric acid, which can corrode these metallic containers. Therefore, internal repackaging procedures at Sellafield have focused recently on the removal of these PVC films from containers, where as much degraded and often adhered PVC as possible is manually removed based on visual inspection. This manual operation is time-consuming, and it is possible that residual fragments of PVC could remain, leading to corrosion-related issues in future. In this work, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) was evaluated as a new tool for detecting PVC on metallic surfaces. The Samples of stainless steel type 1.4404—also known as 316L, the same as is used to construct SNM cans—and PVC were imaged in our experiments, and support vector machine (SVM) classification models were used to generate detection maps. In these maps, pixels were classified into either PVC or 316L based on their spectral responses in the range 954–1700 nm of the electromagnetic spectrum. Results suggest that the HSI could be used for an effective automated detection and quantification of PVC during repackaging procedures, detection and quantification that could be extended to other similar applications.

Effect of PVC microplastics on soil microbial community and nitrogen availability under laboratory-controlled and field-relevant temperatures

Microplastics have been reported to affect soil microbiota and nitrogen cycling under controlled temperature conditions, but their impact under field temperature regimes remains unclear. In this study, we compared the impacts of plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microplastics in an acidic agricultural soil at laboratory-controlled (25 °C) and field-relevant (outdoor ambient, 2–26 °C) temperature conditions. The results showed that changes in soil indicators were roughly the same under the two temperature conditions after 30 d, with increased NH4+-N content and urease activity, decreased NO3−-N content, potential nitrification rate and ammonia-oxidizing archaea abundance, unaltered bacterial abundance, and significant shifts in bacterial community composition. Probably because microbial activity differed at different temperatures, clear discrepancies were also observed: 1) the lowest observed effect concentration was 0.1 % w/w at 25 °C while it was 0.05 % w/w at ambient temperature; 2) a clear dose-effect relationship was observed at 25 °C but not at ambient temperature; and 3) in addition to a range of bacterial taxa that were commonly influenced by microplastics (e.g., Bradyrhizobium, Burkholderia-Caballeronia-Paraburkholderia, Sinomonas, and Sphingomonas), Amycolatopsis, Nocardia and unclassified Saccharimonadales were more responsive at 25 °C while Bacillus and Mycobacterium for ambient temperature. The findings provide insights into the interaction of microplastics with soil microbes under different temperatures and help to understand the threshold values of plasticized PVC microplastics in soil ecosystems.

Stretching-insensitive stretchable and biocompatible triboelectric nanogenerators using plasticized PVC gel and graphene electrode for body-integrated touch sensor

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENG) can generate strong electrical signals even with low frequencies and weak forces, thus research has been conducted to use them as wearable, body-attachable, and body-embeddable devices using biomechanical energies. For this reason, the TENG components, such as dielectric materials and electrodes, should be stretchable. A stretchable and biocompatible single electrode TENG based on plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gel with a graphene electrode is fabricated. PVC gel is a suitable stretchable TENG dielectric material owing to its high stretchability, dielectric constant, and tribo-negative properties, and graphene is a highly conductive electrode. Graphene and PVC gel-based stretchable and biocompatible TENGs display excellent electrical outputs (48 V, 2.5 μA, and 0.49 W/m2). The electrical resistance range of the electrode which does not affect the TENG output performance, and a stretching-insensitive TENG with approximately 50% stretching rate is successfully demonstrated through this study. In addition, both PVC gel and graphene are biocompatible. These stretching-insensitive and biocompatible TENGs may be used as a self-powered touch sensor that can be integrated into the human body.

Synthesis of a polyester plasticizer from rubber seed oil for polyvinyl chloride

Abstract A polyester plasticizer (RSOP) for polyvinyl chloride based on rubber seed oil (RSO) was synthesized. Firstly, RSO monoglyceride were synthesized by the transesterification of RSO with glycerol at 220–240 °C. Secondly, RSOP was synthesized from RSO monoglyceride and adipic acid by esterification. The polyester plasticizer was characterized by GPC, FT-IR, 1H NMR and DSC. Plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials with RSOP and dioctyl phthalate (DOP) in varying ratios were prepared via thermal melting process, RSOP was used as a second plasticizer. The properties of the plasticized PVC materials were characterized by a universal testing machine, TGA, DMA and solvent extraction resistance. The obtained PVC materials showed improved thermal stability and lower glass transition temperature than PVC. Solvent extraction resistance and plasticization of plasticized PVC were also improved. This study provides a new strategy for preparing bio-based polyester plasticizer from RSO.

Modeling the Damage and Self-healing Behaviors of Plasticized PVC Gels

Plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gel is a type of electroactive polymers, which has potentials to be applied as soft actuators. However, few studies have been performed to investigate the mechanical responses of PVC gels in cyclic loading conditions. In this work, we combined experiments and theory to characterize the mechanical responses of two plasticized PVC gels. The gels were subjected to different types of loading-unloading-reloading cycles. The experimental results showed that the plasticized PVC gels exhibited stress softening response (the Mullins effect) in the cyclic tests. Meanwhile, the gels regained some strength after annealing at room temperature for several hours, indicating the self-healing ability of gels. We further extended the eight-chain model with incorporation of the chain dissociation and reassociation mechanism. The developed constitutive model is able to reproduce the Mullins effect and the recovery of the Mullins effect observed in the experiments. Our results clearly show that understanding the complex mechanical response is crucial for the applications of plasticized PVC gels.

Spectrophotometric characterization of plasticizer migration in poly(vinyl chloride)-based artificial leather

Plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the most commonly used material in the manufacture of artificial leather because of its flexibility, high durability and low cost. While hundreds of plasticizers have been produced to obtain PVC films and artificial leathers, it is important to choose the correct plasticizer to produce the desired products. Therefore, here five non-phthalate type plasticizers with three levels (40 phr, 60 phr and 80 phr); trioctyl trimelliate (TOTM), tributyl trimelliate (TBTM), dioctyl terephthalate (DOTP), dioctyl adipate (DOA) and dioctyl succinate (BIO) were used to prepare plasticized PVC films. They were studied in terms of their compabilities with PVC polymer chains, and their effects on mechanical properties of PVC films. Although, linear plasticizers e.g. BIO and DOA have higher compabilities with PVC, a branched plasticizer e.g. TOTM showed higher mechanical properties. Moreover, a new spectrophotometric method for determination of plasticizer migration from PVC polymer matrix to the surface of artifical leather was developed. According to lightness change on the surface of PVC artifical leather before and after heat treatment at 70 °C, the migration rates of used plasticizers increase in this order: TOTM < TBTM < DOTP < BIO < DOA.

Plasticized PVC Membrane Modified Electrodes: Voltammetry of Highly Hydrophobic Compounds.

In the last 50 years, plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) membranes have gained unique importance in chemical sensor development. Originally, these membranes separated two solutions in conventional ion-selective electrodes. Later, the same membranes were applied over a variety of supporting electrodes and used in both potentiometric and voltammetric measurements of ions and electrically charged molecules. The focus of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of the plasticized PVC membrane modified working electrode for the voltammetric measurement of highly lipophilic molecules. The plasticized PVC membrane prevents electrode fouling, extends the detection limit of the voltammetric methods to sub-micromolar concentrations, and minimizes interference by electrochemically active hydrophilic analytes.

Highly electro-responsive plasticized PVC/FMWCNTs soft composites: A novel flex actuator with functional characteristics

Electro-responsive devices are used in actuators and artificial muscles but susceptible low deformation limits its applications. Herein, we prepared soft composites from functional multi-wall carbon nanotubes (FMWCNTs) and plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The PVC/FMWCNTs soft composite assembled with double layer electrodes functioned as a highly flexible contraction actuator. Furthermore, the chemical structure and surface morphology of the PVC/FMWCNTs composites are characterized by using FT-IR, Raman, XRD, and SEM techniques. The deformation of an optimized soft composite in the designed device is found to be 34% under a specified applied voltage. To the best of our knowledge, this contraction deformation value based on flexible PVC/FMWCNTs soft composites is the highest reported value to date. Moreover, the incorporation of FMWCNTs in plasticized PVC resulted in a high elongation at break of about 500%. The obtained results strongly indicated that the electro-stimulated soft composites have promising applications in soft wearable devices, actuators and artificial muscles.

Toxic phthalate-free and highly plasticized polyvinyl chloride materials from non-timber forest resources in plantation

In this study, dehydroabietic acid derivatives containing primary amine groups were synthezied from one of the most important non-timber forest resources in plantation. Phthalate-free and highly plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials were produced via substituting chlorine of PVC with dehydroabietic acid derivatives containing primary amine groups. Performance of phthalate-free and highly plasticized PVC materials including pyrolysis and tensile property, solvent extraction resistance and lattice structure, the relationship between plasticizing property and hydrogen bond were investigated and compared with plasticized PVC materials containing toxic phthalate plasticizers. The phthalate-free and highly plasticized PVC materials exhibited more flexible than PVC and higher solvent extraction performance than plasticized PVC materials with phthalate plasticizers. Some environmental performance such as releasing less asphyxiating gases during thermal degradation than PVC, not containing toxic phthalate esters and no plasticizer migration was obtained. The highly plasticized PVC materials are promising to find application in various fields as a replacement of plasticized PVC materials containing toxic phthalate plasticizers. The study provides new way for chemical transformation and improving added value of non-timber forest resources in plantation.

Enhancement of the Thermomechanical Properties of a Fly Ash- and Carbon Black-Filled Polyvinyl Chloride Composite by Using Epoxidized Soybean Oil as a Secondary Bioplasticizer

Plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was fabricated using epoxidized soybean oil (ESBO) as a secondary bioplasticizer with dioctyl phthalate (DOP). The PVC/MFA/CB composites were prepared by melt mixing of the plasticized PVC with modified fly ash (MFA), carbon black N330 (CB), and polychloroprene (CR) in a Haake Rheomix mixer using a rotation speed of 50 rpm at 175°C for 6 min and then compressed by Toyoseiki pressure machine under 15 MPa. The effect of ESBO content on morphology, melt viscosity, tensile properties, and flame retardancy of PVC/MFA/CB composites was investigated. The obtained results showed that the incorporation of ESBO has significantly enhanced the processing ability, Young’s modulus, tensile strength, and elongation at break of the PVC/MFA/CB composites. The torque of PVC/MFA/CB composites was increased to approximately 12% when 50 wt% of DOP was replaced by ESBO. When ESBO was 20 wt% in comparison with DOP weight, the elongation at break, tensile strength, and Young’s modulus of the composites were increased to 48%, 24%, and 4.5%, respectively. Correspondingly, thermogravimetric analysis results confirmed that ESBO had improved the thermostability of the PVC composites. The ESBO have potential as a secondary bioplasticizer replacement material for DOP owing to their better thermomechanical stability.

Evaluation of repeated exposure systemic toxicity test of PVC with new plasticizer on rats via dual parenteral routes.

Systemic toxicity caused by repeated exposure to both polar and nonpolar leachables of di(2-ethylhexyl)-1,2-cyclohexane plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was evaluated with dual routes of parenteral administration method on rats in the study. Experimental group and control group were designed by researchers. Tail intravenous injection with 0.9% sodium chloride injection extracts and intraperitoneal injection with corn oil extracts were conducted to the experimental rats while tail intravenous injection with 0.9% sodium chloride Injection and intraperitoneal injection with corn oil were conducted to the control rats. After 14 days, blood specimens were collected for clinical pathology (hematology and clinical chemistry) analysis. Selected organs were weighed and a histopathological examination was conducted. As a result, compared with the control animals, there were no toxicity-related changes on the parameters above. The results show that the rats do not show obvious systemic toxicity reaction caused by repeated exposure with dual routes of parenteral administration method on rats after administration with both polar and nonpolar exacts of di(2-ethylhexyl)-1,2-cyclohexane plasticized PVC simultaneously up for 14 days.

Migration of stabilizers and plasticizer from recycled polyvinylchloride

The migration of lead, cadmium, and zinc stabilizers from recycled unplasticized and plasticized polyvinylchloride (PVC) into deionized water (DW), saliva (SAS), and sweat (SWS) simulants was investigated. With the results obtained with DW diffusion coefficients in the plastics and partition coefficients at the plastic‐water interface for these additives were determined. The results indicate that organic stabilizers diffuse faster than inorganic ones in the matrix of the PVC. This fact is confirmed also by the low diffusion coefficients found for antimony oxide used as flame retardant in plasticized PVC. The migration rates of the metal (and especially lead) containing stabilizers from unplasticized PVC in DW are very low due to their low diffusion coefficients in the polymer and low solubilities in water. These migration rates are, as expected, higher from plasticized PVC, mainly because of the higher diffusion coefficients in the polymer. The migration levels of lead stabilizers from PVC into SAS are comparable with those into DW. However, for SWS considerably higher lead migration levels were found, probably due to the ability of the lactic acid and/or ammonium hydroxide components of SWS to coordinate the Pb ions resulting in an increase of the solubility of the lead containing stabilizers in this liquid. Migration of the plasticizer diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) from plasticized PVC samples into the same liquids was also investigated. The results obtained indicate that these migration processes are mainly controlled and limited by the low solubility of DEHP in these liquids. No enhanced DEHP migration into SWS was observed. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 24:E112–E124, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers

Development of PVC-resin-controlled release formulation for pheromones and use in mating disruption of yellow rice stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulas

Half lives of a range of Lepidopteran sex pheromone components incorporated into plasticized polyvinylchloride (PVC)-resin formulations were determined under a range of conditions in a laboratory wind tunnel and in the field in Egypt, Pakistan and India. Increasing aliphatic chain length by two methylene groups increased half lives by a factor of approximately 7.5 at 27 °C. Half lives of saturated aliphatic acetates decreased with increase in temperature by 79.2%, 85.5% and 95% for dodecyl acetate, tetradecyl acetate and hexadecyl acetate, respectively, between 22 and 34 °C. Addition of the polymer-soluble dye, Waxoline Black, improved the stability of labile aldehydes and polyunsaturated compounds incorporated into plasticized PVC under field conditions, although the antioxidant BHT had no effect. Studies confirmed that the formulation was ideally suited for the release of 14-carbon acetates and 16-carbon aldehydes with typical field lives of 70–100 days. A PVC-resin formulation of sex pheromone was tested for mating disruption of yellow rice stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulas, in replicated 1 ha plots in India over two seasons. Even at an application rate of 10 g a.i./ha/season there was a significant reduction in damage relative to that in plots treated with insecticides. However, application rates of 30–40 g a.i./ha/season are recommended for general use by farmers.

Preparation and Properties of Volume Expansion Type Blends of Plasticized Polyvinyl Chloride/Starch Graft Polyacrylate Sodium

A series of water-swellable elastomers were prepared by blending plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) with starch graft polyacrylate sodium (SZA). The morphology and properties of PVC/SZA blends were studied by means of water absorbing ratio, water swelling ratio, weight loss ratio, tensile stress-strain and SEM tests. The results indicate that when PVC/SZA blends were pretreated by means of soaking in distilled water, SZA, which weakly interacts with the PVC matrix can be washed out. After the pretreatment, the blends were quite stable in water, the water absorbing ratio of the blends increased and the water swelling ratio of the blends nearly was unchanged in the further water absorbing tests. The mechanical properties of the pretreated blends slightly reduced as compared to those of the without pretreatment. With plasticizer content of the plasticized PVC in the blends, the water absorbing ratio and the water swelling ratio increased.

PVC-plasticizer DEHP in medical products: do thin coatings really reduce DEHP leaching into blood?

The hemocompatibility of artificial surfaces in extracorporeal blood circulation systems can be improved by coatings. According to the literature, heparin coatings should avoid the leaching of the plasticizer di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) into the blood from components made from plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC). DEHP and its metabolites are known to impair the fertility of male rodents; effects on human fertility are assumed. Three different surface coatings with and without heparin were examined in a Chandler Loop model at 37 degrees C using fresh human blood to evaluate their hemocompatibility and barrier property to plasticizer. The levels of toxic oxidation products of DEHP generated in the blood, particularly, were found as high as in the uncoated tubing. The coatings improved the hemocompatibility, but are not safe protection against the hazardous metabolites of DEHP. For pregnant women, neonates and children, we would recommend using the available surface-coated plasticized PVC tubing sets, but free of DEHP.

Effect of CaCO 3/LiCO 3 on the HCI generation of PVC during combustion

Two types of filler that can take up HCl in plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) during its combustion have been investigated. Calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) and lithium carbonate (Li 2CO 3) are very effective HCl absorbers and their uptake ability is significantly affected by the particle size and loading of the fillers. The synergy of the two fillers in taking up HCl is consistent with the result of TGA analysis, and its mechanism is also postulated. The effects of fillers on the mechanical properties and oxygen index of the plasticized PVC are also investigated.

Comparative Fatigue Lives of Rubber and PVC Wiper Cylindrical Coatings

Three coating materials for rotating, cylindrical, coated wiping rollers were fatigue tested in two Intaglio printing presses. The coatings were a hard, cross-linked, plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) thermoset (P-series); a plasticized PVC (A-series); and a hard nitrile rubber (R-series). Both two- and three-parameter Weibull analyses and a cost-benefit analysis were performed. The mean value of life for the R-series coating is 24 and 9 times longer than that of the P- and A-series coatings, respectively. At a very high probability of survival, the R-series coating is approximately 2 and 6 times the lives of the P- and A-series, respectively, before the first failure occurs. The cost and replacement rate for the R-series coating is significantly less than those for the P- and A- series coatings. When all coatings are run to failure, using the mean (life) time between removal (MTBR) for each coating to calculate the number of replacements and costs provides qualitatively similar results to those using a Weibull analysis. For these coatings, at a given operating temperature, the higher that temperature above the glass transition temperature, the longer the fatigue life. Presented at the 57th Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas May 19–23, 2002