Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Exploring Soybean Oil-Based Polyol And Effect Of Non-Halogenated Flame Retardants In Rigid Polyurethane Foam, Sahithi Kondaveeti

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

To address the increasing demand for sustainable biomaterials due to the depletion of fossil fuel resources and growing environmental concerns, a new type of biodegradable and environmentally friendly rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF) has been synthesized. These foams are derived from chemically modified soybean oil-based polyol obtained from soybean oil by epoxidation followed by a ring-opening reaction. Polyurethane foam is generally used in construction, furniture, and automobile industries but is highly flammable and releases toxic gases and smoke during combustion. In this study, a highly efficient synergistic effect halogen-free flame-retardant (FR) melamine salt, 2-carboxyethyl(phenyl)phosphinic acid melamine salt (CMA) was synthesized from …

Characterization Of Polymers Containing Ferrocene And Imidazole With Density Functional Theory, Eric Mullins

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

Electrochemical and UV-Vis studies on these polymers in the presence of aqueous solutions containing metal ions have revealed significant modifications in the electrochemical properties and absorption spectra. These modifications in electrochemical properties could be attributed to the ability of the imidazole to coordinate with metal ions, increasing its electron deficiency and enhancing oxidization of the nearby ferrocene moiety if it is in close proximity with imidazole. However, the mechanism of interaction between the imidazole and metal ions, as well as the equilibrium geometry of the resulting polymer-metal ion complex is unknown.

In this thesis, density functional theory (DFT) was used …