Porous materials (e.g. zeolites, activated carbon, etc.) have found various applications in industry, such as the use as sorbents, catalyst supports and membranes for separation processes. Recently, much attention has been focused on synthesizing porous polymer materials. A vast amount of tailor-made polymeric systems with tunable properties has been investigated. Very often, however, the starting substances for these polymers are of petrochemical origin, and the processes are all in all not sustainable. Moreover, the new polymers have challenged existing characterizing methodologies. These have to be further developed to address the upcoming demands of the novel materials. Some standard techniques for the analysis of porous substances like nitrogen sorption at 77 K do not seem to be sufficient to answer all arising questions about the microstructure of such materials. In this thesis, microporous polymers from an abundant natural resource, betulin, will be presented. Betulin is a large-scale byproduct of the wood industry, and its content in birch bark can reach 30 wt.%. Based on its rigid structure, polymer networks with intrinsic microporosity could be synthesized and characterized. Apart from standard nitrogen and carbon dioxide sorption at 77 K and 273 K, respectively, gas sorption has been examined not only with various gases (hydrogen and argon) but also at various temperatures. Additional techniques such as X-ray scattering and xenon NMR have been utilized to enable insight into the microporous structure of the material. Starting from insoluble polymer networks with promising gas selectivities, soluble polyesters have been synthesized and processed to a cast film. Such materials are feasible for membrane applications in gas separation. Betulin as a starting compound for polyester synthesis has aided to prepare, and for the first time to thoroughly analyse a microporous polyester with respect to its pores and microstructure. It was established that nitrogen adsorption at 87 K can be a better method to solve the microstructure of the material. In addition to that, other betulin-based polymers such as polyurethanes and polyethylene glycol bioconjugates are presented. Altogether, it has been shown that as an abundant natural resource betulin is a suitable and cheap starting compound for some polymers with various potential applications. / Das Bestreben, ölbasierte Produkte durch nachwachsende Rohstoffe zu ersetzen, hat dazu geführt, dass in immer größerer Zahl günstige, reichlich vorhandene Naturstoffe als Ausgangsstoffe für chemische Synthesen untersucht werden. In dieser Arbeit werden Polymere auf Basis von Betulin, einem aus Birkenrinde extrahierten Naturstoff, vorgestellt. Betulin ist zu 30 Gewichtsprozent in Birkenrinde enthalten. Da Betulin ein Nebenprodukt der Holzindustrie ist, ist es kostengünstig und sein Einsatz als Ausgangsstoff äußerst lukrativ. Die ersten Berichte über Betulin-basierte Polymere sind in den 1980er Jahren in Russland und Finnland erschienen, in den Ländern mit großen natürlichen Vorkommen an Birken. Betulin wurde in dieser Arbeit verwendet, um sogenannte mikroporöse Polymere herzustellen. Dies sind Stoffe mit Poren von molekularer Dimension. Mikroporöse Materialien sind wegen ihrer potentiellen Anwendung als Katalysatorträger und Gasseparationsmembranen hochinteressant. Die Klasse mikroporöser Polymere wurde durch die Synthese von unlöslichen Betulin-basierten Polyesternetzwerken erweitert. Außerdem gelang es, lösliche Polyester in Form dünner Filme herzustellen. Diese zeigten vielversprechende Ergebnisse in der Trennung von Stickstoff und Kohlendioxid und weisen somit Potential für die Nutzung als Membran auf. Dies könnte z. B. für Kohlendioxid-Reduzierung in Postcombustion-Verfahren interessant sein. Überdies wurde gezeigt, dass Stickstoffadsorption bei 77 K nicht ohne weiteres als Standardmethode für die Analyse von mikroporösen Materialien geeignet ist und dass die mikroporösen Materialien ferner durch Stickstoffadsorption bei 87 K und andere Gassorptionsmethoden bei verschiedenen Temperaturen zu charakterisieren sind. Diese Arbeit trägt zum besseren Verständnis mikroporöser Polymere bei.

Betulin is a naturally abundant compound in the outer bark of birch and can be easily obtained by solvent extraction. Herein, solutions of betulin were used to treat cellulosic textile fibers and improve their water repellency. Cotton fabrics impregnated in a 7.5 g L-1 solution of betulin in ethanol showed the highest water contact angle of about 153° while the impregnation in a 3.75 g L-1 solution resulted in a close effect. A terephthaloyl chloride-betulin copolymer was synthesized and dissolved in tetrahydrofuran to afford a solution with a concentration of 3.75 g L-1. The cotton fabric impregnated in this solution showed a water contact angle of 150°. Changes in morphology of the cellulose fibers before and after the treatment were observed by scanning electron microscopy, and the water repellency was measured by a standard spray test. The marketing strategy of the potential product, which will be developed based on this technique, was discussed.

Mémoire (M.Ress.Renouv.)--Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2001. / Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Textiles made from natural sources, such as cotton and flax, have advantages over those made of synthetic fibers in terms of sustainability. Unlike major synthetic fibers that have a negative impact on the environment due to poor biodegradability, cotton cellulose is a renewable material.Cotton cellulose fibers exhibit various attractive characteristics such as softness and inexpensiveness. Cellulosic textiles can be easily wetted, since the structure contains a large amount of hydrophilic hydroxyl groups, and when water repellency is needed, this is a disadvantage. Currently, paraffin waxes or fluorinated silanes are used to achieve hydrophobicity, but this contradicts the concept of green chemistry since these chemicals are not biodegradable. The use of bio-based materials like forest residues or side-streams from forest product industries might be a good alternative, since this not only decreases the pressure on the environment but can also increase the value of these renewable resources.Betulin is a hydrophobic extractive present in the outer bark of birch trees (Betula verrucosa). Nowadays, the birch bark containing betulin generated in the paper industry is disposed of by incineration as a solid fuel to provide energy, but this application is not highly valuable and this motivates us to see whether betulin can be used as a hydrophobe to prepare waterproof cellulosic textiles. Methods of dip-coating, film compression molding and grafting were performed to build “betulin-cellulosic textile system” to render the textile with hydrophobicity and other functions. The textile impregnated in a solution of betulin-based copolymer exhibited a contact angle of 151°, which indicated that superhydrophobicity can be reached. AATCC water spray test results showed that cellulosic textile coated with betulin-based film had a water repellency of 80, which is the third highest class according to the rating standards. Betulin-grafted textiles were also prepared and showed a static water contact angle of 136°, and an antibacterial property with a bacterial removal of 99%.This thesis proposes that betulin can be used as a green alternative in functional material preparation. By developing betulin, a more value-added application rather than incineration can be achieved. / <p>QC 20190205</p>

No description available.

No description available.