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New acrylic and allylic resins were prepared by functionalising perfluoropolyethers chains, which assured peculiar surface properties. Blends having a different amount of the acrylic and of the allylic systems were cured in air by UV irradiation. The cure of the films was found dependent on the ratio between the two resins; the concentration for the obtaining of a film fully cured in air was determined. On the basis of this concentration, a macromer functionalised with the right amount of both the acrylic group and the allylic one was synthesised.

UV‐curable systems based on the copolymerisation of a typical acrylic resin with low amount of fluorinated monomers (less than 1 per cent w/w) were prepared. The bulk properties of the films were unchanged, while a strong modification of the surface was obtained, depending on the monomer structure, on its concentration and on the type of substrate.

Circumstances that are have a significant impact on it. In particular, environmental sustainability related to the increase of worldwide population, and market demand for agricultural products (with consumers more and more aware about cultivation and breeding techniques and interested in healthy and high-quality products) represent two of the key challenges that the agricultural sector is going to face in next years. In such a landscape, technological innovations that can support organizations and entrepreneurs to face these problems become increasingly important, and Industry 4.0 is the most striking example. Indeed, the Industry 4.0 paradigm aims to integrate digital technologies into business processes to raise productivity levels and to develop new business models. Accordingly, digital technologies play a similar role in the precision agriculture domain, and the purpose of this paper is to understand if the technologies at the basis of these two paradigms are the same or not.

The present work investigates how the two domains of Industry 4.0 and precision agriculture are connected to one another by analyzing the most used technologies in both the fields in order to highlight common patterns and technological overlaps. To reach such goal, an approach combining manual and automated analysis was developed.

The research work generated three main results: a dictionary of precision agriculture technologies including 324 terms; a graph, describing the connections between the technologies composing the dictionary; and a representation of the main technological clusters identified.

These show how the two domains under analysis are directly connected and describe the most important technologies to leverage when approaching digital transformation processes in the agricultural sector.

The purpose of the present study is to use an amino-functional polysiloxane for the surface modification of red iron oxide (Fe₂O₃) pigment particles for their improved dispersion stability and hydrophobicity and to study the chemical interactions of polysiloxanes with the particle surface.

Surface-treated red Fe₂O₃ pigment particles were prepared by treatment of the particles with different quantities of the (aminopropylmethylsiloxane)-dimethylsiloxane copolymer in concentrated suspensions in water. The samples were analysed with different instrumental and spectroscopic techniques to study the interaction of the polysiloxane with the particle surface and the effect of the surface treatment of the particles on their dispersion stability and hydrophobicity.

Chemisorption of the amino-polysiloxane onto the surface of Fe₂O₃ particles resulted in stable layers which turned out to be helpful in improving greatly the dispersion stability of the particles as shown by the Static Light Scattering and Dynamic Light Scattering results. Formation of a polysiloxane coating onto the surface of the pigment particles was confirmed by studying the interactions of the polymer molecules with Fe₂O₃ surfaces by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy techniques.

The surface-treated red Fe₂O₃ particles with improved dispersion stability can be important components of various formulations in applications such as the colouring of the cement or inorganic pigment-based paint formulations.

The study provides mechanistic insights about the interactions of amino-polysiloxane with the red Fe₂O₃ particles. The process of surface modification of red Fe₂O₃ particles with the amino-functional polysiloxane showed increased hydrophobicity and dispersion stability which is an important requirement of the pigment-based formulations in real applications.

Epoxy acrylate which is commercially utilized for UV curable coatings although has excellent adhesion, flexibility, hardness and chemical resistance, they lack in antimicrobial properties. Citric acid (CA) is economical as well as a bio-based compound which possess an antimicrobial activity. So, the purpose of this research investigation is the preparation of CA-based oligomer which can be further incorporated with epoxy acrylate and tri (propylene glycol) Diacrylate (TPGDA) to form uv curable coating and the study of its antimicrobial property.

A UV-curable unsaturated oligomer (CUV) was synthesized from CA and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). The chemical structure of CUV was confirmed by FTIR, ¹H NMR, GPC, hydroxyl value, acid value and iodine value. Further, CUV was assimilated as an antimicrobial as well as crosslinking agent to copolymerize with epoxy acrylate oligomer and a series of UV-cured antimicrobial coatings were concocted by employing UV-curing machine. The consequence of varying the fraction of CUV on the mechanical, chemical, thermal and antimicrobial properties of UV-cured wood coatings was explored.

Results exhibited good mechanical, chemical and thermal properties. In addition, it was perceived that the zone of inhibition against S. aureus got enlarged with increasing content of CUV in the coating formulation.

The synthesized bio-based CUV reveals an extensive potential to ameliorate the antimicrobial properties of UV-curable coatings.

The purpose of this study is to determine required paint and silicone proportions, their mixing rate and duration to eliminate the pattern problems caused by the misuse of silicone polymers in hammertone paints. Results of the findings aim at preventing raw material, manufacturing time and labour losses in hammertone paint production.

A paint formulation produced commercially was used. The effects of silicone proportion and mixing rate and paint and pigment density on the pattern formation within the paints, to which the spray painting method was applied, were investigated. Brightness controls of the produced paints were done, and the effect of the additive polymer on brightness was investigated. Photographs of paints for each practice were taken.

The most suitable silicone proportion and mixing conditions for the silver grey paints, in which Al non-leafing pigments were used, were calculated as 0.034-0.036 g/kg-paint and 15 s at 200 rpm, respectively. It was observed that the increase in pigment density increased required silicone proportion for the desired pattern. It was determined that mixing rate and duration were very significant in pattern formation, and that silicone decomposed and the pattern was disrupted in long-continued mixings. In addition, excess silicone use disrupted the pattern and decreased the paint brightness.

This research was conducted for hammertone paints, which are industrial and self-patterned aluminium silvered decorative paints. The results can be used for hammertone paint production.

The results will enable manufacturers to produce hammertone paints more economically. Results can be used in the paint industry to produce such paint.

It is crucial to produce high-quality products using less raw materials in today’s industry, where the amount of raw materials is decreasing, and economical and reliable production is becoming increasingly important. When environmental impacts in the solvent-based paint industry are taken into consideration, paint production in shorter times is important for both workers’ and environmental health. As a result of this study, hammertone paints will be produced more economically by appropriate production conditions yet without any energy, raw material and time loss.

To achieve their climate goals for net zero emissions and long-term resilience, most cities will need to radically transform their core urban systems of transportation, energy, waste, buildings, and stormwater management, among others. Multiple billions of dollars will have to be invested by the public and private sectors, and governance structures for planning, regulation, and decision-making will need to be restructured to rapidly adapt to changing climate demands. Higher education institutions can play a unique role in informing, facilitating, and accelerating this transformation. Their research knowledge can inform investments and regulatory decision-making; their students can provide the critical skills needed by private and public stakeholders to support implementation; their campuses can act as “living labs” to test out innovative climate solutions; and their political influence can help inform and advance needed public policy changes. The Boston Green Ribbon Commission (GRC) is a CEO network whose mission is to accelerate the implementation of the City’s Climate Action Plan by convening, organizing, and enabling leaders from Boston’s key sectors, including higher education. Boston and its metro surroundings have one of the highest concentrations of higher education institutions in the world. There are over 64 colleges and universities in Boston and neighboring Cambridge alone, many of which are members of the GRC’s Higher Education Working Group (HEWG). This chapter will share the lessons learned from the GRC and the HEWG on how higher education institutions can help convene key stakeholders to accelerate the urban transformation needed to achieve ambitious climate goals.

This paper aims to investigate the effects on coatings performance in the epoxy silicone resin system owing to the existence of the different chain length of open-chain epoxy monomer. In this paper, [4-Methylphenyl-(4–(2-methylpropyl) phenyl)]iodonium as photoinitiator was added into epoxy silicone resin by ultraviolet (UV)-cured polymerization to investigate the effects on coatings performance owing to the existence of the different chain length of open-chain epoxy monomer.

A simple hydrosilylation reaction was used to synthesize epoxy-based silicone prepolymers by using hydrogen-terminated polydimethylsiloxane, 1,2-epoxy-5-hexene, 1,2-epoxy-7-octene and 1,2-epoxy-9-decene as precursors.

The results revealed that the glass transition temperatures (Tg) and hydrophobicity increased with the chain length of open-chain epoxy monomer in the UV curable epoxy-based silicone coatings, and these films had excellent heat resistance, hydrophobicity, antigraffiti and ink removal properties.

The cationic photocuring systems are not susceptible to the effect of oxygen inhibition. However, the limitation of cationic light curing process is that it requires a long curing time.

The coatings prepared via the UV curing approach can provide superior antismudge effects, and thus they are promising candidates for use in various industries, especially in fields such as antismudge coatings and antigraffiti coatings.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow impacts on regional innovation efficiency in China and whether the impacts of FDI are contingent on regional conditions that may maximize the effect of FDI on regional innovation efficiency.

Using panel data of 30 provinces from 2000 to 2010, the authors first used data envelopment analysis to measure regional innovation efficiency, followed by a spatial panel model to test research hypotheses concerning the effect of FDI on regional innovation efficiency and the direct and moderating effects of regional characteristics such as regional innovation environment, regional absorptive capacity and regional complementary assets.

The paper finds that there are considerable inter-regional and intra-regional variations in innovation efficiency in China and that regional variations in innovation efficiency in China can first be explained by the differences in inflow FDI and then be accounted for by the direct and moderating effect of regional innovation environment, absorptive capacity and complementary assets.

The research findings have three policy implications. First, governments should continue their efforts to increase the transparency and predictability of the framework for inward FDI and align FDI with the region’s strategic priorities of development to improve innovation efficiency. Second, governments should develop holistic and coherent policies that address the key aspects of regional conditions conducive to the inflow of FDI. Third, governments at the regional level should cultivate an open innovation environment and support the development of financial markets to maximize the positive effect of FDI technology spillover and externalities.

This paper fills a gap in research on the spatial heterogeneity characteristics of spillover effects of FDI on regional innovation efficiency.

Over the past few years, the number of related research to additive manufacturing (AM) has risen. The selective composite formation (SCF) can also be found among the new technologies that were developed. This technology was first introduced in 2013, and because of its innovative character, there are still many challenges to be overcome. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to present a finite element method which allows to investigate the processing of the material during the selective formation of a composite material based on cellulose and acrylic.

In the beginning, we introduced a brand new finite element method approach which is based on light transmittance network and photopolymerisation in transient state. This method is mainly characterised by internal light absorption, transversal reflectance, light transmittance coefficient and photopolymerisation kinetics. The authors defined experimentally the main model coefficients besides investigating the formation of composite material in six case studies. The main variables evaluated in those studies were the number of layers and the number of lines. By the end, the degree of polymer conversion and the preliminary evaluation of adherence between layers were identified in addition to the formation profile of composite material.

The presented method evidence that the SCF resulted in a profile of polymerisation which is different from profiles found in vat polymerisation processes. It was shown that the light diffraction increases polymerisation area to outside of laser limits and reduces the penetration depth. It was also exposed that the selective formation of composite material on the top layer interferes with the polymerisation of previous layers and might increase the polymerised area in about 25 per cent per layer. By the end, adherence between layers was evidenced because of a high-pass filter that limited polymer conversion to over 60 per cent. In this case, the adherence between the top layers was provided by the interface between layers, while the deeper layers resulted in a solid formed by composite.

This paper presents research results related to a very new AM technology and also proposes a new method to characterise this concept. Because of this new analytic approach, the process planning can be simulated and optimised, in addition to being a useful tool for other researches related to photocurable polymers and AM technologies.