Xianbing Ji, Yinxia Chen, Xiaobo Wang and Weimin Liu
The purpose of this paper is to study the tribological performance of tri(hydroxymethyl)propane esters containing boron and nitrogen as lubricant additives in rapeseed oil.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study the tribological performance of tri(hydroxymethyl)propane esters containing boron and nitrogen as lubricant additives in rapeseed oil.
Design/methodology/approach
Thermal degradation tests were performed to analyze their thermal stability using a thermo‐gravimetric analyzer. Two four‐ball testers were used to measure the tribological properties of tri(hydroxymethyl)propane esters containing boron and nitrogen as lubricant additives in rapeseed oil. The worn surfaces of steel balls were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).
Findings
The results show that the tri(hydroxymethyl)propane esters containing boron and nitrogen have excellent thermal stability, good antiwear performance, improve the load‐carrying capacity, and possess friction‐reducing behavior especially at 98 N when they are used as additives in rapeseed oil. The results of XPS show that the adsorption and tribochemical reactions have been occurred to form a complex boundary lubrication film.
Originality/value
The paper illustrates two novel tri(hydroxymethyl)propane esters which contain B and N elements used as additives in rapeseed oil. The results are useful for further applications in advanced environment friendly lubricating oils and additives.
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Yinxia Dong, Mingtian Li, Yingjun Zhang, Chun Xie and Zhongwen Pan
The purpose of this study is to modify cerium dioxide with fumaric acid (CeO2-f) to improve its compatibility and dispersibility in epoxy resin and to investigate the effect of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to modify cerium dioxide with fumaric acid (CeO2-f) to improve its compatibility and dispersibility in epoxy resin and to investigate the effect of the content on the coating performance.
Design/methodology/approach
To investigate whether CeO2-f reacts with epoxy resin by ring opening, CeO2-f and epoxy resin-treated CeO2-f (Ce CeO2-f/EP) were analyzed by infrared radiation (IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and ultraviolet-visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (UV-Vis). To reveal the effect of different content on coatings properties, neutral salt spray test (NSST) and electrochemical test were performed.
Findings
The results of IR, XRD, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-Vis indicated that fumaric acid attached to the CeO2 surface by chemical bonding and underwent a ring-opening reaction with epoxy resin, thus, improving the compatibility of CeO2 in epoxy resin. NSST and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy results showed that the coatings containing 5% CeO2-f exhibited the optimal corrosion resistance. The reason is that a dense conversion film was established on the substrate surface.
Originality/value
The epoxy coatings using CeO2-f as fillers with synergistic inhibition ability are promising for the protection of carbon steel.
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Yinxia Dong, Yingjun Zhang, Xue-Jun Cui, Mingtian Li, Chun Xie and Zhongwen Pan
The study aims to investigate the anticorrosion performance of epoxy coatings using modified cerium oxide (CeO2) by terephthalic acid (CeO2-t) and fumaric acid (CeO2-f) as…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to investigate the anticorrosion performance of epoxy coatings using modified cerium oxide (CeO2) by terephthalic acid (CeO2-t) and fumaric acid (CeO2-f) as corrosion inhibitors.
Design/methodology/approach
The chemical state of CeO2-t, and CeO2-f were analyzed by infrared radiation (IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The effect of different inhibitors on the coating properties was analyzed by neutral salt spray tests (NSST) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).
Findings
The results of IR and XRD illustrate that the modification of CeO2 was successful, and fumaric acid underwent a ring-opening reaction with epoxy resin (EP) in the coatings. The results of NSST and EIS showed that the coatings containing CeO2-f exhibited the best anticorrosion performance.
Originality/value
CeO2 is an effective inhibitor of the organic coatings. When surface modified, it is chemically bonded to EP, enhancing the anticorrosion performance of EP.
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Xiaotong Jin, Shengliang Deng and Ilan Alon
The paper aims to examine the consumption behavior of Chinese residents during economic transition. It explores whether Western theories of consumption are applicable to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to examine the consumption behavior of Chinese residents during economic transition. It explores whether Western theories of consumption are applicable to the Chinese situation, and then tests the hypothesis based on Chinese traditional culture and dynamic nature of system change.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper opted for an empirical‐based approach. A regression model was used to analyze annual consumption data from 1986 to 2008 in China.
Findings
The paper provides empirical insights and suggests that under the influence of Chinese traditional culture and dynamic change of the Chinese economic system, Chinese urban residents exhibit a special consumption pattern of an intermittent and cyclical nature.
Research limitations/implications
The paper concludes that in order to make the consumption stimulation policy in China more effective, it is necessary to establish a series of measures such as establishing a sound social welfare system as well as narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, which will substantially increase the buying power of the less‐privileged groups and thus will increase the overall spending in the society. Although the econometric model used in this paper is adequate, a different approach like time series econometrics may give us additional insights. Researchers are encouraged to test the hypothesis further by employing other methodologies. Second, due to the lack of its own theories in the emerging market, this study remains exploratory.
Originality/value
This paper fulfils an identified need to study the special consumption behavior of Chinese urban residents during the economic transition.
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Suraya Hamid, Mohamad Taha Ijab, Hidayah Sulaiman, Rina Md. Anwar and Azah Anir Norman
The explosion of social media use such as Facebook among higher education students is deemed to have great potential in widely disseminating environmental sustainability…
Abstract
Purpose
The explosion of social media use such as Facebook among higher education students is deemed to have great potential in widely disseminating environmental sustainability awareness. The paper aims to capture, summarise, synthesise and comment on the role of social media to garner interest of students and staff on environmental sustainability issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Systematic literature review technique is adopted, and three selected online databases were searched for relevant papers for review. Specific data were extracted from each paper, and the discussion section was based on the developed research questions.
Findings
Higher education needs to fully leverage the ubiquity of social media to extend how environmental sustainability is viewed by the students and staff. Sustainability practices conducted at the university level such as recycling, reduction of electricity and water consumptions and paper reduction in classroom and used to engage students on environmental matters. For staff, social media can be leveraged as to convey the university policy and assist in their quest to become full-fledged green universities.
Research limitations/implications
Some of the limitations of this research include the lack of keyword search using synonyms or related terms equivalent to the term “awareness”, lack of forward and backward searches, and the papers were searched until end of 2013 only. Future research needs to take advantage of the current limitations to investigate this topic and be empirically supported by theories using quantitative, qualitative or mixed-method-based research. Future studies could also develop relevant frameworks to propose an effective use of social media for creating environmental sustainability awareness in higher education.
Practical implications
Propagations of environmental sustainability awareness in higher education would be more effective with the use of social media.
Social implications
In principle, the increase of environmental awareness level would increase the students’ good behavioural conduct on environmental sustainability.
Originality/value
While the broad topic of environmental sustainability in higher education is widely discussed, the role of social media in shaping environmental sustainability awareness is still under researched. This situation provides a significant potential for exploration by sustainability researchers to craft their investigation on the effective role of social media in creating environmental awareness in higher education.