Polyetherimide (PEI) blends modified by either polycarbonate (PC) or polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified (PETG) were prepared. The latter modifier (PETG) was an industrial grade widely used for fused deposition modelling (FDM) printing. PEI blends were compared to Ultem 9085, which is the standard PEI grade for FDM printing in advanced applications. All the blends were thoroughly characterized in terms of their rheological, morphological, thermomechanical and tensile properties. Ultem 9085 showed improved rheology for processing over standard PEI. PEI/PC blends with 10 wt % of modifier developed here closely matched the viscosity behavior of Ultem 9085. On the other hand, the blends with low PC content (i.e., less than 20 wt %) outperformed Ultem 9085 in terms of thermal and tensile properties. When PETG was added, similar tensile properties to Ultem 9085 were found. The immiscibility for PC contents higher than 20 wt % deteriorated the tensile properties, making it less attractive for applications, although melt viscosity decreased further for increasing PC contents.

A brush-like ZnO nanorods shell is grown by Chemical Bath Deposition on electrospun Zn(Ac)₂ doped polyethersulfone fibres. The obtained mats are water resistant and photocatalytically active, thus resulting suitable for applications in water purification. The used procedure is simple, cost-effective and scalable to large volumes. The use of supported ZnO nanostructures onto fibrous mats paves the way to easily reusable photocatalyst that benefits the high surface area of nanostructures and limits the drawbacks associated to the use of nanoparticles and nanopowders (i.e. water turbidity, irradiation efficiency and photocatalyst recover), thus resulting suitable for use in membrane technology.

This work describes the evaluation of different interlaminar veils to improve the toughening of epoxy/carbon fiber composites manufactured by resin infusion. Three commercial veils have been used in the study: two electro spun thermoplastic nanofiber (Xantulayr^® from Revolution Fibres) with different areal weight, and one micro carbon fibers veil (Optiveil^® from TFP). Two laboratory made veils were also manufactured by electrospinning commercial polyethersulfone (PES) tougheners (Virantage by Solvay). The veils were selected to be either soluble or non-soluble in the epoxy resin matrix during curing. The solubility was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and dynamic mechanical analysis testing on the cured laminates. The fracture energy was evaluated by double cantilever bending (DCB) testing under Mode I loading. The insoluble thermoplastic nanofibers showed the highest toughening efficiency, followed by the soluble nanofiber veils. The carbon fiber based veil showed no toughness improvement.

Thermal degradation processes of poly(ether sulfone) random copolymers having different molar amount of diphenolic acid (DPA) units were studied by direct-pyrolysis/mass spectrometry, stepwise pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and thermogravimetric techniques. Results highlighted that thermal degradation processes occur in the temperature range from 370 to 650 °C, yielding a char residue of 32–35 wt%, which decreases as the mol% of DPA units rises. The pyrolysis/mass spectra data allowed us to identify the thermal decomposition products and to deduce the possible thermal degradation mechanisms. Thermal degradation data suggest that the decarboxylation process of the pendant acid moiety mainly occurs in the initial step of the pyrolysis of the copolymers studied. Successively, the scission of the generated isobutyl groups occurs in the temperature range between 420 and 480 °C. Known processes involving the main chain random scission of the diphenyl sulfone and diphenyl ether groups were also observed.

Hybrid poly(ether sulfones) (PES)–TiO₂ electrospun mats are used as selective filters to remove lead and zinc ions from water. Presence of TiO₂ is functional to trigger fiber’s surface charge that allows for better performances in terms of ionic adsorption with respect to bare PES mats. Temperature increase promotes a speed up of ion removal. Ability of electrospun mats to retain adsorbed ions is proven by washing procedures, which confirm the lack of released Pb²⁺ in solution, even after sonication. To detect presence of metal ions in aqueous solutions, water-soluble porphyrins are used as chemosensors, which are able to provide fast, in-field, and real-time analysis. In particular, cationic H2T4 metalation, occurring both in solution or at transparent glass surface, allows for a straightforward spectrophotometric (UV–vis) detection of metal ions in solution.