Synergistic Effects of Polybenzimidazole and Aramide on Enhancing Flame-Retardancy and Solubility

Aromatic and functional polymers with processibility derived from biobased starting materials are prerequisite considering sustainable society. Poly(2,5-benzimidazole)s are rigid-rod polymers to show ultrahigh thermal stability such as flame retardance, while usually suffer from poor solubility. Here, poly(benzimidazole-co-amide)s are synthesized from two biobased monomers, 3,4-diaminobenzoic acid and a semirigid comonomer, 4-aminohydrocinnamic acid. The copolymers with an amide composition of 80 mol% and higher are soluble in widely used polar solvents to fabricate the films keeping high flame retardance, which is comparable with popular high-performance polymers such as aromatic polyimides, polyetheretherketone, polyphenylene sulfide, etc.     

Nucleation‐controlled dual semicrystalline morphology of polyamide 11

Crystallization of polyamide 11 at low supercooling of the melt proceeds via heterogeneous nucleation and spherulitic growth of lamellae, while at temperatures close to the glass transition homogeneous nucleation prevails, preventing spherulite formation and leading to formation of a large number of nanometer‐sized mesophase domains. It is shown that spherulitic and non‐spherulitic crystallization at low and high supercooling of the melt, respectively, can be enforced by tailoring the cooling conditions, causing a twofold semicrystalline morphology at ambient temperature. Analysis of non‐isothermal crystallization as a function of the cooling rate, using fast scanning chip calorimetry, reveals that in the case of polyamide 11 such twofold semicrystalline morphology is predicted when cooling at rates between about 20 and 200 K s^?1, since then two separate crystallization events are observed. The prediction has been confirmed by preparation of films crystallized during ballistic cooling at different rates which then were analyzed regarding their structure using optical microscopy, X‐ray diffraction and calorimetry. The study is completed by discussion of implications of twofold non‐isothermal crystallization for structure evolution in polymer processing, as well as by providing information that such behavior is not only typical for polyamide 11 but also for isotactic polypropylene or poly(butylene terephthalate) as two further examples. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Comparative performance of carbon nanotube and nanoclay on thermal properties and flammability behavior of amorphous polyamide/SEBS blend

Multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) or montmorillonite clay (MMT-30B) were added to a poly(hexamethylene isophthalamide-co-terephthalamine) (an amorphous polyamide - aPA) and styrene-ethylene/butylene-styrene graphitized with maleic anhydride (SEBS) blend, in different concentrations, in order to investigate the morphology, thermal properties and flammability behavior. Different nanoparticle localizations in the phase blend were observed through transmission electronic microscopy. CNT nanoparticles are localized in SEBS phase, and MMT-30B nanoparticles in aPA phase. No significant changes were observed on transition temperatures and thermal stability with both nanoparticle additions. However, a slight increase on storage modulus for clay nanocomposites and a slight reduction for carbon nanotube nanocomposites were observed, due to their different phase localizations. Regarding flammability, CNT nanocomposites showed better performance as a flame retardant when compared to samples with MMT-30B. Although the MMT-30B nanocomposites could not be classified according to the UL-94 criteria, no dripped flaming particles were observed, due to the a char barrier formation on the polymer surface. The CNT nanocomposites were classified according to the UL-94 criteria as V-2. The CNT's selective localization on the SEBS phase decreases its heat-release rate, but no interconnected network structure was formed in the matrix to suppress the dripping flaming particles.     

改性三氧化二锑协效二乙基次磷酸铝阻燃PA6研究

采用硅烷偶联剂（KH560）对三氧化二锑（Sb₂O₃）进行表面改性处理，并将其协效二乙基次磷酸铝（ADP）应用于聚酰胺6（PA6）阻燃研究。采用傅里叶变换红外光谱和热失重分析对改性Sb₂O₃进行表征，运用垂直燃烧、氧指数、锥形量热仪、热分析以及扫描电子显微镜和拉曼光谱等对阻燃PA6进行了阻燃性能及机理分析。结果表明，改性 Sb₂O₃与Sb₂O₃相比，与ADP具有更好的协同阻燃效应，其作用机制主要是在气相发挥阻燃作用；当ADP含量为8 %，改性Sb₂O₃含量为2 %时，阻燃PA6复合材料的UL 94等级达到V?0级，极限氧指数达到33.8 %。     

介孔分子硅剂改善茶浓缩膜结构特性应用研究

为有效提高功能性茶浓缩反渗透膜的回收效率和抗污性能,探究了3种介孔分子硅材料(MCM-41、SBA-15和MCFs)对浓缩膜面聚酰胺层聚合形成过程的结构影响。结果表明,添加质量分数0.02%经磺化预处理的MCM-41于间苯二胺水相可接枝酰氯基团,形成的聚酰胺结构层峰谷粗糙跨度仅为220 nm且交联紧致,膜抗拉伸强度增加37.8%;SBA-15和MCFs相膜面峰谷跨度达500~780 nm,横向褶皱和团聚,结构存在孔道塌陷;改性膜在3 h内对茶多酚、茶多糖、茶蛋白即可达到最大浓缩度,减少50%浓缩时间;MCM-41和SBA-15膜长时间运行的浓缩降率仅为2.8%~6.1%,48 h下降率比显示改性膜达标使用时长增加112.5%~137.5%,亲水性和抗污堵能力均大幅提升,可有效满足功能化茶浓缩精度。     

界面聚合聚酰胺纳滤膜渗透选择性能优化的研究进展

纳滤因其分离效率高、操作压力低、环境友好等优点，在废水处理、海水淡化和工业分离纯化等众多领域有着重要的应用。界面聚合法制备的聚酰胺（PA）纳滤膜是最为常用的纳滤膜种类之一。然而界面聚合反应速度快，如何通过调控界面聚合过程，优化纳滤膜选择分离层的结构从而提高渗透选择性，以满足不同领域对纳滤膜需求仍是亟需解决的问题。本文从影响界面聚合单体扩散因素的角度出发，综述了近年来PA纳滤膜渗透选择性能优化的研究进展，包括新型PA纳滤膜、纳米材料/PA混合基质膜及超薄PA纳滤膜3个方面，探讨了选择分离层结构调控与纳滤膜渗透选择性能优化的关系，最后指出目前界面聚合制备高渗透选择性PA纳滤膜在规模化、稳定性及可控性存在的问题，并对未来界面聚合纳滤膜在微观结构和聚合过程调控方面的研究进行了展望。     

Polydimethylsiloxane wrapped aluminum diethylphosphinate for enhancing the flame retardancy of polyamide 6

Aluminum diethylphosphinate (ADP) was wrapped with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) by a facile method to improve its hydrophobic properties. The morphology and properties of PDMS-modified ADP (PDMS-ADP) were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and water contact angle tests. The water contact angle of PDMS-ADP was increased from 126° to 151° as compared with that of ADP, which indicates that PDMS-ADP showed good hydrophobic properties. Then, ADP and PDMS-ADP were introduced into polyamide 6 (PA6) matrices to study the flame retardancy of the composites. The flammability of the PA6/ADP and PA6/PDMS-ADP composites was much lower than that of pure PA6. The composites PA6-1 (with the addition of 15 wt% ADP) and PA6-4 (with the addition of 12 wt% PDMS-ADP) could pass the UL-94 V-0 in the vertical burning test. Meanwhile, the peak heat release rates of PA6-1 and PA6-4 were 212 and 192 kW/m², with reductions of 67.3 and 70.4%, respectively, compared with pure PA6. These results indicated that the coating of PDMS could enhance the flame-retardant efficiency of ADP.     

Heat propagation in thermally conductive polymers of PA6 and hexagonal boron nitride

Thermally conductive polymers offer new possibilities for the heat dissipation in electric and electronic components, for example, by a three‐dimensional shaping of the heat sinks. To face safety regulations, improved fire performance of those components is required. In contrast to unfilled polymers, those materials exhibit an entirely different thermal behavior. To investigate the flammability, a phosphorus flame retardant was incorporated into thermally conductive composites of polyamide 6 and hexagonal boron nitride. The flame retardant decreased the thermal conductivity only slightly. However, the burning behavior changed significantly, due to a different heat propagation, which was investigated using a thermographic camera. An optimum content of hexagonal boron nitride for a sufficient thermal conductivity and fire performance was found between 20 and 30 vol%. The improvement of the fire performance was due to a faster heat release out of the pyrolysis zone and an earlier decomposition of the flame retardant. For higher contents of hexagonal boron nitride, the heat was spread faster within the part, promoting an earlier ignition and increasing the decomposition rate of the flame retardant.     

The formation of fibrous structure of polyamide 6 induced by the three-step forming process and its prominent reinforcement in nitrile rubber

Nitrile rubber (NBR) blends with excellent performance have always been a hot research topic in petroleum field. Due to the excellent performance and compatibility of polyamide 6 (PA6), it provides an opportunity for the preparation of high-performance NBR/PA6 blends. In this article, NBR/PA6 blends were prepared by the three-step molding process. Experimentally, it was found that PA6 has a prominent reinforcement effect in NBR matrix. The variation of this mechanical property was investigated from different aspects of the crystal structure, crystallinities, phase morphology, and so on. It can be cleared that the formation of fibrous structure of PA6 phase is the main factor for reinforcement of the polymer blends. Meanwhile, the formation mechanism of the special phase structure induced by the three-step process is deeply expounded and its structural evolution schematic is established. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47472.