Dextran/poly(acrylic acid) mixtures as miscible blends

Bioartificial polymeric materials based on blends of dextran and poly(acrylic acid) were prepared in form of films and characterized in order to evaluate the miscibility of the natural component with the synthetic one. Films with different composition ratios were prepared by solution casting and analyzed by dynamic mechanical-thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy. The obtained results indicate that dextran is miscible with poly(acrylic acid). The miscibility was mainly ascertained on the bases of the occurrence of a single composition-dependent glass transition temperature in each blend and also on the bases of the transparency and homogeneity of the films. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 66: 2089–2094, 1997     

Mechanical properties of polypropylene blended with esterified and alkylated lignin

Lignin does not show miscibility with commercial polyolefins. Therefore, industrial waste lignin was modified in two different ways and subsequently blended with commercial polypropylene (PP) up to 25 wt %. A Brabender electronic plasticorder was used for melt mixing at 190°C. The influence of different modifications on the mechanical properties and processing stability was studied for both polymer blends. The blends of PP and lignin modified (esterified) with maleic anhydride showed less deterioration in the mechanical properties compared to blends of PP and alkylated lignin with dichloroethane. Intermolecular interactions between the PP matrix and modified lignin were concluded on the basis of indicative values derived from various relevant theoretical models to the experimental data. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Dynamic mechanical properties of polycarbonate and acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene copolymer blends

Blends of polycarbonate (PC) and poly(acrylonitrile‐co‐butadiene‐co‐styrene) (ABS) with different compositions are characterized by means of dynamic mechanical measurements. The samples show phase separation. The shift in the temperatures of the main dynamic mechanical relaxation shown by the blend with respect to those of the pure components is attributed to the migration of oligomers present in the ABS toward the PC in the melt blending process. A comparison with other techniques (dielectric and calorimetric analysis) and the application of the Takayanagi three block model confirm this hypothesis. In all the studied blend compositions (ABS weight up to 28.6%) the PC appears as the matrix where a disperse phase of ABS is present. The scanning and transmission electron microscopy micrographs show that the size of the ABS particles increases when the proportion of ABS in the blend increases. The FTIR results indicate that the interaction between both components are nonpolar in nature and can be enhanced by the preparation procedure. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 1507–1516, 2002     

Bioartificial materials based on blends of collagen and poly(acrylic acid)

The interactions between soluble collagen (C) from calf skin and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) were studied. Mixing aqueous solutions of collagen and PAA, at various pH values (2.5–4), leads to the formation of complexes that precipitate in the form of insoluble aggregates. The effects of mixture composition, pH, and ionic strength on C/PAA complex formation were investigated by gravimetric, turbidimetric, and conductometric analysis. The experimental results indicate that the complexes form through electrostatic interactions. Homogeneous solid films with variable C/PAA ratios were obtained by casting from solutions in which the pH was adjusted just over the isoelectric point of collagen, thus avoiding the attractive ionic interactions responsible for the complexation of collagen and PAA molecules. A relevant result obtained is related to the possibility of restoring the ionic interactions between the two polymers inside the solid films. Mixture composition and pH appear to influence the thermal properties of both complexes and films. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 971–976, 1999     

高分子共混物的相结构对力学性能的影响

本文以聚丙烯 尼龙1010(PP PA1010)共混体系为模型研究了高分子共混物的微观相结构对宏观力学性能的影响,并通过微观力学模型来预测共混物的拉伸强度。通过光散射试验和扫描电镜结果讨论了两相平均弦长比(L1 L2)以及分散相的质心相关距(D)与拉伸性能的关系。结果表明,当分散相一定时,拉伸强度随两相相对尺寸的增大和分散相颗粒相关性的减弱而减小。理论计算的分散相最小体积分数与相形貌观察的结果非常接近,添加增容剂的体系,由于改善了界面粘合,使理论预测值与试验结果很好的吻合。     

Blends of ethylene–methyl acrylate–acrylic acid terpolymers with ethylene–acrylic acid copolymers: Mechanical and thermomechanical properties

The effect of methyl acrylate content in ethylene–methyl acrylate–acrylic acid (E–MA–AA) terpolymers and acrylic acid content in ethylene–acrylic acid (E–AA) copolymers was investigated in blends of these two materials. The E–MA–AA terpolymer with 8 mol % methyl acrylate was not miscible with any E–AA material no matter what the AA content, whereas the terpolymer with only about 2 mol % methyl acrylate was miscible, at least to some extent, with the E–AA copolymer at high acrylic acid contents. Evidence supporting this conclusion derived from gloss, differential scanning calorimetry testing, and dynamic mechanical measurements. For the E–AA polymer material with the highest acid content, there was a synergistic effect for some properties at low added amounts of E–MA–AA copolymer; the tensile strength and hardness were 10% higher than values for the E–AA copolymer, even though the E–AA copolymer was much stiffer. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 2216–2222, 2004     

Morphological and Mechanical Properties Dependence of PLA Amount in PET Matrix Processed by Single-Screw Extrusion

In this study, the dependence on the morphology and mechanical properties was analyzed when different amounts of polylactic acid are added to the polyethylene terephthalate polymer matrix using single-screw extrusion. Thermograms of the polymer blends obtained by differential scanning calorimetry couple to thermal gravimetric analysis show a displacement in the glass transition temperature with the amount of polylactic acid (1, 2.5, 5, and 7.5 wt%) added to the polymer matrix. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images showed two different kinds of morphology, both characteristics of miscible and partially miscible polymer blends. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy measurements confirmed a physical interaction by hydrogen bond in the polymer blends. The impact resistance and tensile strength are reduced with the polylactic acid addition and are influenced by the fraction of segments of hydrogen bonded in the polyethylene terephthalate/polylactic acid blends as well as their miscibility.     

Design of a New Zirconia–Alumina–Ta Micro‐Nanocomposite with Unique Mechanical Properties

2Y‐TZP/Al₂O₃ hybrid nanoparticles prepared by CO₂ laser covaporization (CoLAVA) were wet mixed with biocompatible lamellar Ta metal particles (20 vol%) and consolidated by spark plasma sintering. The microstructure and mechanical properties of this novel ceramic–metal composite have been studied. The achieved results demonstrate that both the homogeneity of the 2Y‐TZP/Al₂O₃ nanocomposite matrix and the reinforcement with a micrometer‐sized ductile phase are prerequisites for the successful design and fabrication of ceramic–metal composites with high strength (1300 MPa), enhanced fracture toughness (16 MPa·m^1/2), and improved low‐temperature degradation resistance.     

Blends of styrene–butadiene–styrene triblock copolymer and isotactic polypropylene: morphology and thermomechanical properties

A set of blends of styrene–butadiene–styrene triblock copolymer (SBS) and isotactic polypropylene (i‐PP) in a composition range 0–100 % polypropylene by weight was prepared in a twin screw extruder. The morphology of the blends has been studied by transmission electron microscopy. The blends present phase separation. Dynamic mechanical measurements show an improvement of the mechanical properties of SBS when i‐PP is the dispersed phase. This reinforcing effect can be observed even at high temperatures when i‐PP is in the rubbery state. The mechanical properties of the blends have been interpreted using Takayanagi's block model. The melting and crystallization behaviour of the i‐PP in the blends has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The fractionated crystallization phenomenon has been observed in the blends where i‐PP forms the dispersed phase. The results are consistent with the morphology shown by the blends, in particular, with its phase inversion, which occurs at a composition near to 50% i‐PP. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Mechanical properties of ethylene–vinyl acetate/polystyrene blends studied by in situ polymerization

This study examined ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA)‐toughened polystyrene (PS). EVA is well‐known to be incompatible with PS; thus, the PS graft to the EVA backbone (EVA‐g‐PS) was used as a compatibilizer and provided good adhesion at the interface of PS and EVA. In addition, the mechanical properties and impact resistance of the PS matrix were obviously improved by EVA‐g‐PS and by EVA itself. Meanwhile, differential scanning calorimetry results showed that the grafted PS chain influenced the crystallization of EVA; for example, the melting temperature, the crystallization temperature, and the percentage crystallinity related to EVA were reduced. Moreover, the addition of 10% EVA increased the impact strength by a factor of five but reduced the modulus by the same factor. Additionally, a lower number‐average molecular weight EVA delayed phase inversion and resulted in poor mechanical properties. A fracture surface photograph revealed that the major mechanism of EVA‐toughened PS was craze and local matrix deformation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 88: 699–705, 2003     

Mechanical and thermal properties of glass bead–filled nylon‐6

The mechanical and thermal properties of glass bead–filled nylon‐6 were studied by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile testing, Izod impact, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) tests. DMA results showed that the incorporation of glass beads could lead to a substantial increase of the glass‐transition temperature (T_g) of the blend, indicating that there existed strong interaction between glass beads and the nylon‐6 matrix. Results of further calculation revealed that the average interaction between glass beads and the nylon‐6 matrix deceased with increasing glass bead content as a result of the coalescence of glass beads. This conclusion was supported by SEM observations. Impact testing revealed that the notch Izod impact strength of nylon‐6/glass bead blends substantially decreased with increasing glass bead content. Moreover, static tensile measurements implied that the Young's modulus of the nylon‐6/glass bead blends increased considerably, whereas the tensile strength clearly decreased with increasing glass bead content. Finally, TGA and DSC measurements indicated that the thermal stability of the blend was obviously improved by incorporation of glass beads, whereas the melting behavior of the nylon‐6 remained relatively unchanged with increasing glass bead content. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 1885–1890, 2004     

Effect of Organoclay Ordering and Agglomeration on Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Uncured and Dynamically Cured Ethylene‐Octene Copolymer Nanocomposites

In this work, the effects of organoclay (OMMT) and cross‐linking agent on thermal and mechanical properties as well as the morphology of dynamically cured nanocomposites based on ethylene‐octene copolymer are studied. The nanocomposites containing 1, 3, 5, and 7 wt% OMMT are first prepared and then cured with 0.5 and 1 wt% dicumyl peroxide. Low angle X‐ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the size of clay tactoids is increased with the increase of OMMT content within the nanocomposites especially for the uncross‐linked matrix. In addition, the distance between adjacent clay layers is increased for the cured nanocomposites containing 1 and 3 wt% OMMT, however, it remains relatively unchanged for higher amounts of the nanofiller. In uncross‐linked systems, the nanocomposites containing up to 5 wt% OMMT exhibit a remarkable enhancement in stress and strain at break compared to that of the matrix alone. With the addition of further OMMT content, although the stress and strain at break are both decreased, still remained much higher than that of the pristine copolymer. A mechanism is also proposed to compare the microstructure of the uncured and cured nanocomposites before and after stretching.

     

Influence of PS‐b‐PEO diblock copolymers on the compatibility of syndiotactic polystyrene modified epoxy blends

Homogeneous solutions of syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) in diglycidylether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), containing 2.5, 5 and 7.5 wt % of thermoplastic with or without 0.5 and 1 wt % of poly(styrene‐b‐ethylene oxide) (PS‐b‐PEO) block copolymer, were polymerized using a stoichiometric amount of an aromatic amine hardener, 4,4′‐methylene bis (3‐chloro‐2,6‐diethylaniline) (MCDEA). The dynamic‐mechanical properties and morphological changes of sPS‐(DGEBA/MCDEA) compatibilized with different amount of PS‐b‐PEO have been investigated in this paper. The addition of the block copolymer produced significant changes in the morphologies generated. The size of the dispersed spherical sPS spherulites does not change significantly, but less spherulites of sPS appeared upon network formation in the systems with compatibilizer, what means that addition of compatibilizer in this system delayed crystallization of sPS in sPS‐(DGEBA/MCDEA) systems and change phase separation mechanism from crystallization‐induced phase separation (CIPS) and reaction‐induced phase separation (RIPS) almost only to RIPS. Moreover, PS‐b‐PEO with higher molecular weight of PS block seems to be a more effective compatibilizer than one with lower molecular weight of PS block. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 479–488, 2006     

Polyhydroxybutyrate/acrylonitrile‐g‐(ethylene‐co‐ propylene‐co‐diene)‐g‐styrene blends: Their morphology and thermal and mechanical behavior

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a biodegradable bacterial polyester emerging as a viable substitute for synthetic, semicrystalline, nonbiodegradable polymers. An elastomer terpolymer of acrylonitrile‐g‐(ethylene‐co‐propylene‐co‐diene)‐g‐styrene (AES) was blended with PHB in a batch mixer and in a twin‐screw extruder to improve the mechanical properties of PHB. The blends were characterized with differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and impact resistance measurements. Despite the narrow processing window of PHB, blends with AES could be prepared via the melting of the mixture without significant degradation of PHB. The blends were immiscible and composed of four phases: poly(ethylene‐co‐propylene‐co‐diene), poly(styrene‐co‐acrylonitrile), amorphous PHB, and crystalline PHB. The crystallization of PHB in the blends was influenced by the AES content in different ways, depending on the processing conditions. A blend containing 30 wt % AES presented impact resistance comparable to that of high‐impact polystyrene, and the value was about 190% higher than that of pure PHB. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Miscibility,crystallization, and mechanical properties of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐4‐hydroxybutyrate)/ poly(butylene succinate) blends

Naturally amorphous biopolyester poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐4‐hydroxybutyrate) (P3/4HB) containing 21 mol % of 4HB was blended with semi‐crystal poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) with an aim to improve the properties of aliphatic polyesters. The effect of PBS contents on miscibility, thermal properties, crystallization kinetics, and mechanical property of the blends was evaluated by DSC, TGA, FTIR, wide‐angle X‐ray diffractometer (WAXD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), and universal material testing machine. The thermal stability of P3/4HB was enhanced by blending with PBS. When PBS content is less than 30 wt %, the two polymers show better miscibility and their crystallization trend was enhanced by each other. The optimum mechanical properties were observed at the 5–10 wt % PBS blends. However, when the PBS content is more than 30 wt %, phase inversion happened. And the two polymers give lower miscibility and poor mechanical properties. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Mechanical and Rheological Properties of Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/ Polypropylene Blends

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) and polypropylene (PET/PP) were compounded and pelletized with a single-screw extruder. Standard ASTM tensile test specimens were made by injection moulding. The blends are stronger and stiffer than the plain PP specimens. The addition of a compatibilizer, EPOLENE E-43, is found to improve the strength and stiffness of the blends at loadings of 50% and 70% PET. At 10% PET loading, E-43 has the opposite effect of slightly reducing the tensile properties. All the blends are more brittle relative to either plain PET or PP. The addition of E-43 results in negligible improvement in the elongation at break. E-43 is also found to be an effective lubricant in improving the processability of the blends. The blends with E-43 added have lower viscosities and less shear-thinning characteristics than those without E-43. © 1997 SCI.     

Synthesis and characterization of heat‐resistant N‐phenylmaleimide–styrene–maleic anhydride copolymers and application in acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene resin

The heat‐resistant copolymer of N‐phenylmaleimide (NPMI)–styrene (St)–maleic anhydride (MAH) was synthesized in xylene at 125°C with di‐tert‐butyl diperoxyterephthalate as an initiator. The characteristics of the copolymer were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H‐NMR and ¹³C‐NMR), gel permeation chromatography, and elemental analysis. The ¹³C‐NMR results show that the copolymer possessed random sequence distribution; this was also supported by the differential scanning calorimetry experiment, in which a single glass‐transition temperature (T_g) of 202.3°C was observed. The thermal stability and degradation mechanism of the copolymer were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Using the Kissinger equation and Ozawa equation, we proved a nucleation controlling mechanism with an apparent activation energy of 144 kJ/mol. Blends of acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene with the NPMI–St–MAH copolymer with various contents were prepared with a twin‐screw extruder processes. The mechanical and thermal properties of the materials, such as the tensile and flexural strength, T_g's, and Vicat softening temperatures, were all enhanced with the addition of the modifier, whereas the melt flow index decreased. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Mechanical properties of acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene copolymer/poly(l‐lactic acid) blends and their composites

As the material properties of acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene copolymer (ABS) have an excessively wide margin for applications in automobile console boxes, ABS partly replaced with poly(l ‐lactic acid) (PLA) may be used for the same purpose with improved ecofriendliness if the corresponding deterioration of the material properties is acceptable through the choice of appropriate additives. ABS composites with 30 wt % renewable components (PLA and cellulose pulp) were prepared by melt compounding, and the material properties were examined as a function of the additive content. The changes in the mechanical properties of the ABS/PLA blends were examined after the addition of cellulose pulp and two clays [Cloisite 25A (C25A) and sodium montmorillonite] as well as these two clays treated with bis(3‐triethoxysilylpropyl)tetrasulfide (TESPT). The heat distortion temperatures of the composites were measured as a function of the content of the TESPT‐treated C25A. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40329.     

发展新材料的一些物理力学问题：材料的力学性质和材料设计

本文论述了发展新材料必须进行材料设计，在设计当中要进行各个学科层次的分工与合作。结构材料设计的主要问题是材料的力学性质，这包括高强度、优良的加工性能和高的阻尼本领，其关键环节是加强物理力学和力学物理的研究。     

Effect of Cyclic Deformations on the Dynamic‐Mechanical Properties of Silica‐Filled Butyl Rubber

The effect of the chemical modification of the silica surface by the silane coupling agent (Si69) on both the real and the imaginary parts of the shear compliance (J′, J″) on silica‐filled butyl rubber vulcanizates was investigated in a wide temperature and frequency range, ?70 to 120 °C and 10^?4 to 10 Hz, respectively. In addition, the stress‐strain measurements, DSC, and TEM were carried out. Moreover the effect of stress‐strain cyclic deformation up to ten times with maximum deformation 80% of the elongation at break on J′, J″ is also studied. It was found that the filler network recovers after cyclic stress‐strain in a time scale of one year at room temperature.

Transmission electron photographs of the butyl rubber [IIR] vulcanizates: (a) IIR, unfilled, (b) IIR, filled with 20 phr SiO₂, (c) IIR,filled with 20 phr SiO₂ + 1.6 phr Si69.