Thermal conductivity of natural rubber nanocomposites with hybrid fillers

Natural rubber nanocomposites filled with hybrid fillers of multi-walled carbon nanotubes(CNTs) and carbon black(CB) were prepared. CNTs were ultrasonically modified in mixture of hydrogen peroxide(H_2O_2) and distilled water(H_2O). The functional groups on the surface of CNTs, changes in nanotube structure and morphology were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR), Raman Spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy(TEM). It shows that hydroxyl(OH·) is successfully introduced. The surface defects of modified CNTs were obviously higher than those of original CNTs, and the degree of agglomeration was greatly reduced. Thermal conductivity of the composites was tested by protection heat flow meter method. Compared with unmodified CNTs/CB filling system, the thermal conductivity of hybrid composites is improved by an average of 5.8% with 1.5 phr(phr is parts per hundred rubber) of hydroxyl CNTs and 40 phr of CB filled. A three-dimensional heat conduction network composed of hydroxyl CNTs and CB, as observed by TEM, contributes to the good properties. Thermal conductivity of the hybrid composites increases as temperature rises. The mechanical properties of hybrid composites are also good with hydroxyl CNTs filled nanocomposites; the tensile strength, 100% and 300% tensile stress are improved by 10.1%, 22.4% and 26.2% respectively.     

Improved processibility of silicone composites by MQ silicone resins

Processibilities of silicone composites were always a problem for their high content of SiO₂ powders. This article found that the substitution of silicone resins for linear polydimethylsiloxanes (PDMS) made processibilities easier. Three silicone resins (MQ1.0, MQ1.1, and MQ1.2) with clarified chemical structures (by FT IR, ²⁹Si NMR, and GPC) were adopted. Their shearing viscosities [η()] were greatly higher than PDMS with higher molecular weight, which could be assigned to stronger molecular interactions as surface tension and flowing activation energy ΔE indicated. On the contrary, η() of MQ‐PDMS binary blends greatly decreased to that even lower than either components (about 85% utmost decrease comparing to PDMS), for the variation of molecular interaction rather than dilution effect. Furtherly, when PDMS were partly replaced with MQ resins, process time of PDMS–SiO₂ silicone composites were greatly shortened (from >6 to 2 h), while with better SiO₂ dispersion (Mooney viscosity greatly decreased from 30.0 to 5.0 MU). Better dispersion of SiO₂ fillers in composites could be confirmed by SEM and mechanical properties. For the better dispersion, mechanical properties of composites were improved with higher elastic modulus, higher tensile strength, and higher hardness, especially with higher elongation at break (utmost increased from 190% to 277%). © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46445.     

Effect of carbon nanotube dispersion on the complex permittivity and absorption of nanocomposites in 2–18 GHz ranges

The effect of dispersion processes on complex permittivity and microwave absorption in 2?18 GHz ranges is presented for nanocomposites loaded with different amounts of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) ranging from 1 to 5 wt %. The ultrasonic sonication (US) method and the three‐roll mill (TRM) method were performed for the manufacturing of the CNT/epoxy absorbers with different dispersing levels. Microscopic observations revealed that the CNT agglomerates were reduced after the TRM process, and individual CNTs were uniformly dispersed in the epoxy resin. For the same weight content of CNT fillers, the percentage increase of between US and TRM samples varies from 35.5% to 101.7% while the corresponding increment of (dielectric loss) varies from 79.6% to 248.8%. A minimum reflection loss for the US sample with 2 wt % CNTs is only ?7.8 dB at 11.3 GHz while the corresponding TRM sample is greatly improved to reach ?37.4 dB at 7.76 GHz for the same matching thickness of 3 mm. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40963.     

Viscoelastic properties of borax loaded CMC‐g‐cl‐poly(AAm) hydrogel composites and their boron nutrient release behavior

Borax (Na₂B₄O₇, 10.5% Boron) loaded CMC‐g‐cl‐poly(AAm) hydrogel composites were prepared by in situ grafting of acrylamide on to sodium carboxymethyl cellulose in the presence of borax by free radical polymerization technique to develop slow boron (B) delivery device. The composition, morphology, and mechanical properties of synthesized composites were studied by X‐ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, texture analyser, and dynamic shear rheometer. Characterization revealed formation of borate ion ( ) from borax during polymerization reaction leading to extensive crosslinking of cellulosic chains and generation of mechanically strong composite hydrogels. Dynamic release of from the synthesized composites hydrogels followed Fickian diffusion mechanism and composites with high mechanical strength resulted in slow release of B. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43969.     

Reinforcement of polysiloxane/silica elastomer composite by introduction of sacrificial bonds

It is a challenge to improve tear strength of silicone rubber, especially at high filler loading circumstances. A method is offered here to introduce sacrificial bonds into the system. In particular, amide group was introduced onto the phenyl group of monomer methyl phenyl cyclosiloxane ( first, and this functionalized monomer ( was further used for copolymerization with octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane (D₄) and 2,4,6,8‐tetravinyl‐2,4,6,8‐tetramethyl‐cyclotetrasiloxane ( ). Vulcanizates composed by this new copolymer (1A‐50) which amide group‐containing is 1 wt % and with 50 phr TS‐530 exhibit high tear strength of about 54 N ? mm^?1, which is three times higher than that composed by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/TS‐530 (50 phr). The mechanical test indicates this new copolymer a promising candidate for the construction of high tear resistant silicone rubber, especially at high filler loading circumstances. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46129.     

Sb‐intercalated layered double hydroxides–poly(vinyl chloride) nanocomposites: Preparation,characterization, and thermal stability

In this study, a novel ‐intercalated layered double hydroxide (Sb‐LDH) was prepared by simultaneous recovering of LDH structures and intercalation of into LDH layers. The prepared Sb‐LDH composites remain the hydrotalcite structure with layered geometry and show higher thermal property than that of LDH. When applied to poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) composites, Sb‐LDH showed limited thermal stability for PVC at the early stage of thermal and thermooxidative degradation processes. However, Sb‐LDH could retard the thermal cracking of the carbonaceous conjugated polyene of PVC which may hinder further degradation, and the moderate amount of Sb‐LDH (1, 2, and 5 wt %) in PVC resin can retard the process of decarbonation and enhance char formation. Sb‐LDH also promoted the transparency of PVC but darkened the color. With the advantages of transparency promotion, high temperature resistance, and long‐term stability, the prepared Sb‐LDH is a potential thermal stabilizer for PVC resins. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42524.     

Effect of carbon black on electrical property of graphite nanoplatelets/epoxy resin composites

Epoxy/graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs)/carbon black (CB) composites were prepared by liquid mixing method. The morphologies and microstructures of the composites were examined by scanning electron microscope and X‐ray diffraction. The results indicated that CB can improve effectively the dispersion of GNPs and form excellent conductive network in the matrix. When the weight ratio of GNPs to CB was 9:1 (total filler content was 1 wt%), the conductivity of the composite was three orders of magnitude higher than that of composites with GNPs alone (1 wt%). The percolation threshold of GNPs_0.9CB_0.1/epoxy resin composites was 0.5 wt. %, which was lower than that of composites with GNPs alone (1 wt%). The mechanism for the effect of CB on electrical property of GNPs/epoxy resin composites was also investigated. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Effect of K0.5Na0.5NbO3 filling particles on the charge carrier trap distribution of polyimide films

Polyimide (PI) films filled with K_0.5Na_0.5NbO₃ (KNN50) particles at different weight 0, 5, 10, and 15 wt % had been prepared by in‐situ dispersion polymerization process. The thermally stimulated current (TSDC) method was used to investigate the charge carrier trap levels and their distribution of the composite films. The TSDC spectra show that pure film has ‐peaks and ‐peak, but the composite films only have ‐peaks and an extraordinary peak at high temperature region. The trap parameters were calculated by an approximate model, and the results indicate that charge released of the shallow traps show a nonlinear behavior. The trap energies decrease from 0.879–0.968 eV to 0.549–0.839 eV with the increase of the KNN50 content. The surface and interface between KNN50 and PI matrix was considered to the variation of the trap levels. The extraordinary peak of the composite films was correlated with the phase transition of the KNN50 particles. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39828.     

Controlling micro‐ and nanofibrillar morphology of polymer blends in low‐speed melt spinning process. Part I. Profiles of PLA/PVA‐filament parameters along the spinline

The profiles of PLA/PVA filament parameters (e.g., temperature, velocity, tensile stress, and apparent elongational viscosity) along the spinline in the low‐speed melt spinning process under various spinning conditions were investigated. Owing to the combination of the filament velocity and filament temperature measurements using laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) and infrared thermography, respectively, the fiber formation zone was determined. The length of the fiber formation zone obtained from filament velocity profiles is always shorter than that obtained from the filament temperature profiles ( . Obviously, this unexpected phenomenon occurs for low spinning speeds due to the axial heat conduction effect of the filament along the spinline and the nonuniform radial temperature distribution through the cross‐sectional thick filament. Another remarkable finding is related to the Nusselt number which has been found as nearly constant along the spinline in the low‐speed melt spinning process. Thus, mathematical simulations of the filament temperature profiles will be simplified drastically. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44258.     

High‐density polyethylene/carbon black conductive composites. I. Effect of CB surface modification on its resistivity–temperature behavior

The effect of the interaction between a polymeric matrix and conductive particles of carbon black (CB), especially the interaction enhanced by oxidizing CB (o‐CB), on the resistivity–temperature behavior of its composites was studied. The results reveal that the interaction between ethylene‐vinyl‐acetate and CB is stronger than that between high‐density polyethylene and CB. The room temperature resistivity of the o‐CB filled system subsequent to thermal cycles increases to a lower extent in comparison with those filled with virgin CB. Moreover, the resistivity decrease of composites filled with o‐CB needs a longer time than that of the virgin CB filled system during isothermal annealing, meaning that the resistivity–temperature behavior of the former is much more stable than that of the latter. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 3112–3116, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10049     

Preparation and characterization of core‐shell polystyrene/polyaniline/Pd composites and their catalytic properties for the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol

Herein, polystyrene/polyaniline/Pd (PS/PANI/Pd) core‐shell composite catalysts were prepared by a facile swelling‐diffusion‐interfacial polymerization method. PS microparticles were firstly prepared by dispersion polymerization and were swollen by aniline monomer without any surface modification. H₂PdCl₄ acid was used as palladium precursor. The was adsorbed on the surface of aniline‐swollen PS microparticles because of the electrostatic attraction between and anilinium positive ions protonated by H⁺, which was diffused from the aniline‐swollen PS microparticles. Then HCl solution was added to control the diffusion rate of anilinium positive ions and ammonium persulfate (APS) was used to polymerize the anilinium ions to get PANI shell. Due to the redox activity between PANI and Pd ions, Pd nanoparticles can be in situ formed on the surfaces of PS. Therefore, the core‐shell PS/PANI/Pd composite catalysts were obtained. The morphology and structure of the obtained composites was characterized by TEM, FT‐IR and EDX. Results showed that the products presented excellent catalytic properties for the reduction of 4‐nitrophenol (4‐NP) to 4‐aminophenol (4‐AP) in the presence of NaBH₄ by virtue of the interaction between Pd nanoparticles and conducive PANI shell. The catalytic reaction obeyed the pseudo‐first‐order reaction equations and the reaction rate constants were also calculated in this article. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44812.     

Investigation and modelling of damping mechanisms of magnetorheological elastomers

Damping in MREs is considered to be ascribed to viscous flow of the rubber matrix, interfacial damping at the interface between the magnetic particles and the matrix and magnetism induced damping. In this study, individual components in MREs that contribute to material damping were investigated. A model was developed to include viscous flow of the rubber matrix, interfacial damping and magnetism induced damping to give the total damping capacity of MREs ( )It was found that depends on frequency, iron sand content, strain amplitude and is independent of the applied magnetic field over saturation magnetization. The proposed model was assessed experimentally using a series of isotropic and anisotropic MREs. Comparison between tan δ with showed that matched the experimental trends with average percentage difference of 8.1% and 21.8% for MREs with modified iron sand unmodified iron sand, respectively. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43247.     

Viscoelastic properties and extrusion processability of poly(vinyl butyral)

Rheological properties and flow instability at capillary extrusion of a random terpolymer composed of vinyl butyral, vinyl alcohol, and vinyl acetate, that is denoted as PVB in this article, are studied. It is found that the rubbery plateau modulus is 1.3 MPa at 100°C from the oscillatory shear modulus. Furthermore, the average molecular weight between entanglement couplings M_e is found to be 2670. Because of the relatively high value of , it shows rubbery region in the wide temperature range (90°C–180°C). At the capillary extrusion, the surface instability (shark‐skin failure) appears prior to volumetric melt fracture. The onset stress of the shark‐skin failure, ca. 0.18 MPa, is similar to that of polyethylene, although PVB used in this study has narrow molecular weight distribution. Moreover, the apparent slippage is not detected, presumably due to good adhesion to the die wall. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40337.     

Electrical properties and the role of inhomogeneities at the polyvinyl alcohol/n‐inp schottky barrier interface

In this work, we have investigated the electrical properties of Au/n‐InP contacts with a thin layer of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as an interlayer. The current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements are carried out in the temperature range of 175–425 K. The Au/PVA/n‐InP Schottky structure show nonideal behaviors and indicates the presence of a nonuniform distribution of interface states. The temperature dependent interface states densities (N_SS), ideality factor and barrier height are obtained. An abnormal decrease in zero‐bias barrier height (BH) and increase in the ideality factor ( ) with decreasing temperature have been explained on the basis of the thermionic emission theory with Gaussian distribution (GD) of the BHs due to the BH inhomogeneities. The experimental I–V characteristics of Au/PVA/n‐InP Schottky diode has revealed the existence of a double GD with mean BH values of ( ) of 1.246 and 0.899 eV and standard deviation ( ) of 0.176 and 0.137 V, respectively. Consequently, the modified conventional activation energy versus plot gives and Richardson constants ( ) and the values are 1.17 and 0.71 eV and 9.9 and 6.9 A/cm² K², respectively, without using the temperature coefficient of the BH. The effective Richardson constant value of 9.9 A/cm² K² is very close to the theoretical value of 9.4 A/cm² K² for n‐InP. The discrepancy between Schottky barrier heights estimated from I–V and C–V measurements is also discussed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39773.     

Nucleation parameter and size distribution of critical nuclei for nonisothermal polymer crystallization: The influence of the cooling rate and filler

The nucleation parameter K_g of filled PP, HDPE, and PA6 is determined through nonisothermal DSC measurements. A novel method is proposed for the determination of the size distribution of critical nuclei, where the most commonly found fraction was obtained as a peak value. The models are tested at different cooling rates and different filler loadings. K_g varies up to a certain cooling rate and afterwards remains constant. The introduction of talc in PP and HDPE facilitates nucleation and thus reduces K_g. An opposite trend occurs upon the addition of bentonite in PA6. The changes of K_g and are reflected on sample morphology, as confirmed with SAXS. The ratio between the final crystal thickness and amounts to approx. 2 and thus agrees well with the one listed in literature. The simple linear correlations of the obtained K_g are established with Young's modulus and yield stress. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41433.     

A new method to determine monomer concentration in the polymer particles of emulsion polymerization systems by dynamic light scattering

In the published article cited above, by considering corrections made on the eq. (19) which will be discussed in the next section, Figure 6 should be replaced with a following new Figure 1. Hence, and values of 0.379 and 5.68 mol.dm^?3, respectively, on pages 1055, 1061, and 1062 should be changed to their accurate values of 0.426 and 5.29 mol.dm^?3, respectively.     

Preparation of nonwoven mats of electrospun poly(lactic acid)/polyaniline blend nanofibers: A new approach

The preparation of nonwoven mats of electrospun poly(lactic acid)/polyaniline (PANI) blend nanofibers faces some critical challenges that will be addressed in the present work. The challenges are in achieving high and adjustable content of PANI while keeping the spinnable solution nonagglomerated with no need to further filtration that might lead to wrong estimation of PANI content in the mat. We report an unprecedented content of 40% wt of PANI that is achieved using a new two‐step procedure. It is based on: (1) the preparation of the spinnable solution from a friable nonagglomerated and readily dispersible PANI: ‐TSA powder and (2) the use of an optimized mixture of ‐cresol/dichloromethane. The obtained nanofiber mats are characterized by FTIR and UV–vis spectroscopy. The morphology and the thermal stability of the nanofibers are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The amorphous structure of the nanofibers is verified using XRD measurements. The DC‐conductivity of these blend nanofibers is found to be far larger than the published DC‐conductivity values for blend nanofibers of PANI with PLLA or with other polymers. This is attributed to the high content of PANI in the blend and to the role played by ‐cresol as a secondary dopant. The investigation of the aging effect on the DC‐conductivity reveals an exponential decrease with a characteristic time of weeks. The electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) shows a pure ohmic behavior of the blend mat. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 43687.     

Copolymers from methyl methacrylate and butyl acrylate with hyperbranched architecture

This is a first report of the synthesis and characterization of acrylic copolymers from methyl methacrylate (MMA) and butyl acrylate (BA) with hyperbranched architecture. The copolymers were synthesized using a free radical polymerization (Strathclyde method) in emulsion technique. Divinyl benzene was used as the brancher which acted as a comonomer and 1‐dodecanethiol was used as a chain terminating agent. A linear copolymer from MMA and BA was also synthesized for comparison. The hyperbranched architecture was established from spectroscopic and rheological measurements. The gel permeation chromatography showed all hyperbranched copolymers were low molecular weight with lower polydispersity index (PDI) ( 23,000, PDI ～ 2.00) compared to the linear grade ( 93,000, PDI ～ 2.20). They were more spherical and achieved lower viscosity (yet higher solubility, >90%) than the linear grade (<50%) which was mostly open ended. Lower viscosity at equivalent solid content made the hyperbranched polymers a potential binder for adhesive and coating application. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45356.     

Indirect effect of polyvinylpyrrolidone and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide on UV‐blocking efficiency of TiO2@PVP‐CTAB@SiO2 core‐shell nanohybrid particles

In this study, a novel and useful approach to fabricate @PVP‐CTAB@ (TPS) nanohybrid as an effective light stabilizer agent has been reported. Also, the indirect role of the Polyvinylpyrrolidone and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide on UV (ultraviolet) protection properties of nanohybrid particles was investigated. In addition, comparative studies were carried out to evaluate the photocatalytic and UV protection properties of @ (TS), commercial (US3490), synthesized nanparticles, and TPS nanoparticles. Furthermore, the UV protection property of 2‐(2H‐benzotriazol‐2‐yl)?4, 6‐bis (1‐methyl‐1‐phenylethyl) phenol, as an organic anti UV, was also compared with TPS nanoparticles. The as prepared nanohybrid was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, zeta potential, field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and UV‐Vis spectroscopy. FESEM and TEM micrographs show monodispersity and nano‐metric size of TPS. Rhodamine B degradation study clearly shows that TPS present the lowest photocatalytic property. Also, UV‐Vis spectroscopy results show that the TPS nanoparticles illustrate higher UV blocking ability comparing to other presented anti UV materials. TPS with convenient and useful synthesis method, high UV blocking ability, and little effect on polymer matrix can be introduced as a novel UV‐blocking agent in polyurethane matrix. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016 , 133, 44148.     

Vibration damping characterization of linseed oil‐based elastomers for its effectiveness to attenuate structural vibration

Vibration damping properties of elastomers prepared from linseed oil were characterized by dynamic mechanical analyzer in a temperature range of ?50 to 100°C and frequency range of 5 Hz to 1 kHz. The maximum damping loss factor, varies from 0.78 to 1.32, the room temperature (25°C) loss factor, in the range of 0.56–1.08 and the temperature range ( ) for effective damping varies from 63°C to 74.4°C in different elastomers. The elastomers behave as a good vibration damper both in lower and higher frequency range. Thus these elastomers exhibit good damping behavior in a wide range of temperature and frequency, a primary requirement for practical damping applications. A modal constrained layer damping system constructed utilizing these elastomers exhibits its potentiality to attenuate structural vibrations with respect to mild steel bare plate resonator under laboratory fabricated testing methodology. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 3611–3623, 2013