Effect of plasticizers in poly(vinyl alcohol)‐based hybrid solid polymer electrolytes

Hybrid solid polymer electrolyte films consisting of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), LiBF₄, and ethylene carbonate/propylene carbonate (EC/PC) were prepared with a solvent‐casting technique. The complexation was investigated with Fourier transform infrared and X‐ray diffraction. The ionic conductivities of the electrolyte films were determined with an alternating‐current impedance technique for various temperatures in the range of 302–373 K. The maximum conductivity value, 1.2886 × 10^?3 S/cm, was observed for a PVA–PMMA–LiBF₄–EC complex. Thermogravimetry/differential thermal analysis was performed to ascertain the thermal stability of the electrolyte with the maximum conductivity value. For an examination of the cyclic and reversible performance of the film, a cyclic voltammetry study was carried out. The surface morphology of the EC‐and PC‐based electrolytes was examined with scanning electron microscopy. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 2794–2800, 2003     

Compatibility of plasticizers with poly(vinyl chloride)

The tendency of a plasticizer to resist exudation from poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) under compressive stress, known technologically as “compatibility,” is treated in terms of a network model, the plasticized composition being thought of as a rubber crosslinked by crystallites. Compatibility is increased by increased solvency (Flory-Huggins χ) and decreased by increasing plasticizer molar volume. A large crosslink density and/or insufficient melting of crosslinks during processing (thermal history) also decreases compatibility. All commercial primary plasticizers are believed to be infinitely miscible with amorphous PVC. Phase separation which occurs is syneresis and not related to any phase diagram. Swelling tests for compatibility and swelling measurements on dilute PVC gels are described. Some general principles relating to gel formation and association in polymer solutions are also discussed.     

Compatibility of nylon 6 with poly(vinyl alcohol), hydroxylated poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(vinyl acetate)

Summary The compatibility of nylon 6 with poly(vinyl acetate)(PVAc) and poly(vinyl alcohol)(PVA) was investigated in terms of the melting-temperature depression. In order to vary the compatibility systematically, a hydroxylated poly(vinyl actate)(m-PVAc) was prepared by hydrolyzing PVAc with KOH in CH₃OH. It was found that the compatibility with nylon 6 is better in the systematic order PVA> m-PVAc> PVAc.     

Polymer chain organization in tensile-stretched poly(ethylene oxide)-based polymer electrolytes

Polymer chain orientation in tensile-stretched poly(ethylene oxide)-lithium trifluoromethanesulfonate polymer electrolytes are investigated with polarized infrared spectroscopy as a function of the degree of strain and salt composition (ether oxygen atom to lithium ion ratios of 20:1, 15:1, and 10:1). The 1359 and 1352 cm(-1) bands are used to probe the crystalline PEO and P(EO)(3)LiCF(3)SO(3) domains, respectively, allowing a direct comparison of chain orientation for the two phases. Two-dimensional correlation FT-IR spectroscopy indicates that the two crystalline domains align at the same rate as the polymer electrolytes are stretched. Quantitative measurements of polymer chain orientation obtained through dichroic infrared spectroscopy show that chain orientation predominantly occurs between strain values of 150% and 250%, regardless of salt composition investigated. There are few changes in chain orientation for either phase when the films are further elongated to a strain of 300%; however, the PEO domains are slightly more oriented at the high strain values. The spectroscopic data are consistent with stretching-induced melt-recrystallization of the unoriented crystalline domains in the solution-cast polymer films. Stretching the films pulls polymer chains from the crystalline domains, which subsequently recrystallize with the polymer helices parallel to the stretch direction. If lithium ion conduction in crystalline polymer electrolytes is viewed as consisting of two major components (facile intra-chain lithium ion conduction and slow helix-to-helix inter-grain hopping), then alignment of the polymer helices will affect the ion conduction pathways for these materials by reducing the number of inter-grain hops required to migrate through the polymer electrolyte.     

Studies on semiinterpenetrating polymer networks based on poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate) and poly(alkyl methacrylates)

A number of semi-interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) based on linear poly(vinyl chloride-co-vinyl acetate) and poly(alkyl methacrylates) were synthesized. The semi-IPNs were found to be transparent, high strength materials. The IPNs show only one glass-transition temperature and it is dependent on the composition as studied by differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. These IPNs are also characterized by high tan δ values. The tensile strength of the IPNs were found to be higher compared to the starting polymers. In order to compare the properties of these IPNs with the corresponding homopolymers and blends, the latter were synthesized and the properties were studied. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Structural characterization of new poly(ethylene oxide)-based alkaline solid polymer electrolytes

A new class of alkaline solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) based on poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), potassium hydroxide (KOH), and water was investigated. The structure of the SPEs was studied by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction, and optical microscopy techniques. The existence of a crystalline complex between PEO, KOH, and H₂O was evidenced for some compositions, depending on the O/K ratio. A possible structure was proposed, and a schematic phase diagram was established for this PEO–KOH–H₂O system. The first conductivity measurements also revealed the great interest of these systems, with conductivity values up to 10^-3 S/cm. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 65:601–607, 1997     

Phase behaviour and phase separation in polymer blends of poly(methyl methacrylate) with poly(vinyl acetate)

Summary Phase behaviour and phase separation in a binary polymer blends of poly(methyl methacryate) (PMMA) with poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) was invistigated by cloud method and light scattering. A lower critical solution temperature (LCST) type phase diagram was found. The mixture system of PMMA/PVAc is miscible. Kinetic study on demixing at the two-phase region above the LCST was carried out by light scattering.     

Conducting polymer composites: Polypyrrole and poly(vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate) copolymer

Composites of a polypyrrole (PPy) and poly(vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate) copolymer (PVC-PVA) were prepared both chemically and electrochemically. An insulating polymer was retained in the blend and the thermal stability of the polymer was enhanced by polymerizing pyrrole into the host matrix in both cases. The composites prepared electrochemically gave the best results in terms of conductivity and air stability. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 667–671, 1997     

Electric double layer capacitors with gelled polymer electrolytes based on poly(ethylene oxide) cured with poly(propylene oxide) diamines

Using a gel electrolyte for electric double layer capacitors usually encountered a drawback of poor contact between the electrolyte and the electrode surface. A gel electrolyte consisting of poly(ethylene oxide) crosslinked with poly(propylene oxide) as a host, propylene carbonate (PC) as a plasticizer, and LiClO₄ as a electrolytic salt was synthesized for double layer capacitors. Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A was blended with the polymer precursors to enhance the mechanical properties and increase the internal free volume. This gel electrolyte showed an ionic conductivity as high as 2 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 25 °C and was electrochemically stable over a wide potential range (ca. 5 V). By sandwiching this gel-electrolyte film with two activated carbon cloth electrodes (1100 m² g⁻¹ in surface area), we obtained a capacitor with a specific capacitance of 86 F g⁻¹ discharged at 0.5 mA cm⁻², while the capacitance was 82 F g⁻¹ for a capacitor equipped with a liquid electrolyte of 1 M LiClO₄/PC. The capacitance decrease with the current density was less significant for the gel-electrolyte capacitor. We found that the less restricted ion diffusion near the electrolyte/electrode interface led to the smaller overall resistance of the gel-electrolyte capacitor. The high performance of the gel-electrolyte capacitor has demonstrated that the developed polymer network not only facilitated ion motion in the electrolyte bulk phase but also gave an intimate contact with the carbon surface. The side chains of the polymer in the amorphous phase could stretch across the boundary layer at the electrolyte/electrode interface to come into contact with the carbon surface, thus improving transport of Li⁺ ions by the segmental mobility in polymer.     

聚氯乙烯环保型增塑剂的研究进展

综述了聚氯乙烯环保型增塑剂的研究及应用状况,介绍了目前研究较多、应用广泛而且价格较低廉的环氧植物油、柠檬酸三丁酯和乙酰柠檬酸三丁酯.对比传统催化剂,阐述了其合成方法的进展,突出了新型高效催化剂的应用.指出环保型增塑剂是聚氯乙烯增塑剂的发展方向,符合可持续发展道路.     

Synthesis and behavior of poly(vinyl chloride)-based latex interpenetrating polymer networks

Poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(butadiene–co–acrylonitrile) interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN's) were synthesized in latex form. Dynamic mechanical spectroscopy as a function of temperature revealed that the glass transitions of the individual networks were broadened and in some cases spanned the entire temperature range between the two individual polymer transitions. This was interpreted to indicate extensive but incomplete mixing between the two networks. Depending on overall composition, the cast or molded films were either plastic or tough elastomers at room temperature. Some aspects of phase continuity and structure, including a graded core-shell model, are discussed.     

Solvent-free generation of poly(vinyl acetals) directly from poly(vinyl acetate)

The simultaneous methanolysis and butryalization of poly(vinyl acetate) was conducted via the reaction of methanol and butyraldehyde with polyvinyl acetate under batch conditions at temperatures from 70°C to 90°C at the vapor pressure of the reactants. It was found that use of an acid catalyst allowed for the methanolysis to be the rate limiting step of a simultaneous methanolysis-butyralization reaction, minimizing the buildup of alcohol repeat units in the polymer during the reaction. As such, use of an excess of aldehyde was counterproductive in that it served to dilute both the methanol and the acetate groups in the polymer phase, lowering the overall rate of the reaction. With 20% stoichiometric excesses of methanol and butyraldehyde, it was possible to produce poly(vinyl butyral) directly from poly(vinyl acetate) with very low residual acetate and overall conversions equivalent to commerical samples. Further, carbon dioxide was evaluated as a reversible plasticizer for polyvinyl acetate during methanolysis. Results at various pressures were consistent with the expectation that the presence of CO₂ would lower the reaction rate, primarily because of dilution of reactants in the CO₂-swollen polymer phase. Finally, it was shown that the simultaneous reaction procedure can be used to generate polyvinyl acetals from a variety of aldehydes.     

The effect of antimony trioxide on poly (vinyl alcohol)-lithium perchlorate based polymer electrolytes

A new type of inorganic filler antimony trioxide (Sb₂O₃) is used to prepare composite polymer electrolytes based on poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and lithium perchlorate (LiClO₄) by solution casting technique. The incorporation of Sb₂O₃ enhances the ionic conductivity at ambient temperature and exhibits the highest ionic conductivity value of 9.51×10^?5 S cm^?1 upon the addition of 6 wt% Sb₂O₃. Thermogravimetric analyses (TGA) reveal that the second weight loss is reduced. This shows the improvement in thermal stability of electrolyte film upon addition of Sb₂O₃. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analyses show that the glass transition temperature (T_g) value decreases with incorporation of Sb₂O₃. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show that the addition of Sb₂O₃ decreases the degree of crystallinity whereas scanning electron microscope (SEM) studies reveal the surface morphology of the prepared composite polymer electrolytes.     

Thermal characteristics of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fiber grafted with poly(vinyl acetate) and poly(vinyl alcohol)

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibers were grafted with poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). The effects of graft copolymers PVAc and PVA on morphological properties of PET were evaluated by differential thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. Melting temperature, heat of fusion, and mass fractional crystallinity of PET was not affected by graft PVAc and PVA. No individual glass transition and melting points corresponding to the graft PVAc and PVA were observed, indicating thereby that graft copolymer mainly exists in the form of free chains inside the PET matrix. Poly(vinyl alcohol) graft copolymer degraded at much lower temperatures than poly(vinyl alcohol) in powder form. Thermal stability of PET fiber was not affected by graft PVAc, where as PET–g–PVA showed an additional degradation point at 360°C.     

DSC study of foamable poly (vinyl chloride‐co‐vinyl acetate) plastisols of different commercial plasticizers

In this article the characterization of the thermal behavior of foamable PVC (Poly (vinyl chloride)) plastisols from 20 different plasticizers has been studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The interactions between the resin and the plasticizer as well as the decomposition of the azodicarbonamide (ADC)—the chemical blowing agent (CBA) used—have been analyzed. The latter process is of crucial importance for the knowledge of plasticized PVC flexible foam formation. Clear effects of the chemical nature of the plasticizers and their molecular weight (M_w) have been observed, both in the interactions (swelling and early stages of gelation) between the resin and the plasticizer, as well as in the temperature of the ADC decomposition and the shape of the DSC peak. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011     

Effect of alkalies on suspension polymerization of vinyl acetate monomer,properties of poly(vinyl acetate) beads and poly(vinyl alcohols)

The use of weak alkalies such as sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃), sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO₃) and their 1 : 1 molar mixture, and strong alkalies such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and sodium methoxide (NaOMe) as pH controllers in suspension polymerization of vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) has shown to have diverse effects on the yield of resulting poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAC) beads. Carbon dioxide as such or the carbonate seems to influence the yield. Further, these alkalies have a deep-seated effect not only on properties like viscosity, stereoregularity, glass transition temperature (T_g), and swelling coefficient (Q) of the PVAC beads but also on those of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) obtained by alcoholysis of PVAC beads. The PVAC beads obtained using Na₂CO₃ showed higher viscosity, higher swelling coefficient (Q), and the PVA derived from these beads had higher Q, higher syndiotacticity/isotacticity ratio, and lower T_g.     

Ionically conductive polymer gel electrolytes prepared from vinyl acetate and methyl methacrylate for electric double layer capacitor

In order to obtain highly conductive polymer electrolytes for an electric double layer capacitor, three kinds of polymer gel electrolytes were prepared. Vinyl acetate (VAc) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) were copolymerized with divinyl adipate (DA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), respectively, in propylene carbonate (PC) containing tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TEATFB) to form network polymer gel electrolytes. MMA was also copolymerized with butylene glycol DMA for comparison. The polymer gel electrolytes obtained were characterized by means of thermogravimetry, complex impedance analysis, and cyclic voltammetry for use in the electric double layer capacitor. The ionic conductivities of the polymer gel electrolytes were dependent on the TEATFB concentration, temperature, and crosslinking degree. The polymer gel electrolytes in the VAc‐DA system exhibited higher room temperature conductivities (10⁻² S/cm) than those in the MMA‐EGDMA system. Further, the polymer gel electrolytes in the VAc‐DA system showed good electrochemical stability windows ranging from −4.0 to 4.0 V versus Ag. Thermal analysis revealed that the polymer gel electrolytes in both systems were stable up to 150°C. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 76: 12–18, 2000     

Preparation of functional poly (vinyl acetate)-Silica nanocomposites by hybrid sol-gel process

Nanocomposites of polyvinyl acetate and silica are prepared by sol-gel method. Samples are characterized using Infrared Spectroscopy, Thermal Analysis (TGA-DTGA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. In the hybrids with higher content of silica, it is evidenced the presence of hydrogen bonding between the residual silanols on the silicate network and the carbonyl of PVAc, this is determined by FTIR and XPS. It was also found that the hybrid containing 75% of silica suspension and 25% of polyvinyl acetate was the most thermally stable by TGA-DTGA.     

Ionic conduction of novel polymer composite films based on partially phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol)

New ion-conducting polymer composite films have been prepared, and their ionic conducting properties have been investigated. The polymer composite films are fabricated from partially phosphorylated poly(vinyl alcohol) with tetramethylammonium salt (P-PVA·Me₄N⁺) and poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) or poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). For P-PVA·Me₄N⁺/PEG composite films, the ionic conductivity and carrier density sharply increased, and carrier mobility sharply decreased around [PEG]/[PO₃]_P-PVA of 2. The ionic conductivity is dominated by both carrier density and carrier mobility at [PEG]/[PO₃]_P-PVA<2 and only by carrier density at [PEG]/[PO₃]_P-PVA>2. This is attributed to the fact that the ionic conduction in P-PVA·Me₄N⁺/PEG composite films occurred through the PEG-Me₄N⁺ complex which was independent of the carrier mobility. On the other hand, the ionic conductivity in P-PVA·Me₄N⁺/PAA composite films showed a bell-shaped dependence on the PAA contents with a maximum value at [CO₂H]_PAA/[OH]_P-PVA=1. FTIR spectrum measurements demonstrated that part of the carboxylic acid residues was dissociated in the composite films. This fact implied that the ionic conduction was mediated by PAA at the low PAA content. At high PAA content, however, an excess of the carboxylic acid residues formed trapping sites for the Me₄N⁺ ion, leading to a decrease in the ionic conductivity. Furthermore, we proposed a unique mechanism of the ionic conduction.