Surface morphology control of immiscible polymer-blend thin films

The effects of the molecular weights (molecular weight of polystyrene, M_w,PS, varying from 2.9 to 129 k) on the surface morphologies of spin-coated and annealed polystyrene/poly (methyl methacrylate) (PS/PMMA=50/50, w/w) blend films were investigated by atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. For the spin-coated films, when the M_w,PS varied from 2.9 to 129 k, three different kinds of surface morphologies (a nanophase-separated morphology, a PMMA cellular or network-like morphology whose meshes filled with PS, a sea-island like morphology) were observed and their formation mechanisms are discussed, respectively. Upon annealing, two different morphology-evolution processes were observed. It is found that a upper PS-rich phase layer is formed when M_w,PS<4 k, and this behavior is mainly attributed to the low interfacial tension between PS and PMMA component. When M_w,PS>4 k, the PS-rich phase forms droplets on top of the PMMA-rich phase layer which wets the SiO_x substrate. These results indicate that the surface morphology of the polymer blend films can be controlled by the polymer molecular weight and annealing conditions.     

基于环境选择和配对选择的多目标粒子群算法

为了使多目标粒子群算法中种群粒子能够快速地收敛于怕累托最优边界,针对标准多目标粒子群算法中缺乏粒子评价标准以及种群个体历史最优值位置和全局最优值位置选择问题,提出了一种基于环境选择和配对选择策略的多目标粒子群算法.该算法在每次迭代时,采用SPEA2中的环境选择和配对选择策略及适应度值计算方法,以此来提高种群粒子之间的信息交换力度,减少标准多目标粒子群算法中大量的随机性,使种群粒子能够更快速地收敛于怕累托最优边界.经典测试函数的仿真实验结果表明,在标准多目标粒子群算法中运用SPEA2的环境选择、配对选择策略和适应度值计算方法,能够使种群粒子更快速地收敛于帕累托最优边界,验证了算法改进的可行性和有效性.     

Water‐absorptive blend fibers of copoly(acrylic acid–acrylamide) and poly(vinyl alcohol)

Through the addition of N‐hydroxymethyl acrylamide as a potential crosslinker, water‐absorptive blend fibers of copoly(acrylic acid–acrylamide) and poly(vinyl alcohol) with three‐dimensional network structures were prepared with heat‐crosslinking technology after fiber formation. Fourier transform infrared, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, and thermogravimetry were used to analyze the structures and properties of the fibers. The tensile behavior and absorbent capacities of the fibers were also studied. The results showed that there were lots of chemical crosslinking points in the fibers, the compatibility of copoly(acrylic acid–acrylamide) and poly(vinyl alcohol) was perfect, and the tensile properties of the fibers could be improved effectively through stretching in a vapor bath. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 3353–3357, 2006     

Nonisothermal crystallization behavior of glass‐bead‐filled polypropylene

The effects of the glass‐bead content and size on the nonisothermal crystallization behavior of polypropylene (PP)/glass‐bead blends were studied with differential scanning calorimetry. The degree of crystallinity decreased with the addition of glass bead, and the crystallization temperature of the blends was marginally higher than that of pure PP at various cooling rates. Furthermore, the half‐time for crystallization decreased with an increase in the glass‐bead content or particle size, implying the nucleating role of the glass beads. The nonisothermal crystallization data were analyzed with the methods of Avrami, Ozawa, and Mo. The validity of various kinetic models for the nonisothermal crystallization process of PP/glass‐bead blends was examined. The approach developed by Mo successfully described the nonisothermal crystallization behavior of PP and PP/glass‐bead blends. Finally, the activation energy for the nonisothermal crystallization of pure PP and PP/glass‐bead blends based on the Kissinger method was evaluated. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 2026–2033, 2006     

液体聚丁二烯的环氧化

分析了影响环氧化聚丁二烯合成条件的诸多因素、原料以及产物的结构，为该产物的实际应用创造条件。     

Preparation and properties of polyimide/silica hybrid composites based on polymer‐modified colloidal silica

A new type of polyimide/silica (PI/SiO₂) hybrid composite films was prepared by blending polymer‐modified colloidal silica with the semiflexible polyimide. Polyimide was solution‐imidized at higher temperature than the glass transition temperature (T_g) using 3,3′,4,4′‐biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 4,4′‐diaminodiphenyl ether (ODA). The morphological observation on the prepared hybrid films by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) pointed to the existence of miscible organic–inorganic phase, which resulted in improved mechanical properties compared with pure PI. The incorporation of the silica structures in the PI matrix also increased both T_g and thermal stability of the resulting films. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 2053–2061, 2006     

Effects of the Addition of Different Types of Fillers on the Properties of BaO–ZnO–B2O3–SiO2 Glass Composites for Application to Barrier Ribs of Plasma Display Panels

Various types of crystalline ceramic fillers (TiO₂, ZrO₂, Al₂O₃, MgO, and cordierite) were added to BaO–ZnO–B₂O₃–SiO₂ (BZBS) glass (5–20 wt%), and the resultant dielectric constant, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE), and optical reflectance were investigated for the application of the composites to the barrier ribs in plasma display panels. All the investigated fillers were partially dissolved into the glass at the fabrication temperature (575°C), and the residual fillers were aligned along the boundaries of sintered glass frits. By considering all aspects of the properties, the addition of TiO₂ fillers of about 10 wt% to BZBS glass was the most desirable of the types of fillers investigated. The addition of TiO₂ filler (10 wt%) yielded 61% in optical reflectance, 8.3 × 10⁻⁶ K^–1 in coefficient of thermal expansion, and 15.5 in dielectric constant, which were properties comparable with the currently used Pb-based barrier ribs.     

Mobile phase composition for resolving whey proteins in reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography

Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was successfully developed for the simultaneous and rapid separation for the main whey proteins, α-Lactalbumin and β-Lactoglobulin. This method consisted of a linear gradient of the two mobile phases of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in water and 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile. The total run time for this separation was approximately 30 min, and α-Lactalbumin was eluted followed byβ- Lactoglobulin. The injection volume was fixed at 20 μl and the flow rate was 1 ml 1/min. The optimum mobile phase composition and gradient conditions to separate α-Lactalbumin and β-Lactoglobulin (A+B) were experimentally obtained at the 15 μm particle with a pore size of 300 Å on the linear-gradient mode.     

Effect of coal filler on the properties of soy protein plastics

The influence of ultrafine coal filler (UFC) content on tensile properties, water absorption, and biodegradability of soy protein plastics were investigated. The addition of UFC in the soy protein plastics, with different content of glycerol as a plasticizer, was at different ratio varying from 10:0 to 6:4. Blend sheets of the soy protein composites were prepared by the compression molding processing. The results show that, with 23.08 wt % glycerol, the tensile strength and elongation at break for the soy protein sheet with coal filler (range from 5 to 30 parts) can be enhanced as compared with nonfilled soy protein plastics. Water resistance of the soy protein plastics improves with the increase in UFC content. The derivative thermogravimetry (DTG) curves indicate a double‐stage degradation process for defatted soy flour (SPF), while three‐stage degradation process for soy plastics and the soy protein composites. FT‐IR, XPS, and SEM were applied to study the interfacial interaction between coal macromolecules and soy protein molecules in UFC filled soy protein plastics. The results demonstrated that there is strong interfacial interaction in the soy protein plastics caused by the compression molding processing. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 3134–3143, 2006     

Binding of several heavy metal ions by polyaspartyl polymers and their application to some Chinese herbal medicines

Water‐insoluble polyaspartyl polymers were synthesized by using water as medium instead of organic medium. Taking Ca²⁺ as a reference, the binding of several heavy‐metal ions, including Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Hg²⁺, Cr³⁺, Cu²⁺, and Mn²⁺, by polyaspartyl polymers was studied. The experimental results revealed that polyaspartate is an excellent binding agent for the investigated heavy‐metal ions. These cation ions were bound to polyaspartate polymer by the same mechanism as Pb²⁺, which can be explained by ion exchange model. Since polyaspartate has a protein‐resembling structure that is sensitive to trace heavy metal, it was used to remove some trace heavy‐metal elements in Chinese herbal medicines. It was found that polyaspartate material was an effective agent for the removal of Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Hg²⁺ ions from glycyrrhizin, angelica, and gynostemma pentaphyllum. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007