Study on the long‐term thermal‐oxidative aging behavior of polyamide 6

The long‐term thermal‐oxidative aging behavior of polyamide 6 (PA6) was studied by comparison with the stabilized sample in this work. The variation of mechanical properties of the pure and the stabilized samples of PA6 with aging time at 110°C, 130°C, and 150°C were investigated, respectively. The aging mechanism of PA6 under heat and oxygen was studied in terms of the reduced viscosity, crystallization behavior, dynamic mechanical behavior, and chemical composition through the methods of polarized light microscopy (PLM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), X‐ray photoelectron energy spectrum (XPS), and so on. The results indicated that at the initial stage of aging, the molecular crosslinking reaction of PA6 dominated resulting in the increase of the mechanical strength, reduced viscosity, and the glass transition temperature of the sample. And the molecular degradation dominated in the subsequent aging process resulting in the decrease of the melting temperature, the increase of the crystallinity, and the formation of the oxides and peroxides products. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Thermal stabilization effect of biphenol monoacrylate on polyamide 6

Biphenol monoacrylate (AL) was combined with a traditional hindered phenolic‐based binary antioxidant system to form a ternary stabilization system for the purpose of further improving the thermal–oxidative stability of polyamide 6 (PA6). The thermal stabilization effect of the antioxidant AL on PA6 was studied in terms of the reduced viscosity, the chemical structure, the yellow index, and the mechanical properties. The results showed that the antioxidant AL, with the proper chemical structure, could improve the thermal stability of PA6 effectively through a unique bifunctional stabilizing mechanism. The interaction of the molecules of PA6 with the antioxidant AL was investigated. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Preparation and characterization of metal-complex imprinted PVDF hollow fiber membranes

Using nickel-2,2′-dipyridyl complex as a template, N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone as the metal coordination functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the crosslinker, polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber ultrafiltration membrane as the supported membrane, metal complex imprinted polymeric membranes were prepared. The association constant of template-monomer interaction in the prepolymerization solution was estimated to be 4.38 × 10⁴ (L/mol)² by spectrophotometric titration analysis. The attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron micrograph characterization indicated that the surface of the support PVDF membrane was completely coated by the imprinted polymer layer after modification. The imprinted membranes exhibited the selective permeability for the template in certain nickel acetate solution. The molecularly imprinted membranes gave higher permeation separation factors at about pH 6, whereas increasing pressure would lower the separation ability. The effects of ion concentration, cations and counterions, ligand selectivity, pH, and trans-membrane pressure were investigated and the permeation performances of the imprinted membranes could be regarded as facilitated transport mechanism. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Synthesis and properties of novel amphiphilic sulfated ionomers by the ring‐opening reaction of an epoxidized styrene–butadiene–styrene triblock copolymer

A method for the synthesis of novel sulfated ionomer of styrene–butadiene–styrene triblock copolymer (SBS) was developed. SBS was first epoxidized by performic acid in the presence of a phase‐transfer catalyst; this was followed by a ring‐opening reaction with an aqueous solution of alkali salt of bisulfate. The optimum conditions for the ring‐opening reaction of the epoxidized SBS with an aqueous solution of KHSO₄ were studied. During the ring‐opening reaction, both phase‐transfer catalyst and ring‐opening catalyst were necessary to enhance the conversion of epoxy groups to ionic groups. The products were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectrophotometry and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). After the potassium ions of the ionomer were substituted with lead ions, the lead sulfated ionomer exhibited dark spots under TEM. Some properties of the sulfated ionomer were studied. With increasing ionic groups or ionic potential of the cations, the water absorbency and emulsifying volume of the ionomer and the intrinsic viscosity of the ionomer solution increased, whereas the oil absorbency decreased. The sulfated ionomer possessed excellent emulsifying properties compared with the sulfonated SBS ionomer. The sodium sulfated ionomers in the presence of 10% zinc stearate showed better mechanical properties than the original SBS. When the ionomer was blended with crystalline polypropylene, a synergistic effect occurred with respect to the tensile strength. The ionomer behaved as a compatibilizer for blending equal amounts of SBS and oil‐resistant chlorohydrin rubber. In the presence of 3% ionomer, the blend exhibited much better mechanical properties and solvent resistance than the blend without the ionomer. SEM photographs indicated improved compatibility between the two components of the blend in the presence of the ionomer. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Synthesis and magnetic properties of novel fully conjugated polymeric complexes containing 1,10‐phenanthroline

A novel fully conjugated polymer containing 1,10‐phenanthroline (DAPcDOD) was first synthesized by the polycondensation of 2,7‐dimethyl‐2,4,6‐octatriene‐1,8‐dial with 5,6‐diamine‐1,10‐phenanthroline. Three polymeric complexes were first prepared by the reaction of DAPcDOD with NiSO₄, CoCl₂, and FeSO₄, respectively. The structures of the polymer and the complexes were characterized by IR, ¹H‐NMR, and elemental analysis. The magnetic behaviors of these complexes were measured as a function of magnetic field strength (0–50 kOe) at 5 K and as a function of temperature (5–300 K) at a magnetic field strength of 30 kOe. The results show that DAPcDOD–Ni²⁺ and DAPcDOD–Co²⁺ were soft ferromagnets, whereas DAPcDOD–Fe²⁺ exhibited the features of an antiferromagnet. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Influence of post‐treatments on the properties of porous poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes

Porous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membranes were prepared by a phase‐inversion method. The influence of chemical crosslinking and heat treatments on the swelling degree, resistance to compaction, mechanical strength, and morphology of porous PVA membranes was extensively studied. The crosslinking degree and crystallinity of the membranes, calculated from IR spectra, increased with the treatment time. The porosity, calculated on the basis of swelling experiments, showed a decreasing trend for heat‐treated membranes but remained almost at a constant value for crosslinked membranes. Such a change was further proved with scanning electron microscopy pictures. The behavior was explained by the rearrangement of PVA chains during the heat‐treatment process, which led to morphological changes in the membranes. The mechanical properties of the porous membranes in dry and wet states were measured, and a great difference was observed between crosslinked and heat‐treated membranes in the dry and wet states. The crosslinked membranes showed good mechanical properties in the dry state but became fragile in the wet state. On the contrary, the heat‐treated membranes were more flexible in the wet state than in the dry state. This change was explained by the turnaround of inner stress in the systems during the swelling process. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Structure and processability of iodinated poly(vinyl alcohol). IV. Drawability of the films iodinated at solution before casting

The drawability of iodinated at solution before casting (IBC) polyvinyl alcohol films prepared by casting aqueous solutions of 10 wt % PVA containing 15.2, 39.8, 83.2, 117.0, and 140.1% was examined with a tensile tester at 20–60°C. The tensile behavior of IBC films showed that the yield and breaking loads were much lower, and the breaking elongation was even higher than those of the unoriented iodinated after casting (IAC) films as well as the untreated PVA films. The maximum draw ratios of the films with the weight gain of 15.2, 39.8, 83.2, 117, and 140.1% were 4.5, 5.5, 8.5, 8.0, and 7.5, respectively, which were achieved at 20°C in all. The crystallinity of all films increased by the maximum draw, regardless of crystallinity before drawing. The crystalline structure was recovered to the original PVA crystalline lattice by deiodination. Amorphous orientation and initial moduli increased with the maximum draw ratio, while the orientation of crystals was constant. The orientation and moduli increased up to the weight gain of 83.2%, whose highest draw ratio and initial modulus were 8.5 and of 7.1 GPa, respectively, and then decreased. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

The effect of ionic interaction on the miscibility and crystallization behaviors of poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(L‐lactic acid) blends

The effect of end groups (2NH₂) of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) on the miscibility and crystallization behaviors of binary crystalline blends of PEG/poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) were investigated. The results of conductivity meter and dielectric analyzer (DEA) implied the existence of ions, which could be explained by the amine groups of PEG gaining the protons from the carboxylic acid groups of PLLA. The miscibility of PEG(2NH₂)/PLLA blends was the best because of the ionic interaction as compared with PEG(2OH, 1OH‐1CH₃, and 2CH₃)/PLLA blends. Since the ionic interaction formed only at the chain ends of PEG(2NH₂) and PLLA, unlike hydrogen bonds forming at various sites along the chains in the other PEG/PLLA blend systems, the folding of PLLA blended with PEG(2NH₂) was affected in a different manner. Thus the fold surface free energy played an important role on the crystallization rate of PLLA for the PEG(2NH₂)/PLLA blend system. PLLA had the least fold surface free energy and the fast crystallization rate in the PEG(2NH₂)/PLLA blend system, among all the PEG/PLLA systems studied. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Numerical Study of Scale Effects of Ultra-Thin Nickel Beams

Recent experiments have shown that metallic materials display significant size effects when the characteristic length scale of non-uniform plastic deformation is close to a micron. Couple stress plasticity has been developed to explain such phenomena by Fleck and Hutchinson. The mechanical behaviors of ultra-thin nickel beams in different boundary conditions were studied with the hybrid element developed for couple stress plasticity before. Strong scale effects are found when the beam's thickness is close to the material characteristic length scale. Such phenomena will disappear if the beam' s thickness is greatly larger than the material characteristic length scale. The scale effect is the beams inherent property and it does not change with the change of support conditions.