Effect of thermal history on mechanical properties of polyetheretherketone below the glass transition temperature

Tensile properties of polyethertherketone (PEEK) have been studied at 125, 25, and ?100°C for thin films prepared with different thermal histories. Initial morphology was controlled by rate of cooling from the melt. Amorphous films resulted from quenching the melt, while semicrystalline films were obtained by cooling the melt at different rates, or by crystallization of the rubbery amorphous state. The films were characterized using density, X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, and infrared spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine fracture surfaces. Degree of crystallinity and rate of cooling from the melt affected the tensile properties at all test temperatures. For films with nearly the same degree of crystallinity, those which were more slowly cooled from the melt fractured at the lowest strain. The amorphous films were most tough, drawing to 233% at ?100°C and to over 500% at 125°C. Films crystallized from the rubbery amorphous state had stress–strain behavior intermediate between that of the amorphous and melt-crystallized films at all test temperatures. Density measurements on the drawn material indicate that void formation occurs simultaneously with the formation of fibrillar crystals. Necking resulted in density increases for amorphous films, and density decreases for the semicrystalline films.     

Preparation and characterization of maleic anhydride‐g‐polypropylene/diamine‐modified clay nanocomposites

Polypropylene (PP)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites were prepared by compounding maleic anhydride‐g‐polypropylene (MAPP) with MMT modified with α,ω‐diaminododecane. Structural characterization confirmed the formation of characteristic amide linkages and the intercalation of MAPP between the silicate layers. In particular, X‐ray diffraction patterns of the modified clay and MAPP/MMT composites showed 001 basal spacing enlargement as much as 1.49 nm. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the thermal decomposition of the composite took place at a slightly higher temperature than that of MAPP. The heat of fusion of the MAPP phase decreased, indicating that the crystallization of MAPP was suppressed by the clay layers. PP/MAPP/MMT composites showed a 20–35% higher tensile modulus and tensile strength compared to those corresponding to PP/MAPP. However, the elongation at break decreased drastically, even when the content of MMT was as low as 1.25–5 wt %. The relatively short chain length and loop structure of MAPP bound to the clay layers made the penetration of MAPP molecules into the PP homopolymer phase implausible and is thought to be responsible for the decreased elongation at break. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 95: 307–311, 2005     

Effect of process conditions on birefringence development in injection-molded parts. I. Numerical analysis

Analysis of the injection-molding process based on Leonov viscoelastic fluid model has been employed to study the effects of process conditions on the residual stress and birefringence development in injection-molded parts during the entire molding process. An integrated formulation was derived and numerically implemented to solve the nonisothermal, compressible, and viscoelastic nature of polymer melt flow. Simulations under process conditions of different melt temperatures, mold temperatures, filling speeds, and packing pressures are performed to predict the birefringence variation in both gapwise and planar direction. It has been found that melt temperature and the associated frozen layer thickness are the dominant factors that determine the birefringence development within the molded part. For a higher mold temperature, melt temperature, and injection speed, the averaged birefringence along gapwise direction is lower. The birefringence also increases significantly with the increased packing pressure especially along gate area. The simulated results show good consistency with those measured experimentally. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Biodegradability of cellulose fabrics

Biodegradability of cellulose fabrics was evaluated by use of a soil burial test, an activated sewage sludge test, and an enzyme hydrolysis. Surface changes after biodegradation were observed by optical microscopy. From X‐ray diffraction analysis (XRD), changes in the crystallinities and the internal structures as a result of degradation were also investigated. It was shown that biodegradability decreased in the following order: rayon > cotton ? acetate. Rayon fibers, which have a low crystallinity and a low degree of orientation, showed the highest biodegradability in most cases. However, in spite of its low crystallinity, acetate fibers exhibited very low biodegradability, probably because of the presence of hydrophobic groups in its structure. On the other hand, linen showed an inconsistent behavior in that it had the highest biodegradability in the soil burial test, but a lower biodegradability than that of cotton in the activated sewage sludge test. XRD analysis revealed that there was a slight increase in the crystallinity of linen, cotton, and rayon fabrics at the initial stage, but a continuous decrease thereafter. From the correlation analysis, it was revealed that the biodegradability of cellulose fabrics was closely related to the moisture regain of the fibers, which reflects the hydrophilicity and internal structure of the fibers at the same time. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 248–253, 2004     

Synthesis and characterization of a positive‐working,aqueous‐base‐developable photosensitive polyimide precursor

A positive‐working, aqueous‐base‐developable photosensitive polyimide precursor based on poly(amic ester)‐bearing phenolic hydroxyl groups and a diazonaphthoquinone photosensitive compound was developed. The poly(amic ester) was prepared from a direct polymerization of 2,2′‐bis‐(3‐amino‐4‐hydroxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane and bis(n‐butyl)ester of pyromellitic acid in the presence of phenylphosphonic dichloride as an activator. Subsequently, the thermal imidization of the poly(amic ester) precursor at 300°C produced the corresponding polyimide. The inherent viscosity of the precursor polymer was 0.23 dL/g. The cyclized polyimide showed a glass‐transition temperature at 356°C and a 5% weight loss at 474°C in nitrogen. The structures of the precursor polymer and the fully cyclized polymer were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H‐NMR. The photosensitive polyimide precursor containing 25 wt % diazonaphthoquinone photoactive compound showed a sensitivity of 150 mJ/cm² and a contrast of 1.65 in a 3 μm film with 1.25 wt % tetramethylammonium hydroxide developer. A pattern with a resolution of 10 μm was obtained from this composition. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 86: 352–358, 2002     

Preparation of porous thin films of a partially aliphatic polyimide

A thermally labile polymer, poly(propylene glycol), was modified to obtain PPG having an amino end group. PPG was incorporated into a partially aliphatic polyimide based on an alicyclic dianhydride, and this afforded triblock copolymers containing various amounts of PPG blocks. The thermal properties of the copolymers were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The thermal decomposition of the PPG block in the copolymers was carried out at 240°C under various pressures to obtain porous polyimide films. The pores remained during the thermolysis under a reduced pressure of 710 mmHg, whereas they collapsed under (near) atmospheric pressure. The pore size increased as the amount of the PPG block in the copolymers increased. The dielectric constants of the porous polyimides varied from 2.60 to 2.42 with the original copolymer composition. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 532–538, 2006     

Editorial

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Effect of surface coating on the screw loosening of dental abutment screws

Regardless of the type of performed restoration, in most cases, a screw connection is employed between the abutment and implant. For this reason, implant screw loosening has remained a problem in restorative practices. The purpose of this study was to compare the surface of coated/plated screws with titanium and gold alloy screws and to evaluate the physical properties of coated/plated material after scratch tests via FE-SEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy) investigation. GoldTite, titanium screws provided by 3i (Implant Innovation, USA) and TorqTite, titanium screws by Steri-Oss (Nobel Biocare, USA) and gold screws and titanium screws by AVANA (Osstem Implant, Korea) were selected for this study. The surface, crest, and root of the abutment screws were observed by FE-SEM. A micro-diamond needle was also prepared for the scratch test. Each abutment screw was fixed, and a scratch on the surface of the head region was made at constant load and thereafter the fine trace was observed with FE-SEM. The surface of GoldTite was smoother than that of other screws and it also had abundant ductility and malleability compared with titanium and gold screws. The scratch tests also revealed that teflon particles were exfoliated easily in the screw coated with teflon. The titanium screw had rough surface and low ductility. The clinical use of gold-plated screws is recommended as a means of preventing screw loosening.     

Simulations of the dielectric constant of bonding materials and field emission properties of CNT cathodes

The effect of the dielectric constant (k) of bonding materials in a screen-printed carbon nanotube (CNT) cathode on the field enhancement factor was investigated for high-efficiency CNT cathodes using the ANSYS software. The values obtained by a simulation study were compared to the experimental results obtained for screen-printed CNT cathodes. The field enhancement factor increased as the dielectric constant decreased, reaching a maximum value at a dielectric constant of 1, the value for a vacuum. The findings indicate that the larger sheet resistance of the bonding materials, after the firing process, can be attributed to the larger emission current of the CNT cathode. From these results, it was concluded that the best bonding materials for screen-printed CNT cathodes should have a low dielectric constant and a high sheet resistance. This finding can be used as criteria for selecting bonding materials for use in CNT pastes for highly efficient CNT cathodes.