Impact of fullerenes on the thermal stability of melt processed polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) composites

The impact of the two fullerenes C₆₀ and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) on the thermal and thermo-oxidative stability of the corresponding melt processed composites with the two polymers polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), was studied using both dynamic and isothermal thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). For each polymer, three different composites with C₆₀ loadings of 1.0 wt% and 3.0 wt% and PCBM loadings of 1.0 wt% were considered. The aim of this work was to compare the stabilization effect of both fullerenes on PS and PMMA. The results obtained show unequivocally that, although PCBM has lower thermal and thermo-oxidative stability than C₆₀, the PS-PCBM and PMMA-PCBM composites have higher thermal and thermo-oxidative stability than the corresponding PS-C₆₀ and PMMA-C₆₀ composites. These results corroborate our previous reports, on showing that PCBM is better than C₆₀ at improving the thermal and thermo-oxidative stability of polymers which degrade through radical degradation mechanisms.     

Preparation of plastic optical fibers for near-IR region transmission

Loss factors of PMMA and PS core plastic optical fibers (POFs) were analyzed, and it was revealed that the vibrational absorption owing to CH vibration plays the most significant role in reducing the near-IR region attenuation loss. Conversion of the hydrogen of the CH bond in the core polymer to deuterium gives rise to a large reduction of the attenuation loss not only in the visible wavelength region but also in the near-IR region. The deuteration of styrene is not so effective as that of methyl methacrylate because of PS core POFs higher loss owing to imperfections in the wave guide structure and Rayleigh scattering. Using a perdeuterated PMMA as a POF core, a loss of 20 dB/km was attained in the 650–680 nm wavelength region. The loss limits of these deuterated polymer core POFs were also estimated.     

Progress in low‐loss and high‐bandwidth plastic optical fibers

Plastic optical fibers (POFs) are highly promising transmission media for future home networking.In comparison to glass optical fibers (GOFs), which are commonly used in core and metropolitan networks, POFs offer many advantages such as great flexibility and easy handling. This review begins with the basic concepts of optical fibers and moves on to the early history of loss reduction in POFs. What drastically changed the status of POFs in the communications field was a graded‐index technology that improved the bandwidth to over 1 gigabits per second. However, even after the loss and bandwidth were enhanced to their limits, the performances of POFs were insufficient for market demand when using conventional optical polymer materials such as poly(methyl methacrylate). Recently, this problem has been solved by several lines of material research using fluorinated polymers. As a result, high‐speed optical home networking by POFs has become more realistic. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

Synthesis and characterization of silver—poly(methylmethacrylate) nanocomposites

The optical properties of silver nanoparticles embedded in poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) was investigated as well as the influence of silver nanoparticles on the thermal properties of polymer matrix. The average size and particle size distribution of silver nanoparticles was determined using transmission electron microscopy. The obtained transparent nanocomposite films were optically characterized using UV-Vis and FTIR spectroscopy. Thermal stability of polymer matrix was improved upon incorporation of small amount of silver nanoparticles. Also, silver nanoparticles have pronounced effect on thermo-oxidative stability of PMMA matrix. The glass transition temperatures of nanocomposites are lower compared to the pure polymer.     

Thermo-oxidative dehydrochlorination of rigid and plasticised poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends

The aim of this work was to study the thermo-oxidative dehydrochlorination of rigid and plasticised poly(vinyl chloride)/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends. For that purpose, blends of variable compositions from 0 to 100 wt% were prepared in the presence (15, 30 and 50 wt%) and in the absence of diethyl-2-hexyl phthalate as plasticiser. Their miscibility was investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Their thermo-oxidative degradation at 180 ± 1 °C was studied and the amount of HCl released from PVC was measured by a continuous potentiometric method. Degraded samples were characterised, after purification, by FTIR spectroscopy and UV-visible spectroscopy. The results showed that the two polymers are miscible up to 60 wt% of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). This miscibility is due to a specific interaction of hydrogen bonding type between carbonyl groups (CO) of PMMA and hydrogen (CHCl) groups of PVC as shown by FTIR analysis. On the other hand, PMMA exerted a stabilizing effect on the thermal degradation of PVC by reducing the zip dehydrochlorination, leading to the formation of shorter polyenes.     

Understanding the role of nanosilica particle surfaces in the thermal degradation of nanosilica-poly(methyl methacrylate) solution-blended nanocomposites: From low to high silica concentration

Nanocomposites of poly(methyl methacrylate) and 12 nm silica particles have been prepared by a casting procedure which allows the homogeneous dispersion of up to 35 wt% of silica. Twelve nanocomposites with compositions ranging from 1 to 35 wt% have been prepared and studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry, Thermogravimetric Analysis and Isothermal Chemiluminescence. Thermal stability increases outstandingly as soon as 1 wt% of silica is added to PMMA. This effect is well-known but had not been explained up to now. Of the two main processes which initiate degradation in PMMA, radical formation at labile chain ends and random chain scission, it is the former which disappears in composites with 3 wt% of silica. The origin of the thermal stabilization in these polymer composites is thus the blocking of the PMMA chain end by the silica particle. At the same time, viscous flow decreases progressively, and composites with 20 wt% of silica or over are dimensionally stable even if heated at 300 °C for several hours. The concomitant decrease of viscous flow and increase of low temperature thermal stability shift the temperature range of application of these composites strongly, and the understanding of the silica surface role allows envisaging the control of the behaviour.     

Electrospun fibers from poly(methyl methacrylate)/vapor grown carbon nanofibers

Electrospinning has been used to obtain poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microfibers and nanofibers and PMMA/vapor grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNFs or CNFs) composite fibers with micrometer and nanometer size diameters. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) indicated that addition of CNFs caused a decrease in the thermal stability of the composite fibers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to confirm the micro‐ and nano‐ nature of the fibers and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was utilized to confirm the presence of CNFs embedded within the polymer matrix and along the surface. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A PMMA composite as an optical diffuser in a liquid crystal display backlighting unit (BLU)

The effect of thermo-physical properties, relative humidity and stiffness on the warpage of a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) diffusing plate modified with glass fibers in a direct-lit backlight unit (BLU) of a liquid crystal display (LCD) was investigated. The warpage of the PMMA diffusing composites modified with a glass fiber were significantly reduced relative to that of a conventional PMMA diffusing plate. Luminance and scattering characteristics of the PMMA diffusing composites having 5, 10, 20 vol% of glass fibers were measured. Although the luminance of the composite was lowered as increasing the volume fractions of glass fibers in the PMMA composites, good brightness uniformity of the composites on a light source was obtained.     

The role of shear and stabilizer on PLA degradation

The role of temperature, shear and oxygen on PLA degradation was investigated. Thermo-mechanical degradation induces a larger decrease in PLA molecular weight than thermo-oxidative degradation. This was associated with different degradation processes (mainly chain scission) that took place under the two conditions. Given the PLA robustness to endure reprocessing, it was possible to conclude that the primary and secondary antioxidant (B900) had a synergetic effect on PLA stability.     

Catalytic effects of sulfates on thermal degradation of waste poly(methyl methacrylate)

The thermal degradation of waste poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in the presence of ferric sulfate, cupric sulfate, aluminum sulfate, magnesium sulfate, and barium sulfate was studied by using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in air atmosphere. The values of apparent activation energies (E_a) calculated by Flynn-Wall-Ozawa method were found to be in the order of PMMA + Fe₂(SO₄)₃ < PMMA + Al₂(SO₄)₃ < PMMA + MgSO₄ < PMMA + CuSO₄ < PMMA + BaSO₄ < PMMA. The mechanism of catalytic degradation of PMMA in presence of the sulfates was discussed and the results showed that the catalytic effects of sulfates have a relationship with the acidity of their respective metal ions.     

Melt processed polyethylene/fullerene nanocomposites with highly improved thermo-oxidative stability

The thermo-oxidative stability of melt processed polyethylene composites with the two fullerenes C₆₀ and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) was studied with the aim of comparing the stabilization effect of both fullerenes on three different polyethylenes (PE). The results obtained show that, irrespective of the specific polyethylene being considered, C₆₀ loadings as low as 1.0 wt% cause a dramatic increase in the thermo-oxidative stability of the corresponding composites (up to 64.8 °C at T2% and 113.8 °C at T5%, TX% being the temperature corresponding to a mass loss of X wt%), in agreement with previous reports. Furthermore, and more importantly, this work shows for the first time that the thermo-oxidation stability effect caused by PCBM is even higher than that of C₆₀, the difference between both being particularly significant in the early stages of degradation, i.e. for mass losses ≤2 wt%. For example, polyethylene composites with 1.0 wt% PCBM show T2% values which are systematically higher than those of the corresponding composites with 1.0 wt% C₆₀, the difference between the T2% values of the two composites being 38.8 °C, 67.1 °C and 26.4 °C in the three different polyethylenes considered. Therefore, when compared with C₆₀, PCBM is particularly more effective at delaying the beginning of the thermo-oxidative degradation. According to our results, PCBM loadings as low as 1.0 wt% can increase the thermo-oxidative stability of polyethylene composites by more than 130 °C and these are, as far as we know, the highest thermo-oxidative stability results induced by nanoparticles ever reported in the literature for polyethylene.     

Effect of ZnO and organo-modified montmorillonite on thermal degradation of poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposites

Since a few years ago, a topic of interest consists in developing composites filled with nanofillers to improve thermal degradation and flammability property of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). In the present work, the effects of ZnO nanoparticles and organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) on the thermal degradation of PMMA were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). PMMA-ZnO and PMMA-OMMT nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending with different (2, 5, and 10 wt%) loadings. SEM and TEM analyses of nanocomposites were performed in order to investigate the dispersion of nanofillers in the matrix. According to TGA results, the addition of ZnO nanoparticles does not affect the thermal degradation of PMMA under an inert atmosphere. However, in an oxidative atmosphere, two contrary effects were observed, a catalytic effect at lower concentration of ZnO in the PMMA matrix and a stabilizing effect when the ZnO concentration is higher (10 wt%). In contrast, the presence of OMMT stabilizes the thermal degradation of PMMA whatever be the atmosphere. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) curves showed surprising results, because a dramatic change of exothermic reaction of the PMMA degradation process to an endothermic reaction was observed only in the case of OMMT. During the degradation of PMMA-ZnO nanocomposites, pyrolysis-gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometer (Py-GC/MS) showed an increase in the formation of methanol and methacrylic acid while a decrease in the formation of propanoic acid methyl ester occurred. In the case of PMMA-OMMT systems, a very significant reduction in the quantity of all these degradation products of PMMA was observed with increasing OMMT concentration. It is also noted that during PMMA-OMMT degradation less energy was released as the decomposition is an endothermic reaction and the material was cooled.     

Preparation of poly(methyl methacrylate) microcapsules by in situ polymerization on the surface of calcium carbonate particles

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microcapsules were prepared by the in situ polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and N,N′-methylenebisacrylamide on the surface of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) particles, followed by the dissolution of the CaCO₃ core in ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid solution. The microcapsules were characterized using fluorescence microscopy, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The average sizes of the CaCO₃ particles and PMMA capsules were 3.8 ± 0.6 and 4.0 ± 0.6 μm, respectively. A copolymer consisting of MMA and rhodamine B-bearing MMA was also used to prepare microcapsules for fluorescent microscopy observations. Fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled bovine serum albumin was enclosed in the PMMA microcapsules and its release properties were studied.     

Thermal stability of microencapsulated epoxy resins with poly(urea-formaldehyde)

A series of microcapsules filled with epoxy resins with poly(urea-formaldehyde) (PUF) shell were synthesized by in situ polymerization, and they were heat-treated for 2 h at 100 °C, 120 °C, 140 °C, 160 °C, 180 °C and 200 °C. The effects of surface morphology, wall shell thickness and diameter on the thermal stability of microcapsules were investigated. The chemical structure and surface morphology of microcapsules were investigated using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The thermal properties of microcapsules were investigated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA and DTA) and by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The thermal damage mechanisms of microcapsules at lower temperature (<251 °C) are the diffusion of the core material out of the wall shell or the breakage of the wall shell owing to the mismatch of the thermal expansion of core and shell materials of microcapsules. The thermal damage mechanisms of microcapsules at higher temperature (>251 °C) are the decomposition of shell material and core materials. Increasing the wall shell thickness and surface compactness can enhance significantly the weight loss temperatures (T_d) of microcapsules. The microcapsules with mean wall shell thickness of 30 ± 5 μm and smoother surface exhibit higher thermal stability and can maintain quite intact up to approximately 180 °C.     

Synthesis and characterization of novel fluorinated polyimides derived from 1,1′-bis(4-aminophenyl)-1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethane and aromatic dianhydrides

A novel fluorinated aromatic diamine 1,1′-bis(4-aminophenyl)-1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethane (6FDAM) was synthesized in a simple procedure, which was then employed to prepare a series of fluorinated polyimides with commercial aromatic dianhydrides, such as pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA), 2,2-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane (6FDA), 3,3′,4,4′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride (BTDA) and 4,4′-oxydiphthalic anhydride (ODPA). The polyimides exhibited good solubility in strong dipolar solvents such as NMP, DMAc, DMF and m-cresol as well as some of low boiling point organic solvents of THF and CHCl₃, etc. Experimental results indicated the polyimides possessed low moisture adsorptions of 0.42-0.95%, low dielectric constant of 2.71-2.95 at 1 MHz, high dielectric strength of 92.0-122.6 kV/mm and good optical transparency with cutoff wavelengths of UV-vis at 330-375 nm. The polyimides also exhibited good mechanical properties as well as excellent thermal and thermo-oxidative stability. The fluorinated polyimides possessed better solubility, lower dielectric constant and water adsorption as well as higher optical transparency than the representative non-fluorinated polyimide derived from PMDA and 4,4′-oxydianiline (ODA).     

The thermo-oxidative degradation of metallocene polyethylenes: Part 2: Thermal oxidation in the melt state

The thermo-oxidative melt degradation of different metallocene polyethylenes (mPEs) was investigated in a torque rheometer open to air at 225 °C and 10 rpm. The mPEs differed essentially according to their initial melt index, molar mass distribution, density and ash content, but one characteristic was changed at a time in order to assess the influence of each specific property in the thermo-oxidative degradation of the PEs investigated. Crosslinking was found to dominate at the early stages of degradation during mastication for most polymers where reactions of alkyl radicals to vinyl groups were considered to be the dominant reaction. Furthermore, discolouration was attributed to both excessive levels of catalyst residues and extensive formation of conjugated systems. Finally, it was concluded that the polymer melt viscosity, i.e., molar mass and shape of molar mass distribution, appeared to govern the processing stability of the mPE. These results confirm the importance of shear as the major source for initiation of free radicals formed by homolytic fission caused via mechanical cleavage of polymer chains.     

Dual-phase polymer electrolyte with enhanced phase compatibility based on Poly(MMA-g-PVC)/PMMA

A new plasticized dual-phase polymer electrolyte (DPE) with enhanced phase compatibility based on Poly(MMA-g-PVC)/PMMA blends has been studied. For the DPE, PMMA is selectively impregnated with the lithium salt solution forming an ion-conducting network, while Poly(MMA-g-PVC) produces good mechanical strength. Their chemical characters, thermal behavior, morphology, ionic conductivity and interfacial compatibility with lithium metal electrode were characterized by using of infrared spectroscopy (IR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopic images, alternating current impedance (AC impedance) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), respectively. The ionic conductivity of DPE increases with the ratio of PMMA/Poly(MMA-g-PVC) (by weight), and the absorbed liquid electrolyte in the polymer blends plays the first important way in this behavior. Room-temperature ionic conductivity of the order of 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ has been achieved for DPE, in addition, the DPE also shows good compatibility with Li electrodes and sufficient electrochemical stability for safe operation in Li batteries.     

Thermal degradation processes of poly(carbonate) and poly(methyl methacrylate) in blends coalesced either from their common inclusion compound formed with γ-cyclodextrin or precipitated from their common solution

Direct insertion probe pyrolysis mass spectrometry (DIP-MS) analyses of a PC/PMMA blend, coalesced from their common inclusion compound (ICs) formed with host γ-cyclodextrin (γ-CD) through removal of the γ-CD host, and a physical PC/PMMA blend, precipitated from their common solution, have been performed and compared with those of the coalesced and as-received homopolymers. A slight increase in the thermal stability of the PMMA component in the presence of PC was recorded both by TGA and DIP-MS compared to the corresponding homopolymers. The DIP-MS observations pointed out that the thermal stability and degradation products of these polymers are affected once they are included inside the IC channels created by the stacked host CDs. DIP-MS observations suggested that for both coalesced and physical PC/PMMA blends, an exchange reaction occurs between carbonates of PC and MMA, formed by depolymerization of PMMA above 300 °C, most likely due to diffusion of MMA monomer at the interface or even into the PC domains, where it can react producing low molecular weight PC bearing methyl carbonate and methacrylate chain ends. The results also indicated an ester-ester interchange reaction between PC and PMMA yielding a graft copolymer and low molecular weight PC chains bearing methyl carbonate end groups in the case of the coalesced blend. This can be atttributed to the presence of specific molecular interactions between the intimately mixed PMMA and PC chains in the coalesced PC/PMMA blend.     

Chlorinated thermal stabilizer for optically clear PMMA

Optically clear poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blends with HET‐EG oligoester (synthesized by condensation of chlorendic acid with ethylene glycol) at six different compositions were prepared by bulk polymerization. The effect of HET‐EG in the PMMA matrix on the optical clarity of PMMA blend was measured using ultraviolet‐visible spectroscopic study. The thermal stability of PMMA blends was investigated using differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) and thermogravimetric (TG) analyses. The parameters to deduce the thermal stability of pure PMMA and PMMA blends were calculated from DSC and TG results. The thermal stability of PMMA was found to increase effectively by loading 5% of HET‐EG oligoester without marring optical clarity. The probable physical and chemical actions of HET‐EG oligoester on the thermal stability of PMMA are discussed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Poly (ethylene terephthalate) thermo-mechanical and thermo-oxidative degradation mechanisms

¹H NMR and MALDI-TOF MS measurements were used to study the thermo-mechanical and thermo-oxidative degradation mechanisms of bottle-grade PET (btg-PET). In the thermo-oxidative degradation, the concentration of low molar mass compounds increased with time and the main products were cyclic and linear di-acid oligomers. In the thermo-mechanical degradation, the main-chain scission reactions affect the stability of the cyclic oligomers. One of the most important bottle-grade PET co-monomers is diethylene glycol (DEG), which is a “reactive site” in the thermal degradation of btg-PET. The DEG co-monomer was shown to be the precursor to colour changes in btg-PET, owing to the attack by molecular oxygen on the methylenic protons adjacent to the ether oxygen atoms of DEG. This behaviour was observed in the thermo-oxidative degradation process in which the degradation of DEG causes the release of hydroxyl radicals in the polymeric matrix, thereby producing mono- and di-hydroxyl substituted species. This was also observed in the thermo-mechanical degradation process.