INVESTIGATION OF MICROSTRUCTURE AND CONDUCTIVE MECHANISM OF HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE/CARBON BLACK PARTICLE COMPOSITE BY POSITRON ANNIHILATION LIFETIME SPECTROSCOPY

The microstructure and conductive mechanism of high density polyethylene/carbon black (HDPE/CB) compositewere investigated by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS). The PALS were measured in two series of samples,one with various CB contents in the composites and the other with various γ-irradiation doses in HDPE/CB compositecontaining 20 wt% CB. It was found that CB particles distribute in the amorphous regions, the CB critical content value inHDPE/CB composite is about 16.7 wtO/ and the suitable γ-irradiation dose for improving the conductive behavior ofHDPE/CB composite is about 20 Mrad. T'he result observed for the second set of samples suggests that γ-irradiation causesnot only cross-linking in amorphous regions but also destruction of the partial crystalline structure. Therefore, a suitableirradiation dose, about 20 Mrad, can induce sufficient cross-linking in the amorphous regions without enhancing thedecomposition of crystalline structure, so that the positive temperature coefficient (PTC) effect remains while the negativetemperature coefficient (NTC) effect is suppressed. A new interpretation of the conductive mechanism, which might providea more detailed explanation of the PTC effect and the NTC effect has been proposed.     

Electroactive shape memory cyanate/polybutadiene epoxy composites filled with carbon black

Electroactive shape memory composites were synthesized using polybutadiene epoxy(PBEP) and bisphenol A type cyanate ester(BACE) filled with different contents of carbon black(CB). Dynamic mechanical analysis(DMA), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), electrical performance and electroactive shape memory behavior were systematically investigated. It is found that the volume resistivity decreased due to excellent electrical conductivity of CB, in turn resulting in good electroactive shape memory properties. The content of CB and applied voltage had significant influence on electroactive shape memory effect of developed BACE/PBEP/CB composites. Shape recovery can be observed within a few seconds with the CB content of 5 wt% and voltage of 60 V. Shape recovery time decreased with increasing content of CB and voltage. The infrared thermometer revealed that the temperature rises above the glass transition temperature faster with the increase of voltage and the decrease of resistance.     

Electrical Percolation of Carbon Black Filled Poly （ethylene oxide） Composites in Relation to the Matrix Morphology

The present work studies the electrical conduction performance of carbon blaak (CB) filled poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) composites. The addition of CB leads to reduced matrix crystallinity as the fillers which are partly situated inside the lamellae and hinder the growth of PEO crystallites. As a result, the electrical percolation behavior is related with the matrix morphology.     

Resistivity-Temperature Behavior of CB-Filled HDPE Foaming Composites

High-density polyethylene/carbon black foaming conductive composites were prepared from acetylene black（ACEY） and super conductive carbon black（HG-1P） as conductive filler, low-density polyethylene（LDPE） as the second component, ethylene-vinyl acetate（EVA） and ethylene propylene rubber（EPR） as the third component, azobisformamide（AC） as foamer, and dicumyl peroxide（DCP） as cross-linker. The structure and resistivity-temperature behavior of high-density polyethylene（HDPE）/CB foaming conductive composites were investigated. Influences of carbon black, LDPE, EVA, EPR, AC, and DCP on the foaming performance and resistivity-temperature behavior of HDPE/CB foaming conductive composites were also studied. The results reveal that HDPE/CB foaming conductive composite exhibits better switching characteristic; ACET-filled HDPE foaming conductive composite displays better positive temperature coefficient（PYC） effect; whereas super conductive carbon black（HG-1P）-filled HDPE foaming conductive composite shows better negative temperature coefficient（NTC） effect.     

Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/carbon black composite fibers prepared by electrospinning

Poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET)/carbon black(CB) composite fibers with improved mechanical properties in tensile modulus and tensile strength are prepared by eletrospinning. Stable dispersions suitable for electrospinning are obtained by dispersing melt pre-compounded PET/CB composites in hexafluoroisopropanol. The fiber morphology and CB dispersion are investigated by FESEM and TEM. The addition of CB has no obvious effect on fiber diameter, and the average fiber diameters for all the samples are around 2-3 μm. CB in the fibers is in the form of submicron-sized clusters. The thermal properties of the PET/CB composite fibers are evaluated by DSC, showing almost unchanged melting temperature and crystallinity. Uniaxial tensile tests are used to measure the mechanical properties of the PET/CB composite fiber mats. The fiber mats containing 1 wt%-8.5 wt% CB have significantly improved tensile modulus compared to neat PET fiber mat, showing reinforcing effect of CB. The electrical conductivity of the fiber mats has also been tested.     

Electrical properties of conductive polymer composites prepared by an innovational method

<正>An innovational method that poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride)(SMA),a compatibilizer of immiscible nylon6/polystyrene(PA6/PS) blends,was first reacted with carbon black(CB) and then blended with PA6/PS,has been employed to prepare the PA6/PS/(SMA-CB) composites of which CB localized at the interface.In PA6/PS/CB blends,CB was found to preferentially localize in the PA6 phase.However,in the PA6/PS/(SMA-CB) blends,it was found that CB particles can be induced by SMA to localize at the interface.The electrical porperties of PA6/PS/(SMA-CB) composites were investigated.The results showed that the composites exhibited distinct triple percolation behavior,i.e.the percolation is governed by the percolation of CB in SMA phase,the continuity of SMA-CB at the interface and the continuity of PA6/PS interface.The percolation threshold of PA6/PS/(SMA-CB) was only 0.15 wt%,which is much lower than that of PA6/PS/CB.Moreover,the PTC(positive temperature coefficient) intensity of PA6/PS/(SMA-CB) composites was stronger than that of PA6/PS/CB and the negative temperature coefficient(NTC) effect was eliminated.The electrical properties of PA6/PS/(SMA-CB) were explained in terms of its special interface morphology:SMA and CB localize at interphase to form the conductive pathways.     

Influence of Liquid Isoprene Rubber on Strain Softening of Carbon Black Filled Isoprene Rubber Nanocomposites

The reinforcement of rubbers by nanoparticles is always accompanied with enhanced dissipation of mechanical energy upon large deformations. Methods for solving the contradiction between improving reinforcement and reducing energy dissipation for rubber nanocomposites have not been well developed. Herein carbon black(CB) filled isoprene rubber(IR)/liquid isoprene rubber(LR) blend nanocomposites with similar crosslink density(ν_e) are prepared and influence of LR on the strain softening behaviors including Payne effect under large amplitude shear deformation and Mullins effect under cyclic uniaxial deformation is investigated. The introduction of LR could improve the frequency sensitivity of loss modulus and reduce critical strain amplitude for Payne effect and loss modulus at the low amplitudes.Meanwhile, tuning ν_e and LR content allows reducing mechanical hysteresis in Mullins effect without significant impact on the mechanical performances. The investigation is illuminating for manufacturing nanocomposite vulcanizates with balanced mechanical hysteresis and reinforcement effect.     

A Novel Method for Preparing Polyurethane Based Conductive Composites with Low Percolation Threshold

A novel method for preparing conductive carbon black filled polymer composites with low percolation threshold from polyurethane emulsion are reported in this paper. The experimental results indicate that with a rise in carbon black concentration the insulator-conductor transition in the emulsion blended composites occurs at 0.8-1.4vol%. In contrast, the solution blended composites exhibit drastic increase in conductivity at conducting filler fraction as high as 12.3-13.3vol%. It is demonstrated that the composites microstructure rather than chemical structure of the matrix polymer predominantly determines the electrical conduction performance of the composites.     

Formation of Network by Carbon Black，Silica and Their Mixing Fillers in Isoprene Rubber北大核心CSCD

The network formed by fillers has great influence on the mechanical properties of rubber materials. To understand the formation of network by carbon black,silica,and carbon black/silica mixing fillers in rubber and its influence on the properties of rubber,isoprene rubber/filler composites with different filler loadings are prepared and their micromorphology,rheological and tensile properties are investigated. It is found that the dispersion of fillers is better in rubber after cure than that in rubber before cure for all three rubber systems,and the filler size of silica is smaller than that of carbon black,but the aggregation is more severe in silica filled rubber system. In mixed filler system,the two fillers tend to aggregate separately, leading to the low modulus at small strain than that in single filler system. With the increase of the filler loading,the tensile strength increases first and then decreases,the elongation at break decreases,and the temperature rise in compression flexometer tests increases. Moreover,the temperature rise in mixed filler system is higher than that in single filler system at high filler loading. © 2022, Science Press (China). All rights reserved.     

PTC/NTC Behavior of PVDF Composites Filled with GF and CF

Conductive polyvinylidene fluoride（PVDF）matrix composites filled with graphited fiber（GF）or carbon fiber（CF）were prepared by the melt-mixing method.The breakage and length distribution of the fibers in the polymer matrix were studied by scanning electron microscope（SEM）and optical microscope（OM）observations,respectively. The differences in the positive temperature coefficient（PTC）effects of the composites were mainly attributed to inter-fiber contact ability.The elimination of the negative temperature coefficient（NTC）effect for CF/PVDF composite was because of an increase in the viscosity of the polymer matrix.With the same filler content,CF could be more effective,to eliminate the NTC effect when compared with GF.Addition of 2%CF（mass fraction）in the PVDF composite with 7%GF（mass fraction）could effectively eliminate the NTC phenomenon of the composite.     

Effect of GMA polymer compatibilizers on highly filled composites of low density polyethylene/magnesium hydroxide

Functional polymers such as polyethylene grafted glycidyl methacrylate （PE-g-GMA） and ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate terpolymer （E/MA/GMA） were used as compatibilizers in the preparation of highly filled composites of polyethylene/magnesium hydroxide（PE/MH）. Comparative studies were performed on the effect of magnesium hydroxide and stearic acid on the interface within polymer and magnesium hydroxide composites. The effect of polymeric compatibilizers on the properties of the composites was studied using tensile and impact tests, torque rheological analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and environmental scanning electron microscopy （ESEM）. The microstructure of highly filled PE/MH composites changed after the addition of functional polymers. The mechanical properties of the composite material increased after compatibilization. The compatibilization processes of PE-g-GMA and E/MA/GMA were different. The grafted polymer was more compatible with polyethylene, which led to a polar polymer phase. In contrast, the tercopolymer tended to adhere to the surface of MH particles.     

High-temperature Thermo-oxidative Aging of Vulcanized Natural Rubber Nanocomposites: Evolution of Microstructure and Mechanical Properties

The aging of natural rubber(NR) at high temperatures will seriously affect its service lifetime in many key applications. In the present work, the changes in microstructure and mechanical properties of semi-efficient vulcanized NR/carbon black(CB) vulcanizates during thermooxidative aging at high temperatures(150-200 °C) and a moderate temperature(95 °C) were compared. At high temperatures, a two-stage aging behavior, which was characteristic of a first rapid decline and then a continuous rise i...     

Effect of conductive fillers on the cyclic stress-strain and nano-scale free volume properties of silicone rubber

The effect of carbon black(CB) and graphite(G) powders on the macroscopic and nano-scale free volume properties of silicone rubber based on poly(di-methylsiloxane)(PDMS) was studied through thermal and cyclic mechanical measurements, as well as with positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy(PALS). The melting temperature of the composites(Tm) and the endothermic enthalpy of melting(?Hm) were estimated by differential scanning calorimetry(DSC). Tm and the degree of crystallinity(χc) of PDMS composites were found to decrease with increasing the CB content. This can be explained due to the increase in physical cross-linking which results in a decrease in the crystallite thickness. Besides, χc was found to be dependent on the filler type. Cyclic stress-strain behavior of PDMS loaded with different contents of filler has been studied. Mullins ratio(RM) was found to be dependent on the filler type and content. It was found that, RM increases with increasing the filler content due to the increase in physical cross-linking which results in a decrease in the size of free volume, as observed through a decrease of the o-Ps lifetime τ3 measured by PALS. Moreover, the hysteresis in PDMS-CB composites was more pronounced than in PDMS-G composites. Furthermore, a correlation was established between the free volume Vf and the mechanical properties of PDMS composites containing different fillers. A negative correlation was observed between Vf and RM.     

SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF LIQUID CRYSTAL POLYESTERS WITH T-SHAPED TWO-DIMENSIONAL MESOGENIC UNITS(Ⅲ)*

A new series of liquid crystal polyesters with T-shaped two-dimensional mesogenic units weresynthesized by melt polycondensation of the diacetates of 2-(4'-alkoxy -phenyl)-hydroquinones with 4,4'-alkylenedioxydibenzoic acid. The polymers were characterized by using polarized microscopy, DSC and X-ray diffraction. It was realized that all the polymers have nematic thermotropic liquid crystallinecharacteristics. The melting temperature (T_m) and isotropization temperature (T_i) of the polymers changeregularly with varying lengths of the alkoxy side group and the length of the alkylene group in the main chainin company with an even-odd effect. The mesophase temperature range also varies regularly with the polymerstructure. It is shown that the mesophase range has been widened.     

多壁碳纳米管包裹Fe3C单晶纳米线的初步研究

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes were fabricated by chemical vapor deposition with acetylene as carbon source and titanate modified palygorskite as catalyst at high temperature. A part of as-grown nanotubes was partially filled with foreign material in the shape of nanowire by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations. The en-capsulated nanowires was single crystalline iron carbide upon selected area electron diffraction(SAED)patterns and X-ray energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) results. Thermal gravimetric analyses (TGA) on the as-grown samples indicated that the yield of carbon nanotubes was largest at 750℃ and the content of amorphous carbon decreased with increasing temperature. Furthermore， the growth mechanism was discussed on the experimental results in the paper.     

Glucose-derived hydrothermal carbons as energy storage booster for vanadium redox flow batteries

Fabricating of high performance electrodes by a sustainable and cost effective method is essential to the development of vanadium redox flow batteries(VRFBs).In this work,an effective strategy is proposed to deposit carbon nanoparticles on graphite felts by hydrothermal carbonization method.This in-situ method minimizes the drop off and aggregation of carbon nanoparticles during electrochemical testing.Such integration of felts and hydrothermal carbons(HTC)produces a new electrode that combines the outstanding electrical conductivity of felts with the effective redox active sites provided by the HTC coating layer.The presence of the amorphous carbon layers on the felts is found to be able to promote the mass/charge transfer,and create oxygenated/nitrogenated active sites and hence enhances wettability.Consequently,the most optimized electrode based on a rational approach delivers an impressive electrochemical performance toward VRFBs in wide range of current densities from 200 to 500 mAcm^-2.The voltage efficiency(VE)of GFs-HTC is much higher than the VEs of the pristine GFs,especially at high current densities.It exhibits a 4.18 times increase in discharge capacity over the pristine graphite felt respectively,at a high current density of 400 mAcm^-2.The enhanced performance is attributed to the abundant active sites from amorphous hydrothermal carbon,which facilitates the fast electrochemical kinetics of vanadium redox reactions.This work evidences that the glucose-derived hydrothermal carbons as energy storage booster hold great promise in practical VRFBs application.     

DYNAMIC RHEOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR OF POLYPROPYLENE FILLED WITH ULTRA-FINE POWDERED RUBBER PARTICLES

Dynamic rheological characteristics of polypropylene (PP) filled with ultra-fine full-vulcanized powdered rubber (UFPR) composed of styrene-butadiene copolymer were studied through dynamic rheological measurements on an Advanced Rheometric Expansion System (ARES). A specific viscoelastic phenomenon, i.e. “the second plateau“, appeared at low frequencies, and exhibits a certain dependence on the amount of rubber particles and the dispersion state in the matrix. This phenomenon is attributed to the formation of aggregation structure of rubber particles. The analyses of Cole-Cole diagrams of the dynamic viscoelastic functions suggest that the heterogeneity of the composites is enhanced on increasing both particle content and temperature.     

Carbon dots confined in 3D polymer network: Producing robust room temperature phosphorescence with tunable lifetimes

Room temperature phosphorescence(RTP) is important in both organic electronics and encryption. Despite rapid advances, a universal approach to robust and tunable RTP materials based on amorphous polymers remains a formidable challenge. Here, we present a strategy that uses three-dimensional(3 D)confinement of carbon dots in a polymer network to achieve ultra-long lifetime phosphorescence. The RTP of the as-obtained materials was not quenched in different polar organic solvents and the lifetime o...     

Multiple Effects Tailoring the Self-organization Behaviors of Triphenylene Side-chain Liquid Crystalline Polymers <Emphasis Type="Italic">via</Emphasis> Changing the Spacer Length

Long-alkyl tail triphenylene (TP) side-chain liquid crystalline polymers (SCLCPs) with different spacer length (P-m-TP,m =2,3,4,6,8,which is the number of carbon atom in the flexible alkyl spacers) have been successfully synthesized via free radical polymerization.The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC),polarized light microscopy (POM),ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis),wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements were performed to investigate the influence of multiple effects on the self-organization behaviors of P-m-TP,including steric effect,decoupling effect and π-π stacking effect.The experimental results revealed that P-m-TP (m =2,3,4) formed the columnar phase which was developed by the TP moieties and the main chain as a whole,suggesting that the side-chains had strong steric effect even though the number of spacer length (m)exceeded 4.In addition,the clearing points (Tis) of the polymers were above 300 ℃.When m =6 and 8,the polymers displayed hexagonal columnar phase and exhibited the low Tis (91 and 80 ℃ respectively),originating from the self-assembly of triphenylene due to the decoupling effect and π-π stacking effect.This work offers a viable and inspiring pathway to control the phase transition temperature and phase structure of TP SCLCPs via simply tailoring the spacer length and increasing the alkyl tail length of TP.     

Multiple Effects Tailoring the Self-organization Behaviors of Triphenylene Side-chain Liquid Crystalline Polymers via Changing the Spacer Length

Long-alkyl tail triphenylene(TP) side-chain liquid crystalline polymers(SCLCPs) with different spacer length(P-m-TP,m =2,3,4,6,8,which is the number of carbon atom in the flexible alkyl spacers) have been successfully synthesized via free radical polymerization.The differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),polarized light microscopy(POM),ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy(UVVis),wide-angle X-ray diffraction(WAXD) and small-angle X-ray scattering(SAXS) measurements were performed to investigate the influence of multiple effects on the self-organization behaviors of P-m-TP,including steric effect,decoupling effect and π-π stacking effect.The experimental results revealed that P-m-TP(m = 2,3,4) formed the columnar phase which was developed by the TP moieties and the main chain as a whole,suggesting that the side-chains had strong steric effect even though the number of spacer length(m)exceeded 4.In addition,the clearing points(Tis) of the polymers were above 300 °C.When m = 6 and 8,the polymers displayed hexagonal columnar phase and exhibited the low Tis(91 and 80 °C respectively),originating from the self-assembly of triphenylene due to the decoupling effect and π-π stacking effect.This work offers a viable and inspiring pathway to control the phase transition temperature and phase structure of TP SCLCPs via simply tailoring the spacer length and increasing the alkyl tail length of TP.