PREPARATION OF MICROPOROUS ULTRA HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE (UHMWPE) BY THERMALLY INDUCED PHASE SEPARATION OF A UHMWPE/LIQUID PARAFFIN MIXTURE

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) with a microporous structure was prepared via thermally induced phase separation (TIPS).Liquid paraffin (LP) was used as a diluent in the preparation of microporous UHMWPE. Small angle laser light scattering (SALLS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were used to determine the phase separation temperatures,i.e.the cloud points and the dynamic crystallization temperatures,respectively.It was found that the cloudI points were coincident with the cr...     

A novel method for the pore size control of the battery separator using the phase instability of the ternary mixtures

The battery separator plays a key role in determining the capacity of the battery. Since separator performance mainly depends on the pore size of membrane, development of a technique for the fabrication of the membrane having controlled pore size is essential in producing a highly functional battery separator. In this study, microporous membranes having the desired pore size were produced via thermally‐induced phase separation (TIPS) process. Control of the phase boundaries of polymer‐diluent blends is the main concern in manipulating pore size in TIPS process, because pore size mainly depends on the temperature gap between phase separation temperature of the blend and the crystallization temperature of polymer. Microporous membranes having controlled pore size were produced from polyethylene (PE)/dioctyl phthalate (DOP) blends, PE/isoparaffin blends, and polymer/diluent‐mixture ternary blends, that is, PE/(DOP/isoparaffin) blends. PE/DOP binary blends and PE/(DOP/isoparaffin) ternary blends exhibited typical upper critical solution temperature (UCST) type phase behavior, while PE formed a homogeneous mixture with isoparaffin above the crystallization temperature of PE. When the mixing ratio of polymer and diluent‐mixture was fixed, the phase separation temperature of PE/diluent‐mixture blend first increased with increasing DOP content in the diluent‐mixture, went through a maximum centered at about 80 wt % DOP and then decreased. Furthermore, the phase separation temperatures of the PE/diluent‐mixture blends were always higher than that of the PE/DOP blend when diluent‐mixture contained more than or equal to 20 wt % of DOP. Average pore size of microporous membrane prepared from PE/DOP blend and that prepared from PE/isoparaffin blend were 0.17 and 0.07 μm, respectively. However, average pore size of microporous membrane prepared from ternary blends was varied from 0.07 to 0.5 μm by controlling diluent mixing ratio. To understand the phase behavior of ternary blend, phase instability of the ternary mixture was also explored. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 2025–2034, 2006     

超高分子量聚乙烯基导电复合材料的电性能和自发热性能的研究

超高分子量聚乙烯(UHMWPE)具有优异的综合性能,本文采用凝胶结晶溶液方法制备了分别以碳纤维(CF)和镀镍碳纤维(NiCF)为导电填料,UHMWPE为基体的3个系列导电聚合物复合材料—UHMWPE/CF、UHMWPE/NiCF和UHMWPE/EMMA/CF复合体系,并分别对它们进行了室温伽马射线辐射处理,重点研究了这些材料的电性能和自发热性能,利用DSC、SEM、WAXS、DMA和体积膨胀等仪器进行了一系列测试表征。结果表明,NiCF作为导电填料时体系的逾渗阈值最低,为3vol%。伽马射线辐射处理不仅能有效提高材料的PTC效应,而且在合适的辐射剂量时也能有效提高材料的自发热性能。对材料介电性能的研究揭示了材料的交流电阻率与温度、频率的依赖关系。     

Phase behavior of polymer/diluent/diluent mixtures and their application to control microporous membrane structure

Rechargeable battery separators containing controlled pores were fabricated via the thermally-induced phase separation (TIPS) process. Based on the idea that pores could be manipulated by controlling the liquid–liquid phase separation temperature in the TIPS process, phase boundaries of the polymer–diluent systems were controlled by using diluent mixtures. Phase behaviors of the polymer/diluent/diluent ternary blends consisting of polyethylene (PE) as polymer, and soybean oil (SBO) and dioctyl phthalate (DOP) as diluents were explored. PE/SBO and PE/DOP binary blends, and PE/SOB/DOP ternary blends exhibited typical upper critical solution temperature (UCST) type phase behaviors, and the phase separation temperatures of the PE/SBO blends were higher than those of the PE/DOP blends. When the mixing ratio of the polymer and diluent-mixture was fixed, the phase separation temperature of the PE/SBO/DOP blend initially increased with increasing SBO content in the diluent-mixture passing through a maximum centered at about 80 wt% SBO and decreased beyond this point. Furthermore, the phase separation temperature of the PE/diluent-mixture blend was always higher than that of the PE/SBO blend when the diluent-mixture contained more than or equal to 50 wt% SBO. To understand the observed phase behavior of the blends, thermodynamic analyses based on the lattice-fluid theory were performed. Larger pore membranes were fabricated from the blend when higher phase separation temperatures of the blend were exhibited.     

Kinetics of nonisothermal crystallization and melting of normal high density and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene blends

The kinetics of nonisothermal crystallization and melting of blends of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polyethylene high density with normal molecular weight (NMWPE) are investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Mixing the components at a temperature below the flow temperature of UHMWPE (215 °C) results in increased crystallization/melting rates of the individual components in the blends above the corresponding additive values. The morphological observations of the blends, carried out by means of polarization microscopy, show that a strong boundary of both types of structures (UHMWPE non-flowing aggregates and NMWPE spherulite structures) does not exist. The NMWPE spherulites' dimensions decrease on increasing the UHMWPE concentration in the blends, but their number increases. The facilitation of the crystallization/melting of the components in the blends is explained in terms of mutual influence exhibited by the components with respect to each other. It is due to the inner stresses in nonflowing UHMWPE characterized with a lot of entangled tie molecules and to the partial co-crystallization of NMWPE molecules with the flowing part of UHMWPE. At mixing temperatures above 215 °C the melting/crystallization integral kinetic curves have only one linear part in contrast to these of the same blend (11 ratio of components), prepared at 190 °C. The rates of melting/crystallization remain almost constant with the increase of the mixing temperatures.     

Blends of normal high density and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, γ irradiated at a low dose

The kinetics of a nonisothermal crystallization and melting of irradiated with dose of 6 Mrad blends of an ultra-high molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and a high-density polyethylene with normal molecular weight (NMWPE) is investigated by means of DSC. The blends have been prepared at temperature below the flow temperature of UHMWPE: The enthalpies of melting of the polyethylenes increase, while those of their blends decrease after irradiation. The enthalpies of crystallization of the pure polyethylenes are higher, while those of their blends almost do not change or are a bit higher after irradiation. The rates of a nonisothermal crystallization and melting of the polyethylenes increase, while those of the polyethylenes in the blends decrease after irradiation. Thermomechanical measurements under constant load in wide-temperature interval of irradiated polyethylenes and their blends have been made. A high-elastic plateau in viscous-liquid state is established on the thermomechanical curves of UHMWPE, and the blends with high content of UHMWPE. On the basis of results obtained assumptions have been made about the processes taking place in the blends under the action of irradiation, as well as about the character of the mutual influence between the components in the process of irradiation.     

A calorimetric study of normal high density and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene blends

The melting and the crystallization of blends of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polyethylene high density with normal molecular weight (NMWPE) are investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Mixing the components at a temperature below the flow temperature of UHMWPE (215 °C) results in segregated melting and crystallization. The segregated melting and crystallization temperatures of both components do not depend on composition of the blend. The extreme enthalpy dependence on blend composition is explained in terms of mutual influence exhibited by the components with respect to each other. It is due to the inner stresses in nonflowing UHMWPE characterized with a lot of entangled tie molecules. Mixing the components above the flow temperature of UHMWPE results in only one peak of melting and crystallization respectively. Complete mixing and probably co-crystallization between the components takes place on mixing NMWPE with flowing UHMWPE.     

Crystallization behavior of disproportionately high and low molecular weight PEO blends

The crystallization behavior of PEOs with molecular weight of 1 Ok and 200k as well as their blends was studied in details. The results show that the lower molecular weight PEO crystallizes with faster crystallization rate as judged from a shorter time for completing the crystallization. On the other hand, the higher molecular weight PEO crystallizes at relatively higher temperature, indicating an early start of crystallization compared with the lower molecular weight one. The blends of these two PEOs with different blend ratios always cocrystallize during the cooling processes. It is confirmed that mixing of the 10k PEO with the 200k one is in favor of the crystallization of the system. This is not only demonstrated by the early start of the crystallization at higher crystallization temperature, and also a faster crystal growth of the blend with respect to the 200k PEO. The crystallization of the blends at higher temperature is caused by an early start of nucleation and an increment of nucleus density. This may originate from the density fluctuation of the blend and a reduction in energy barrier for nucleation. Moreover, it is found that the crystallinity of the 1 Ok PEO rich blends increases with increasing concentration of the 10k PEO. This is caused by the solvent effect of the 10k PEO toward the 200k PEO. On the other hand, the crystallinity of the 30/70 （10k/200k） PEO blend is decreased a little bit. This may be a balanced result of the improved crystallization of the 200k PEO at the expense of the high crystallization ability of the 1 Ok PEO.     

Fractionated and Confined Crystallization of Polybutene-1 in Immiscible Polypropylene/Polybutene-1 Blends

In this work,the crystallization of immiscible polypropylene(PP)/polybutene-1(PB)blends,in particular the effect of crystal morphology of PP(HTC,high Tm component)on the subsequent crystallization behavior of PB(LTC,low Tm component)was studied.Herein,we firstly indicated that PP/PB blends were not completely compatible but characterized as the LCST-like phase diagram above the melting temperature of PP.Crystallization of PP at different crystallization temperatures brought about different PP crystal morphologies and PB was segregated and confined at different locations.Much larger-sized domain of PB component appeared in PP spherulites resulting from the effects of non-negligible phase separation and the slower PP crystallization rate as PP crystallized at high temperature.As temperature continued to fall below Tm of PB,the fractionated and confined crystallization of PB occurred in the framework of PP spherulites,reflected by the decreased crystallization temperature(Tc)of PB and the formation of form I′beside form II.Notably,if PP previously crystallized at high Tc,fractionated crystallization of PB became predominant and confined crystallization of PB became weak due to the much wider droplet-size distribution of PB domains.     

Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene with Reduced Fusion Defects and Improved Mechanical Properties by Liquid Paraffin

Products made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) have a tendency to contain fusion defects, arising during the processing of the reactor powder. These defects have been implicated previously in failures of UHMWPE load-bearing surfaces in knee and hip prostheses. To minimize the fusion defects of UHMWPE products, the low molecular weight substance liquid paraffin (LP) was blended with UHMWPE. Our hypothesis was that the addition of LP could minimize structural defects and thus improve the properties of consolidated UHMWPE. The morphology and property of UHMWPE blends with LP were investigated by SEM, DMA, and stress relaxation. The addition of small amounts of LP improved tensile strength, the elongation at break, and friction and wear properties of UHMWPE, presumably due to structural defect elimination through reducing entanglements and enhancing the chain mobility of UHMWPE.     

Thermoelectric behavior (PTC) of carbon black‐containing TPX/UHMWPE and TPX/XL‐UHMWPE blends

This article describes the structure and electrical performance of positive‐temperature‐coefficient/negative‐temperature‐coefficient (PTC/NTC) effects of the following three‐component blends: poly(4‐methyl pentene‐1)/ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene/carbon black (TPX/UHMWPE/CB), poly(4‐methyl pentene‐1)/crosslinked‐ultra‐high molecular weight polyethylene/carbon black (TPX/XL‐UHMWPE/CB), and γ‐irradiated, compression‐molded plaques of these blends. CB particles are preferentially attracted to the UHMWPE and XL‐UHMWPE particles, which constitute the dispersed phase within the TPX matrix, but practically cannot or can only very slightly penetrate them because of their extremely high viscosity. Thus, CB particles initially form conductive networks on the UHMWPE phase; this is followed by distribution in the TPX matrix, electrically connecting the CB‐covered UHMWPE particles. This unusual CB distribution results in a reduced percolation threshold of all blends. A double‐PTC effect is exhibited by the XL‐UHMWPE‐containing samples. Irradiation of compression‐molded plaques improves their thermoelectric behavior by amplifying the PTC effect and reducing the NTC effect. A schematic model of the double‐PTC effect is suggested, describing the morphological changes of 70TPX/30XL‐UHMWPE/CB blends at different stages of heating with respect to their thermoelectric behavior. Irradiation of TPX/UHMWPE/CB plaques converts these systems into high‐intensity PTC materials free of the NTC effect. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B Part B: Polym Phys 39: 1415–1428, 2001     

Blends of Polypropylene and Syndiotactic 1,2-Polybutadiene:Morphology,Crystallization Behaviors and Mechanical Properties

Morphologies,crystallization behavior and mechanical properties of polypropylene（PP）/syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadiene（s-1,2 PB）blends were investigated.Morphology observation shows the well dispersed domains of s-1,2 PB in PP matrix with the rather small domain sizes from 0.1 to 0.5μm when the s-1,2 PB content increases from 5%to 20%（mass fraction）in the blends,and the phase structure tends to become co-continuous as s-1,2 PB content further increases.Crystallization temperature（Tc）of PP component in the blends is fluctuated with the variation of s-1,2 PB content in the blends.Compatibilization,to some extent,between the two components is inferred from the examination of both morphology and crystallization behavior.Improvement of impact strength of PP toughened by s-1,2 PB becomes significant only in the case of s-1,2 PB content above 20%（mass fraction）.     

FRACTIONATED CRYSTALLIZATION OF HDPE IN PS/POE/HDPE/SBS BLENDS

The fractionated crystallization behavior of the minor dispersed HDPE phase in PS/POE/HDPE/SBS quaternary blends was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).Interestingly,we found that the fractionated crystallization behavior of HDPE was molecular weight dependent.At a fixed composition,HDPE with lower molecular weight showed more obvious fractionated crystallization behavior than HDPE with higher molecular weight.This was ascribed to a finer dispersion of HDPE with lower molecular weigh...     

Compatibilization of blends of polybutadiene and poly(methyl methacrylate) with poly(butadiene-block-methyl methacrylate)

Compatibilization of blends of polybutadiene and poly(methyl methacrylate) with butadiene-methyl methacrylate diblock copolymers has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. When the diblock copolymers are added to the blends, the size of PB particles decreases and their size distribution gets narrower. In PB/PMMA7.6K blends with P(B-b-MMA)25.2K as a compatibilizer, most of micelles exist in the PMMA phase. However, using P(B-b-MMA)38K as a compatibilizer, the micellar aggregation exists in PB particles besides that existing in the PMMA phase. The core of a micelle in the PMMA phase is about 10 nm. In this article the influences of temperature and homo-PMMA molecular weight on compatibilization were also examined. At a high temperature PB particles in blends tend to agglomerate into bigger particles. When the molecular weight of PMMA is close to that of the corresponding block of the copolymer, the best compatibilization result would be achieved. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36 : 85–93, 1998     

A DSC study of miscibility and phase separation in crystalline polymer blends of phenolphthalein poly(ether ether sulfone) and poly(ethylene oxide)

The miscibility of blends of phenolphthalein poly(ether ether sulfone) (PES-C) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) was established on the basis of the thermal analysis results. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) studies showed that the PES-C/PEO blends prepared by casting from N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) possessed a single, composition-dependent glass transition temperature (T_g), and thus that PES-C and PEO are miscible in the amorphous state at all compositions at lower temperature. At higher temperature, the blends underwent phase separation, and the PES-C/PEO blend system was found to display a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior. The phase separation process in the blends has also been investigated by using DSC. Annealed at high temperatures, the PES-C/PEO blends exhibited significant changes of thermal properties, such as the enthalpy of crystallization and fusion, temperatures of crystallization and melting, depending on blend composition when phase separation occurred. These changes reflect different characteristics of phase structure in the blends, and were taken as probes to determine phase boundary. From both the thermal analysis and optical microscopy, the phase diagram of the blend system was established. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 35 : 1383–1392, 1997     

热致相分离法制聚偏氟乙烯微孔膜稀释剂的选择

依据聚偏氟乙烯(PVDF)、邻苯二甲酸二甲酯、水杨酸甲酯、卡必醇醋酸酯、三醋酸甘油酯、邻苯二甲酸二正丁酯(DBP)、苯乙酮和二苯甲酮(DPK)的Hansen溶度参数及其相对介电常数, 选择能与PVDF以液-液相分离机理进行热致分相的稀释剂, 制备了具有双连续结构的微孔膜. 通过比较PVDF-稀释剂间的溶度参数及相对介电常数的差异, 发现PVDF-DBP体系和PVDF-DPK体系有发生热致液-液相分离的可能. 实时观察上述两个体系的分相过程并测定其结晶温度, 当PVDF质量分数低于30%时, 随着温度的降低, PVDF-DPK体系发生液-液相分离. 根据PVDF-DPK体系相图, 通过控制PVDF含量和降温条件, 无须添加非溶剂或拉伸工艺, 就可以制备出具有双连续结构的PVDF微孔膜.     

Ultra high molecular weight polyethylene and polydimethylsiloxane blend as acetabular cup material

An acetabular cup shock absorber implant is formed from a composite of polymer materials. The cup consists of three zones such as the articulating surface of the implant is 100% ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) (zone 1) and shock absorber of the cup contains of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) (zone 3). Zone 2 which is designed for better adhesion between zone 1 and zone 2 consists of a blend of UHMWPE and PDMS is a cushion that from one side adheres to zone 1 and the other side to zone 2. PDMS and UHMWPE have been blended under conditions of shear and elevated temperature in order to form uniform, thermoplastic blends. When blends compared to pure UHMWPE, the blends show lowered tensile modulus and lowered mixing energies. The UHMWPE crystals are increased in quantity or else become more regular, even 50% blend shows no rubbery stage. The morphology and dynamic mechanical behavior of the blends were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic mechanic thermal analysis (DMTA). In this study, the biocompatibility have evaluated in vitro the interaction of UHMWPE, silicone and PDMS/UHMWPE blends with L929 fibroblast cells.     

Morphological Changes of Linear,Branched Polyethylenes and their Blends during Crystallization and Subsequent Melting by Synchrotron SAXS and DSC

Summary: The crystalline structure and phase morphology of linear, branched polyethylenes and their blends during crystallization and subsequent melting were investigated, using a combination of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). A linear polyethylene (PE1) with weight-average molecular weight (M_w) of 114 000 g/mol, and two branched polyethylene copolymers, containing 4.8 mol% (PE4) and 15.3 mol% (PE10) hexane, with molecular weights of 93 000 g/mol and 46 000 g/mol were used as pure samples. Two blends, PE1-4 and PE1-10, each with a weight ratio of 50/50, were prepared by solution blending. Our results indicate that in PE4 a phase separation within the branched component itself occurred, forming a broad distribution of lamellar thicknesses during the crystallization process. PE10 on the other hand did hardly crystallize because of the high degree of branching. Co-crystallization of both components took place in blend PE1-4 and liquid-liquid phase separation occurred in the melt of PE1-10. Morphological parameters were determined by using Bragg's law and the correlation function, respectively. The detected semicrystalline morphology can be well described by the lamellar insertion mode where thin lamellae develop between thicker primary lamellae. During subsequent heating, lamellae melted in the reversed sequence of their formation. The evolution of the structural parameters as a function of temperature revealed that surface melting began at first, and then the complete melting of stacks occurred until the final melting temperature was reached.     

Fractional crystallization behavior of PCL and PEG in blends

The crystallization behavior of poly(e-caprolactone)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PCL/PEG) blend was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized microscopy (POM). Individual phase transition peaks in the DSC curves for both PEG and PCL in all the polymer blends with different PCL contents were observed. The crystallization and melting peak temperatures of PEG were at 41 and 65°C, respectively; while the crystallization and melting temperatures of PCL located at 28 and 56°C, respectively. In-situ POM results demonstrated that spherulites crystalline morphology was formed for both PCL and PEG homopolymers. In PEG/PCL blend, however, both the phase separation morphology and spherulitic morphology can be observed. In blends with 30 or 50 wt % PCL, the PCL component formed dispersed phase and crystallized at lower temperature. However, in blends with 70% PCL, the phase inversion behavior occurred. The continuous PCL phase crystallized at 35°C, while the PEG dispersed phase crystallized at a lower temperature. Fractional crystallization behavior of PEG and PCL was controlled by temperature. The spherulites growth rate of PEG was greatly influenced by temperature, instead of the content of PCL component in the PCL/PEG blends.