Crack Toughness Behaviour of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube (MWNT)/Polycarbonate Nanocomposites

Summary: The morphology and fracture behaviour of polycarbonate (PC)/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) composites have been studied by AFM and post‐yield fracture mechanics. The essential work of fracture (EWF) method has been used to distinguish between two terms representing the resistance to crack initiation and crack propagation. A maximum in the non‐essential work of fracture was observed at 2 wt.‐% MWNT, demonstrating enhanced resistance to crack propagation compared to pure PC. At 4 wt.‐% MWNT, a tough‐to‐brittle transition has been observed. The time‐resolved in‐situ strain field analysis revealed that the onset of crack initiation was shifted to a shorter time for nanocomposites with 4 wt.‐% MWNT compared to that with 2 wt.‐%, and thus explained the existence of a tough‐to‐brittle transition in these nanocomposites.

     

高压结晶PET/PC共混体系中大尺寸聚合物伸直链晶体的形态观察

 大尺寸聚合物伸直链晶体在低维体系物理学的研究中具有不可替代的重要作用。但以往高压合成的聚合物伸直链晶体,尺寸较小且合成时间过长,使其作用至今未能显现。加入10%（质量分数）聚碳酸酯（PC）于聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）中,在研究PET/PC共混体系高压结晶行为的过程中快速合成了大量生长厚度超过100 μm 的聚合物伸直链晶体,并采用扫描电子显微镜对其进行了深入研究。研究表明,高压结晶PET/PC共混体系中存在不同类型的大尺寸伸直链晶体：完善的伸直链晶体、沿平行或垂直于C轴方向发生断裂的伸直链晶体、内聚能密度较大而发生内聚破裂的伸直链晶体、不同断裂方式下呈不同形态的楔形状伸直链晶体以及弯曲的伸直链晶体。同时对不同形态伸直链晶体的形成机理作了阐述。     

Molecular dynamics in a miscible polyester blend

The dynamic mechanical and dielectric spectra of a miscible polyester and polycarbonate blend are investigated with emphasis on the latter technique. It was found that relaxation spectra for the blends from both techniques are broader than those of the constituent homopolymers. This is ascribed to greater intermolecular coupling and concentration fluctuations within the blends. The composition at which the greatest coupling occurs is dependent on the relaxation technique used and is skewed towards the component which shows the highest degree of intermolecular coupling. A number of parameters, such as relaxation time of the polymer molecules in the blend and relaxation strength, are compared as a function of reduced temperature (experimental temperature scaled by the glass transition temperature). Whereas blend behavior is generally intermediate between that of the homopolymers, it appears as though mobility of compositions with low polyester content have a greater relaxation time and possess a higher activation energy when compared to a simple, weighted average of the corresponding homopolymer values. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Anisotropy of hole structures in oriented polycarbonate probed by two-dimensional angular correlation of annihilation radiation

Two-dimensional angular correlation of annihilation radiation (2D-ACAR) experiments have been performed on an uniaxially oriented polymer, bisphenol-A polycarbonate. The two-dimensional hole structures of unoriented and oriented polymers, determined from the momentum distributions, are found to be spherical and ellipsoidal, respectively. The average hole radii are determined to be 2.9 Å in the unoriented sample and between 2.3 and 3.8 Å in the oriented sample. Applications of the 2D-ACAR method to image the three-dimensional hole structures of polymeric materials are discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis of AB and ABA block copolymers as compatibilizers in nylon 6/polycarbonate blends

Nylon 6 (Ny6) and Bisphenol A polycarbonate (PC) are immiscible and form biphasic blends. To improve the compatibility of Ny6 and PC several ABA and AB Ny6/PC block copolymers were synthesized, and their compatibilizing behavior on the blends were tested. Block copolymers were prepared by reacting monoamino- or diamino-terminated Ny6 homopolymers with high molecular weight PC at 130°C in anhydrous DMSO. The reaction of diamino- and monoamino-terminated Ny6 with polycarbonate produces block copolymers of the type PC-Ny6-PC (ABA) and PC-Ny6 (AB), respectively, plus a certain amount of unconverted PC degradated to lower molecular weights. To separate the block copolymer from the unconverted PC, a selective fractionation with tetrahydrofuran (THF) and trifluoroethanol (TFE) was carried out. Three different fractions were obtained: THF-soluble fraction, TFE-soluble fraction, and the TFE-insoluble fraction. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of a 75/25 (wt/wt) Ny6/PC blend added with 2% of ABA or AB block copolymers, showed the presence of smaller PC particles more adherent to the polyamide matrix, with respect to the same blend nonadded, which is clearly biphasic. The size of the PC particles decreases from ABA to AB compatibilized blends and the adhesion with the matrix is increases in the same way. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The angular dependence of heavy ion range (ADHIR) of energetic Bi in mica and polycarbonate

The variation of the range of 2.72 GeV ²⁰⁹Bi with crystalline anisotropy has been studied using an anisotropic detector - muscovite mica and an isotropic detector - polycarbonate (Bayer). The two detectors were irradiated at five different angles ranging between 15° and 75°. The effect of the crystal structure on the range variance has also been discussed.     

Double metal cyanide complex based on Zn3[Co(CN)6]2 as highly active catalyst for copolymerization of carbon dioxide and cyclohexene oxide

Double metal cyanide complexes based on Zn₃[Co(CN)₆]₂ were prepared in the presence of different complexing agents and used in the copolymerization of carbon dioxide and cyclohexene oxide. The FTIR and ¹H NMR spectra of the products verified the formation of polycarbonate. Compared with zinc carboxylate, zinc phenoxide, and so forth, these catalysts demonstrated great enhancement of catalytic activity. Their highest turnover number and turnover frequency reached 3300 and 1650 h^?1, respectively, at 90 °C. The molar fraction of CO₂ (F_CO2) for the copolymers was about 0.44–0.47, and it varied slightly with different catalysts under a temperature of 90 °C and a pressure of 3.8 MPa. The study showed that the F_CO2 can reach 0.40 even at 0.6 MPa, and it changed slightly above 3.8 MPa. The reaction rate had little influence on the F_CO2 under our experimental conditions. A relatively low temperature was favorable for the incorporation of CO₂. The monitoring of copolymerization revealed the molecular weight was proportional to the reaction conversion. The molecular weight distribution was in the range of 4.5–6, and the reaction rate was proportional to the amount of catalyst that was used. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5284–5291, 2004     

Evolution of nanometer voids in polycarbonate under mechanical stress and thermal expansion using positron spectroscopy

Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS) measurements were conducted on polycarbonate subjected to either thermal expansion or to tensile and compressive strains. It was found that thermal expansion affected both the nanometer hole size and the hole number density, whereas mechanical stress affected mainly the size of existing holes, and did not generate or eliminate holes in the quasielastic deformation region. The effect of stress on yield and postyield behavior of this glassy material was also investigated. The deduced hole volume fraction of this polymer at 25°C was 6.8 ± 0.5% from the thermal expansion experiment and 7.2 ± 1.2% from the mechanical loading experiment. When the specimen was under compression, the hole volume fraction was found to continuously decrease. This can be considered as evidence of the inability of the free volume concept in explaining the yield behavior of glassy polymers. ©1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Blends of bisphenol a polycarbonate and acrylic polymers. I. A chemical reaction mechanism

The chemical reaction at high temperature (above 200°C) between PC and PMMA has been very recently highlighted. However, no clear reaction mechanism has been proposed to explain this phenomenon. We suggest a reaction mechanism following two steps. The first step consists of hydrolysis of the ester bonds of the PMMA leading to acid pendant groups. These acids can then either ring close into glutaric anhydride, or acidolyze the carbonate bonds of PC during the second step. At the same time, benzoic acid produced by PC degradation could further react with PMMA or acidolyze the carbonate groups leading to the crosslinking of the system. A satisfactory contact between the reacting units is a key point in the proces. Significant amounts of PC-PMMA copolymer are obtained when the reaction is performed from a miscible system. On the contrary, no reaction occurs during melt mixing. Understanding the process enables us to specify the conditions, in which no chemical reaction takes place. In nonreactive conditions, PC/PMMA blends remain immiscible for several hours at 300°C. The thermodynamic UCST proposed in the literature is just an artifact due to the occurrence of the chemical reaction. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

新型含酯基的可生物降解聚碳酸酯的合成

通过2，2-二羟甲基-丙二酸二甲酯与氯甲酸乙酯的反应合成了环状碳酸酯单体5，5-二甲氧羰基-1，3-二氧六环-2-酮，再以异辛酸亚锡为催化剂，在不同温度下进行本体开环聚合，得到新型含酯基的聚碳酸酯．单体和聚合物结构经红外光谱(IR)、核磁共振氢谱(1^H NMR)及核磁共振碳谱(^12C NMR)表征．结果表明，开环聚合反应的产率和分子量随温度的升高而增加，但温度高于100℃时开环聚合会发生一定程度的脱羧反应，研究得出该聚合反应合适的反应条件为：反应温度90℃，反应时间12h，聚合过程中基本无脱羧反应发生。