Polymer 4D printing: Advanced shape-change and beyond

4D printing is an exciting branch of additive manufacturing. It relies on established 3D printing techniques to fabricate objects in much the same way. However, structures which fall into the 4D printed category have the ability to change with time, hence the “extra dimension.” The common perception of 4D printed objects is that of macroscopic single-material structures limited to point-to-point shape change only, in response to either heat or water. However, in the area of polymer 4D printing, recent advancements challenge this understanding. A host of new polymeric materials have been designed which display a variety of wonderful effects brought about by unconventional stimuli, and advanced additive manufacturing techniques have been developed to accommodate them. As a result, the horizons of polymer 4D printing have been broadened beyond what was initially thought possible. In this review, we showcase the many studies which evolve the very definition of polymer 4D printing, and reveal emerging areas of research integral to its advancement.     

Effects of the copolymer microstructure on the morphology of polyethylene–poly(ethylene‐co‐α‐olefin) blends

The effects of the copolymer microstructure on the morphology evolution in polyethylene/poly(ethylene‐co‐α‐olefin) blends were investigated. Microscopy revealed that the melt‐phase morphology, inferred from the solid‐state morphologies of annealed and quenched samples, was strongly affected by the copolymer structure, that is, the branch content and branch length. Higher molecular weight α‐olefin comonomer residues and residue contents in the copolymers led to faster coarsening of the morphology. The molecular weight of the polyethylene and the copolymers affected the coarsening rates of the morphology, principally through its influence on the melt viscosity. The effects of the molecular weight were largely explained by the normalization of the coarsening rate data with respect to the thermal energy and zero‐shear‐rate viscosity. Thus, the effect of the molecular weight on the compatibility of the blends was much smaller than the effects of the branch length and branch number. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 965–973, 2004     

A fractal model of reinforcement of elastoplastic nanocomposites

Within the framework of fractal analysis and percolation theory, an alternative model of reinforcement of filled polymers is offered. Practically, this model can be used only to describe the reinforcement of nanocomposites, because, according to the treatment considered, a pronounced reinforcement can be reached only at ratios of filler particle diameter to the statistical segment length of about 10 and less. A theoretical calculation showed a good qualitative and quantitative agreement with experiments. The type of reinforcement mechanism of composites is determined by the type of the space (fractal or Euclidean) in which the structure of the polymeric matrix is formed. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 42, No. 6, pp. 797–802, November–Decem ber, 2006.     

Divinylsiloxane‐bisbenzocyclobutene‐based polymer modified with polystyrene–polybutadiene–polystyrene triblock copolymers

Divinylsiloxane‐bisbenzocyclobutene (DVS‐bisBCB) polymer has very low dielectric constant and dissipation factor, good thermal stability, and high chemical resistance. The fracture toughness of the thermoset polymer is moderate due to its high crosslink density. A thermoplastic elastomer, polystyrene–polybutadiene–polystyrene triblock copolymer, was incorporated into the matrix to enhance its toughness. The cured thermoset matrix showed different morphology when the elastomer was added to the B‐staged prepolymer or when the elastomer was B‐staged with the DVS‐bisBCB monomer. Small and uniformly distributed elastomer domains were detected by transmission electron micrographs (TEM) in the former case, but TEM did not detect a separate domain in the latter case. A high percentage of the polystyrene–polybutadiene–polystyrene triblock copolymer could be incorporated into the DVS‐bisBCB thermoset matrix by B‐staging the triblock copolymer with the BCB monomer. The elastomer increased the fracture toughness of DVS‐bisBCB polymer as indicated by enhanced elongation at break and increased K1c values obtained by the modified edge‐lift‐off test. Elastomer modified DVS‐bisBCB maintained excellent electrical properties, high T_g and good thermal stability, but showed higher coefficient of linear thermal expansion values. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 1591–1599, 2006     

聚丙烯/POE共混组成对材料断裂行为的影响

采用基本断裂功(EWF)方法对聚丙烯(PP)/聚烯烃弹性体(POE)共混物的注射双边缺口拉伸试样的断裂行为进行了研究,比较了不同POE含量对共混物各断裂参数的影响.结果表明,PP和用量为5phr POE的共混物都可完全满足EWF方法的要求,共混物的断裂韧性-比基本断裂功we,较PP有显著提高;POE用量为10phr以上的共混物则出现明显的成颈现象而限制了EWF方法的应用;PP和各种POE用量的共混物都得到了其屈服所需要的比基本断裂功we,y和比塑性功β′wp,y.     

Design and Theoretical Study of Nickel Catalysts for Syndiotactic Polyolefins

A nickel catalyst was nodeled with ligand L^2,[NH=CH-CH=CH-0]^-,which should have potential use as a syndiotactic plyolefin catalyst,and the reaction mechanism was studied by theoretical calculations using the density functinal method at the B3LYP/LANL2MB level.The mechanism involves the formation of the intermediate [NiL^2Me]^ ,in which the metal occupies a T-shaped geometry.This intermediate has two possible structures with the methyl group trans either to the oxygen or to the nitrogen atom of L^2.The results show that both structures can lead to the desired product via similar reaction paths,A and B.Thus,the polymerization could be considered as taking place either with the alkyl group occupying the position trans to the Ni-0 or trans to the Ni-N bond in the catalyst.The polymerization process thus favors the catalysis of syndiotactic polyolefins.The syndiotactic synthesis effects could also be enhanced by varations in the ligand substituents.From energy considerations,we can conclude that it is more favorable for the methyl ttrans-O position to form a complex than to occupy the trans-N position.From bond length considerations,it is also more favoured for ethene to occupy the trans-O position than to occupy the trans-N position.     

乙烯-辛烯共聚物/淀粉共混体系的非等温结晶动力学(英文)

通过差示扫描量热仪(DSC)研究了乙烯-辛烯共聚物/淀粉共混体系的非等温结晶动力学,用Jeziorny和Ozawa方程描述了结晶动力学过程.共混物的结晶温度和结晶焓强烈依赖于淀粉含量和冷却速率.结果表明,随着冷却速率的增加,每个试样的结晶放热曲线均变宽,并向低温区移动.当温度一定高时,所有试样均具有较快的结晶速率. Jeniorzy方程可以较好地描述POE/淀粉共混物的非等温结晶模式,而Ozawa方程对于POE/淀粉共混体系不太适合.     

有机硅弹性体表面生物相容性的研究进展

生物材料表面的生物相容性一直是生物材料研究领域倍受关注的问题.本文综述了对有机硅弹性体进行改性以提高其表面生物相容性的研究进展,介绍了各种常用的化学改性方法如本体接枝、等离子体处理、光化学诱导接枝、臭氧活化接枝以及硅氢加成反应、原子转移自由基聚合反应在有机硅弹性体表面改性中的应用.对改性后的有机硅弹性体表面抗非特异性蛋白质和血小板的能力等方面进行了评述,并进一步分析了有机硅弹性体表面化学改性的发展趋势和研究重点.     

接枝和交联对纳米Si02改性NR／PP共混型热塑弹性体的影响

动态硫化制备纳米二氧化硅（SiO2）改性天然橡胶，聚丙烯共混型热塑性弹性体（NR/PPTPE）．研究了马来酸酐，苯乙烯，过氧化二异丙苯（MAH／St／DCP）多单体“就地”熔融接枝、交联对TPE力学性能、耐溶剂性能和耐热变形性能的影响，并用SEM分析了TPE的断面形貌．结果表明：纳米SiO2和MAH／St／DCP的最佳质量分数分别为0．03和0．0375／0．0188／0．00375时，MAH／St／DCP接枝、交联改性NR／PP／纳米SiO：TPE的力学性能、耐溶剂性能和耐热变形性能最佳．MAH／St／DCP“就地”接枝、交联通过细化交联NR分散相、改善交联NR分散的均匀性和增加两相之间的共交联，使NR与PP两相界面结合强度明显提高，NR／PPTPE的综合性能得到明显的改善．     

马来酸酐与聚烯烃接枝产物的表征

综述了马来酸酐与聚烯烃接枝产物的多种表征手段，重点分析了纯化处理，化学滴定以及红外分析方法的表征原理，应用和改进方法。