Surface enrichment and crystallization of polyamide and polytetrafluoroethylene blend

The blend surface of polyamide 6 and polytetrafluoroethylene (PA 6/PTFE) and its change as a function of annealing time are investigated by means of attenuated total reflection (ATR)‐FTIR spectroscopy, contact angle (CA) measurement, as well as atomic force microscopy (AFM) under ambient condition; meanwhile the surface elemental compositions are obtained by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results show that the addition of fluoro content can decrease the surface energy compared with the pure polyamide, while, an evident influence on the surface energy has not been detected with increasing fluoro contents. Upon annealing at 120 °C, there is a profound enrichment of the low‐surface energy component to the sample surface; yet this situation becomes more complex when samples are annealed at 150 °C—not only the segregation effect from the low surface energy PTFE, but also the crystallization of the PA 6 will come into play for the blend with 50% PTFE. These observations are ascribed to the presence of the polar group of the polyamide component, as well as its strong tendency to crystallize when subjected to thermal treatment at sufficiently high temperatures, and this behavior would basically offset the segregation tendency of fluoro component to the sample surface. This assumption is further corroborated by the XPS measurement in the current researches. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 138–152, 2007     

Miscibility evaluation of SPS/APS blend investigated from crystallization dynamics

The miscibility of crystalline syndiotactic polystyrene (SPS)/non-crystalline atactic polystyrene (APS) blend was estimated by the crystallization dynamics method, which evaluated the nucleation rate, the crystal growth rate and the surface free energy parameter. The melting temperature depression suggested that SPS/APS blends were the miscible system but not in molecular level. The relationship between the blend content and the chemical potential difference evaluated at a constant crystal growth rate showed a good linear relationship. These facts suggested that SPS/APS blends contained the concentration fluctuation with the size between few nm to less than 80 nm. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A new route to obtain PVDF/PANI conducting blends

Electrically conductive poly(vinylidene fluoride)(PVDF) - polyaniline blends of different composition were synthesized by chemical polymerization of aniline in a mixture of PVDF and dimethylformamide (DMF) and studied by electrical conductivity measurement, UV-Vis-NIR and FTIR spectroscopy. The samples were obtained as flexible films by pressing the powder at 180 °C for 5 min. The electrical conductivity showed a great dependence on the syntheses parameters. The higher value of the electrical conductivity was obtained for the oxidant/aniline molar ratio equal to 1 and p-toluenesulfonic acid-TSA/aniline ratio between 3 and 6. UV-Vis-NIR and FTIR spectra of the blend are similar to the doped PANI, indicating that the PANI is responsible for the high electrical conductivity of the blend. The electrical conductivity of blend proved to be stable as a function of temperature decreasing about one order at temperature of 100 °C. The route used to obtain the polymer blend showed to be a suitable alternative in order to obtain PVDF/PANI-TSA blends with high electrical conductivity.     

Reactive TiO2 Nanoparticles Compatibilized PLLA/PBSU Blends:Fully Biodegradable Polymer Composites with Improved Physical,Antibacterial and Degradable Properties

The fully biodegradable polymer blends remain challenges for the application due to their undesirable comprehensive performance.Herein,remarkable combination of superior mechanical performance,bacterial resistance,and controllable degradability is realized in the biodegradable poly(L-lactide)/poly(butylene succinate) (PLLA/PBSU) blends by stabilizing the epoxide group modified titanium dioxide nanoparticles (m-TiO2) at the PLLA-PBSU interface through reactive blending.The m-TiO2 can not only act as interfacial compatibilizer but also play the role of photodegradation catalyst:on the one hand,binary grafted nanoparticles were in situ formed and stabilized at the interface to enhance the compatibility between polymer phases.As a consequence,the mechanical properties of the blend,such as the elongation at break,notched impact strength and tensile yield strength,were simultaneously improved.On the other hand,antibacterial and photocatalytic degradation performance of the composite films was synergistically improved,it was found that the m-TiO2 incorporated PLLA/PBSU films exhibit more effective antibacterial activity than the neat PLLA/PBSU films.Moreover,the analysis of photodegradable properties revealed that that m-TiO2 nanoparticles could act as a photocatalyst to accelerate the photodegradation rate of polymers.This study paves a new strategy to fabricate advanced PLLA/PBSU blend materials with excellent mechanical performance,antibacterial and photocatalytic degradation performance,which enables the potential utilization of fully degradable polymers.     

Surface characteristics and hemocompatibility of PAN/PVDF blend membranes

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was blended with polyvinylidine fluoride (PVDF) at various ratios and made into membranes. The hemocompatibility of the resulting membranes was evaluated based on human plasma proteins adsorption, platelet adhesion, thrombus formation, and blood coagulation time. The PAN/PVDF blends exhibited partial miscibility according to the inward shifting of their two glass transition temperatures. The microstructures of blend membranes examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM) indicated that the roughness increased with the PVDF content, and the phase separation was too severe to form a membrane when the PVDF content was more than 30%. The water contact angle of PAN/PVDF blend membranes increased with the PVDF content. By blending with 20 wt% apolar PVDF the adsorption of blood proteins could be reduced, and hence the platelet adhesion and thrombus formation was also reduced. However, when the PVDF content was 30 wt%, severe thrombogenicity was observed due probably to the more porous structure of blend membrane. These results demonstrated that the hemocompatibility would be improved for PAN/PVDF blend membranes with appropriate hydrophilicity and roughness. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of top confinement and diluents on morphology in crystallization of poly(l‐lactic acid) interacting with poly(ethylene oxide)

Effects of top confinement and diluent poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) on poly(l ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) crystal morphology have been investigated. When crystallized at 120 °C, uncovered neat PLLA sample exhibits higher growth rate ringless spherulites; while the covered sample exhibits lower growth rate ring‐banded spherulites. As PEO is introduced into PLLA, the morphology also undergoes significant changes. For the same T_c,PLLA = 120 °C, the PEO/PLLA blend with PEO composition greater than 25% exhibits ring‐banded patterns even in uncovered sample. However, in much greater PEO composition (>80 wt %), uncovered samples exhibit ring bands diverging into dendritic patterns, while top covered samples tend to maintain the spiral ring‐band patterns. Both PEO inclusion in PLLA and top cover on films impose growth kinetic alterations. Additionally, the top glass cover tends to prevent the lower surface tension PLLA to be accumulated on the surface, resulting in the formation of ring‐band pattern. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1160–1170     

Structure formation of PVDF/PMMA blends studied

Conformational formation and crystallization dynamics of miscible PVDF/at-PMMA and PVDF/iso-PMMA polymer blends from the molten state were studied by the simultaneous DSC/FT-IR measurement. Formation of TGTG' conformation occurred before starting crystallization exothermic peak in the PMMA content (_PMMA) range from 0 to 0.4 for both blends. The formation rate of TGTG' conformation, crystal growth rate and surface free energy of PVDF crystal in blends depended linearly on _PMMA for PVDF/at-PMMA, however, those rates for PVDF/iso-PMMA slightly influenced by _PMMA. These results suggested that the former was miscible blend in molecular level, however, the latter was a miscible blend with large concentration fluctuation or a partially segregated system.     

PEBA/PVDF blend pervaporation membranes: preparation and performance

In the present research, novel polyether block amide (PEBA)/polyvinyldene fluoride (PVDF) blend pervaporation (PV) membranes were prepared for the removal of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) from the aqueous solution. The membranes obtained at PEBA/PVDF ratios of 100/0, 95/5, and 90/10 were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, water contact angle measurement, and tensile test. Moreover, the PV performance of the membranes was assessed via separation of IPA from the aqueous solution. The blended membranes exhibited higher hydrophobicity and separation factor as well as lower permeability in comparison with the pure PEBA membrane. The blended membrane that was prepared at PEBA/PVDF ratio of 95/5 was found as the optimum membrane providing PV separation index of 3171 that appeared to be the maximum value. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relaxation dynamics of blends of PVDF and zwitterionic copolymer by dielectric relaxation spectroscopy

Relaxation dynamics of PVDF blended with a random zwitterionic copolymer (r-ZCP) of methyl methacrylate and zwitterionic sulfobetaine-2-vinylpyridine (PMMA-r-SB2VP) were investigated using dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. FTIR spectroscopy was used to determine the PVDF crystal phase of compression molded blends. Adding 25 wt% of r-ZCP promoted the formation of the polar β and γ crystals over the nonpolar α phase. A structural model is proposed where the r-ZCP biases the PVDF to form polar crystal phases. Boyd's model was used to calculate the room temperature dielectric constants and led to good agreement with our measurements. Dielectric spectra of neat r-ZCP showed two relaxation peaks attributed to PMMA units, with no additional relaxations present from the zwitterions. Blends of PVDF with r-ZCP were dominated by the α_c relaxation associated with the crystalline phase of PVDF, which showed an Arrhenius temperature dependence. Analysis of the conductivity spectra shows a larger DC conductivity in the blends than in either r-ZCP or homopolymer PVDF. Blends show an additional peak in the loss tangent, absent in the copolymer or PVDF attributed to space-charge polarization. Higher DC conductivity and space-charge polarization indicate that the combination of zwitterions and unique microstructure affects charge transport properties.     

Isothermal crystallization of layered silicate/starch-polycaprolactone blend nanocomposites

The isothermal crystallization behavior of layered silicate/starch-polycaprolactone blend nanocomposites was studied by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements. The theoretical melting point was higher for the matrix than for nanocomposites. At low clay concentration, the induction time decreased and the overall crystallization rate increased acting as nucleating agent whereas at higher concentrations became retardants. Classical Avrami equation was used to analyze the crystallization kinetic of these materials. n values suggested that clay not only affected the crystallization rate but also influenced the mechanism of crystals growth. An Arrhenius type equation was used for the rate constant (k). Models correctly reproduced the experimental data.     

Molecular elucidation of morphology and mechanical properties of PVDF hollow fiber membranes from aspects of phase inversion, crystallization and rheology

This study explores the fundamental science of fabricating poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) hollow fiber membranes as well as elucidates the correlation among membrane morphology, crystallinity and mechanical properties as functions of non-solvent additives and dope rheology in the phase inversion process. A series of non-solvents (i.e. water, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol) are used either as non-solvent additives in the dope or as a component in the external coagulant. Depending on the strength of the non-solvent, the phase inversion of semi-crystalline PVDF membranes is dominated by liquid–liquid demixing or solid–liquid demixing accompanying crystallization. As a result, the membrane morphology transforms from an interconnected-cellular type to an interconnected-globule transition type with lower mechanical strengths when adding water, methanol, ethanol, or isopropanol into the spinning dopes or into the coagulation bath. The crystallinity and size of spherulitic globules in the morphology are controlled by the amounts of non-solvents presented in the systems. The rheological behavior of dope solutions is explored and the relationship between elongation viscosity and mechanical properties has been elaborated. Analytical methods and molecular dynamics simulations are employed to provide insights mechanisms from the views of thermodynamic and kinetic aspects as well as the state of polymer chains involved in the phase inversion process.     

Crystallization-induced composition inhomogeneities in PVDF/PMMA blends

Composition profiles develop around growing PVDF spherulites in a blend with PMMA. These profiles assume stationary courses after a certain crystallization time provided that the overall degree of crystallinity is not too high. The composition-dependent growth rate and the diffusion-controlled remove of the surplus PMMA from the spherulite surface are then in a stationary equilibrium. The internal structure of the spherulites will then be homogeneous, too. Upon isothermal crystallization of a PVDF/PMMA = 60/40 (wt %) blend at 160°C for at least 4 h, the spherulites internal degree of crystallinity x_c as related to the PVDF fraction obeys the inequality 55 wt % ≤ x_c ≤ 84 wt %. The overall PMMA content within the spherulites as averaged over its whole inside has been determined by IR microscopy. It amounts to about 15 wt %. In contrast, the PMMA content of the amorphous phase within the spherulites (averaged again over its whole inside) ranges between 28 and 52 wt %. This composition jumps at the spherulite surface to 52 wt %. From the slope of the composition profiles outside the spherulites that have a width of more than 50 μm, the effective chain diffusion coefficient in blends as averaged over both components can be calculated to amount to (250 ± 100) μm²h⁻¹. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 2923–2930, 1998     

Mechanical properties of polymer‐blend nanocomposites with organoclays: Polystyrene/ABS and high impact polystyrene/ABS

Thirty‐three polystyrene (PS)/acrylonitrile‐butadiene‐styrene (ABS) and high impact PS/ABS polymer blends with organoclay and copolymer additives were prepared by melt processing using different mixing sequences in order to test the putative capability of clay to perform a compatibilizing role in polymer blends. In general, the addition of clay increased the tensile modulus and had little effect on tensile strength. For the blends studied in this work, the addition of organoclays caused a catastrophic reduction in impact strength, a critical property for commercial viability. The polymer‐blend nanocomposites adopted a structure similar to that for ABS/clay nanocomposites as determined by X‐ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. It is suggested that clay reinforcement inhibits energy absorption by craze formation and shear yielding at high strain rates. Simultaneous mixing of the three components provided nanocomposites with superior elongation and energy to failure compared to sequential mixing. The clay pre‐treated with a benzyl‐containing surfactant gave the best overall properties among the various organoclays tested and of the two clay contents studied 4 wt % was preferred over 8 wt % addition. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2011     

Compatibilization of polypropylene/poly (ethylene oxide) blends and crystallization behavior of the blends

The compatibilization of incompatible polypropylene (PP)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) blends was studied. The experimental results showed that the graft copolymer [(PP-MA)-g-PEO] of maleated PP(PP-MA) and mono-hydroxyl PEO (PEO-OH) was a good compatibilizer for the PP/PEO blends in which PP-MA also had some compatibilization. The crystallization of the blends was affected by the compatibility between PP and PEO. The interfacial behavior of the compatibilizers had an important effect on crystallization behavior of the PP/PEO blends. PEO showed fractionated crystallization in the PP/PEO blends. This behavior was studied from the view point of the theory of fractionated crystallization. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Study of bundle formation during crystallization in polymer blends

The development of texture which exists in polymer spherulites grown from single phase melts containing an appreciable amount of noncrystallizable material was investigated. This texture generally consists of lamellar bundles separated by amorphous regions, both of which are typically 0.1–1 μm thick. A space–time finite element model previously developed by us was used to simulate the growth of a group of polymer lamellae. The model determines the impurity concentration field in the melt surrounding the growing lamellae and tracks the growth of each lamella. Important variables are the initial melt concentration of noncrystallizable material, the mass diffusion coefficient of noncrystallizable species, lamellar thickness, long period, and the rate of molecular attachment at the growth front. Under certain conditions, bundles did indeed develop during the simulations. These results were used to predict bundle thicknesses. The predictions of bundle texture were compared to actual textures observed in blends of syndiotactic and atactic polystyrene. It was found both experimentally and numerically that bundle thickness was a strong function of crystallization temperature and a relatively weak function of both the initial composition of noncrystallizable species and the degree of crystallinity of the lamellar stack. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 873–888, 1998     

Characterization of PVDF membranes by vibrational spectroscopy

In order to investigate the effectiveness of vibrational spectroscopy in the characterization of polymeric membranes, several poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membranes with different porous structures were prepared by the phase inversion process using different casting solvents. An accurate analysis of the Fourier transform Raman (FT-Raman) and the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra was performed for each sample and the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) results were noted. To highlight the specific problems related to porosity and surface roughness in the acquisition of spectra by different sampling techniques, the attenuated total reflection (ATR) and photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) spectra were compared with corresponding spectra obtained from dense films. A detailed analysis of these spectra highlighted their ability in determining the differences in the polymer structure between the two membrane sides. This indicates that (considering the results given by all the different techniques) thorough qualitative membrane characterization can generally be achieved. Moreover, the good quality spectra of the PVDF membrane provide information on a portion of material which depends on its structure, highlighting the usefulness of FTIR-PAS in studying porous materials which, as a rule, give low quality infrared spectra when other sampling techniques are used. However, the complex and inhomogeneous structure of these materials can make quantitative analysis more, or less, difficult.     

Compatibility of Polymer Blends Evaluated by Crystallization Dynamics. Simultaneous DSC-FTIR method

The mixing state of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and two amorphous polymers,poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(isopropyl methacrylate) (PiPMA) were investigated from the viewpoint of crystallization dynamics using simultaneous DSC-FTIR method. The crystallization rate (R ^*) and the growth rate of trans-gauche-trans-gauche’ (TGTG’) conformation (Rc ^*) depended on both the blend content (φ) and the crystallization temperature for PVDF/PMMA. The temperature and φ dependency of R ^* and Rc ^* were almost the same for PVDF/PMMA. However, R ^* and Rc ^* depended scarcely on f for PVDF/PiPMA, and the temperature dependency of R ^* differed from that of Rc ^* for PVDF/PiPMA. These results showed that PVDF and PMMA were miscible on molecular level, and that PVDF/PiPMA was immiscible and the concentration fluctuation existed in the PVDF-rich phase. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

超临界二氧化碳体系中PVDF微孔膜的表面接枝改性

超临界二氧化碳（SCCO2）是一种T〉31．1℃,P〉7．38MPa的二氧化碳流体,不仅具有类似于气体的粘度和类似于液体的密度,而且可以通过改变温度或压力控制SCCO2的密度及溶解性．SCCO2对有机小分子具有优良的溶解、扩散和渗透性能,化学惰性,无污染,易于分离,作为一种聚合反应介质,受到学术界日益增多重视．SCCO2极低的粘度使其具有良好的流动性和扩散渗透性能,零表面张力使其对聚合物具有良好的润湿和增塑性,这将促进引发剂和聚合单体向微孔膜的外表面及内表面扩散．利用温度和压力改变SCCO2的溶解性能调整单体在聚合物相和SCCO2相之间的分布,进而控制微孔膜内外表面的接枝程度．所以SCCO2接枝聚合反应对于聚合物膜的表面改性具有极其重要的意义．     

PVDF and HYFLON AD membranes: Ideal interfaces for contactor applications

Super-hydrophobic fluorinated membranes were tailored by combining traditional dry-wet phase inversion and wet chemical treatment techniques. PVDF and HYFLON AD 60X were selected as raw polymers for their chemical and mechanical resistance as well as hydrophobic and solvophobic properties. Membranes with modulated pore size, narrow distribution and high overall porosity were manufactured without using additional additives or modifiers. High resistance to liquid water entry pressure (LEPw), high mass transfer and low surface free energy of the membrane surfaces were fully achieved. The combination of these two fluorinated polymers improved dramatically the mechanical resistance and the water repellence of the PVDF membranes. Well-controlled structure combined with aimed supra-molecular chemistry makes these porous layers ideal interfaces to be processed in membrane contactor devices.     

Electrospun PVDF/Cloisite-30B and PVDF/BaTio3/graphene nanofiber mats for development of nanogenerators

The research work mainly focusses on the preparation of nanogenerators based on PVDF/Cloisite-30B and PVDF/BaTiO₃/Graphene polymer nano composites using electrospinning technique. The process parameters were designed and optimized by applying Taguchi's Design of Experiments with L₄ array. Morphology of the polymer composites were studied using Scanning Electron Microscopic images. β-phase Crystallinity of PVDF/Cloisite-30B and PVDF/BaTiO₃/Graphene was 85% and 80% respectively when it is estimated using FTIIR spectroscopic technique. The nanogenerator with PVDF/BaTiO₃/Graphene produced 3.65 V and the same was 3.5 V in case of PVDF/Cloisite-30B nano composites. Better crystallinity was observed in PVDF/Cloisite-30B fiber mats but improved sensitivity of PVDF/BaTiO₃/Graphene resulted in slight enhancement of output voltage. The result indicates the ability of polymer composites as nanogenerator for development of wearable self-powered electronic devices for smart sensing applications.