The effects of dioctyl phthalate plasticization on the morphology and thermal,mechanical, and rheological properties of chemical crosslinked polylactide

The tensile strength and thermal stability of polylactide (PLA) were significantly improved through chemical crosslinking. However, it became much more rigid and brittle. To obtain a material with good thermal stability and enhanced ability to plastic deformation, chemical crosslinked PLA with 0.5 wt % triallyl isocyanurate and 0.5 wt % dicumyl peroxide was blended with different contents of dioctyl phthalate (DOP). The advantage of using DOP is that it does not crystallize, has low glass transition temperature, and is miscible with PLA. The morphology and the thermal and mechanical properties of the crosslinked PLA and the blends of crosslinked PLA with various contents of DOP were investigated by means of scanning electron microscope, differential scanning calorimetry, tensile test, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The rheological properties of samples were also explored by using a capillary rheometer. The results showed that the DOP was an effective plasticizer for the chemical crosslinked PLA, resulting in a significantly decreased T_g, lower yield stress, and improved elongation at break. The plasticization effect was enhanced by adding higher DOP content. In addition, the DOP enhanced the crystallinity of crosslinked PLA, and all the crosslinked samples showed better heat stability than neat PLA. The apparent viscosity of the blends decreased with the increase of DOP content and a phase separation occurred when the content of DOP exceeded 12.5 wt %. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 1136–1145, 2009     

含环氧端基酚酞聚芳醚腈的合成及表征

环氧树脂（ＥＲ）的冲击韧性和耐开裂性较差,因此,提高其抗冲强度而不显著影响力学性能和耐热性能是重要的研究课题．对于ＥＲ的增韧,以前主要采用液态橡胶．近年来,人们开始研究使用高性能热塑性树脂增韧ＥＲ［１～３］．聚醚腈（ＰＣＥ）是目前机械强度最高的热塑性...     

Mechanical properties and heat shrinkability of electron beam crosslinked polyethylene–octene copolymer

The mechanical properties and heat shrinkability of electron beam crosslinked polyethylene–octene copolymer were studied. It was found that gel content increases with increased radiation dose. The analysis of results by the Charlesby–Pinner equation revealed that crosslinking was dominant over chain scission upon irradiation. Formation of a crosslinked structure in the electron beam irradiated sample was confirmed by the presence of a plateau of dynamic storage modulus above the melting point of the polymer. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction revealed that there was little change in crystallinity for the irradiated samples, indicating that radiation crosslinking occurs in the amorphous region of the polymer. The tensile modulus increases, whereas the elongation at break decreases with increased radiation dose. The heat shrinkability of the material increased with an increased radiation dose because the radiation-induced crosslinks serve as memory points during the shrinking process.     

Cone calorimeter analysis of flame retardant poly (methyl methacrylate)-silica nanocomposites

Nanocomposite is a promising method to reduce fire hazards of polymers. Specifically due to increased interfacial area between polymer and nanofillers, polymer nanocomposites have an advantage in reducing fire hazards efficiently even when the flame retardant additives are at a concentration of 5 mass% or less. In theory, crosslinking between the polymer chains can create a carbon-dense structure to enhance char formation, which can further promote the flame retardancy. However, little research has been done to explore the flammability of crosslinking polymer nanocomposites with a low concentration of nanosilica particles. In this study, crosslinked and non-crosslinked poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposites of a low concentration of nanosilica particles have been prepared via an in situ method. Their fire properties were tested by using the cone calorimeter at the heat flux of 50 kW m^?2. Although silica-containing flame retardants tend to negatively affect the ignitability and soot production especially at a high concentration, through the condensed phase mechanism, the samples of high loading rate of nanosilica particles show better fire retardancy performance in the aspect of flammability, including decreased heat release rate, mass loss rate, and total heat release. Additionally, crosslinking indeed attributes to the less intensive combustion of crosslinked PMMA samples, especially at a low concentration of nanosilica. The combination of nanosilica particles with the modification of the internal structure of the polymer nanocomposites might be a good strategy to improve fire retardancy.     

电子束辐照法制备交联共混物聚(ε-己内酯)/苯乙烯-丙烯腈共聚物的结晶动力学研究

将线形聚(ε-己内酯)(PCL)、苯乙烯-丙烯腈共聚物(SAN)和三烯丙基异三聚氰酸酯(TAIC)熔融共混,通过电子束辐照法制备了3组凝胶含量不同的交联PCL和PCL/SAN共混物样品.采用相差显微镜(PCOM)观察发现PCL与SAN具有良好的相容性.利用示差扫描量热法(DSC)和偏光显微镜(POM)研究了交联PCL和PCL/SAN共混物的等温结晶动力学和非等温结晶行为.结果表明,当体系交联程度相近时,交联聚己内酯的结晶动力学随SAN含量的增加而明显减慢.在SAN含量相同时,交联聚己内酯的结晶速率随交联程度增大而减小.对分离提取的线形和交联组分进行结晶动力学的研究则表明SAN引入对PCL的结晶速率起到了关键性的抑制作用.     

Monocomponent Waterborne Polyurethane Adhesives: Influence of the Crosslinking Agent on Their Properties

To improve the properties of the monocomponent waterborne polyurethane (WPU) adhesives, a series of crosslinked WPU were prepared with trifunctional polyester polyol (P210) as crosslinking agent. The crosslinked WPU dispersions and their films were characterized by conventional methods. The adhesion property of the samples was measured from T-peel test of leather/WPU adhesive/leather joints. Compared with the linear one, the crosslinked WPU exhibited low viscosity, small particle size, and low surface tension. For crosslinked films, the thermal stability, water resistance and mechanical properties were remarkably enhanced. The experimental data of T-peel test indicated that the adhesive strength significantly increased to 4.8 KN/m by crosslinking up to the optimum crosslink index of 1.2 and then showed a small decrease with excess.     

Some composting and biodegradation effects of physically or chemically crosslinked poly(lactic acid)

Polylactide (PLA) crosslinked by using both triallyl isocyanurate (TAIC) and electron radiation or using dicumyl peroxide (DCP) was studied with the aim of examining the behaviour of the modified polymer under various environmental conditions. Thus, the polymer samples were subjected to composting in an industrial pile, exposed to proteinase K, or incubated in sea water. The number-average molecular weight (M_n), melt flow index (MFI), crystallinity (χ), tensile strength (σ_M) and mass loss (in the case of samples treated with proteinase K) were determined. It was found that neat PLA irradiated with high-energy electrons underwent degradation that increased during composting. As a result, the value of M_n of this polymer dramatically decreased. It appeared that PLA crosslinked with TAIC and electron radiation contained, in addition to the crosslinked phase, a phase strongly degraded by this radiation, which facilitated hydrolytic degradation during composting. The σ_M value of PLA crosslinked with TAIC and electron radiation rapidly decreased during composting, whereas that of PLA crosslinked chemically and composted for three weeks slightly increased. As the electron radiation dose increased, the mass loss of PLA containing TAIC and treated with proteinase K decreased, which indicated that the physical crosslinking of PLA hindered enzymatic degradation of this polymer. Important changes in both neat and physically crosslinked PLA incubated in sea water for nine weeks were not detected.     

Crosslinking of Polydimethyl Siloxane Copolymers with Aromatic Dianhydrides: The Study of Thermal and Flame Retardant Properties †

Aromatic dianhydrides have been identified as potential candidates for crosslinking with biocatalytically synthesized siloxane copolymers containing a functional amino group on the isophthalate moieties. We present the synthesis, characterization, thermal and flame retardant properties of this novel class of crosslinked organo-siloxane copolymers. We also discuss the effect of the concentration of one of the crosslinkers, 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (DAH), on thermal decomposition and flame retardant properties using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and pyrolysis combustion flow calorimetry (PCFC) studies. The char yields were improved in all the polymers crosslinked with the various aromatic dianhydrides. The heat release capacity of a polymer crosslinked with 20% DAH, compared to the pure polymer, was tremendously reduced from 190 J/gK to 100 J/gK. The decomposition kinetics from TGA showed that the crosslinked polymer is thermally more stable than the non-crosslinked polymer.     

Grafting on polybutadiene with polytetrahydrofuran macroperoxyinitiators. Postpolymerization studies

Grafting reactions of polybutadiene with macro peroxy initiators and postpolymerization were studied. The cationic polymerization of tetrahydrofuran (THF) initiated by the cationic species derived from bis-(4-bromomethylbenzoyl) peroxide (BBP) or bis-(3,5-dibromomethylbenzoyl) peroxide (BDBP) gave the PTHF macroperoxy initiator (MPI). PTHF-b-PMMA macroperoxy initiator (MPIb) was also obtained by the redox polymerization of methyl methacrylate initiated with the hydroxyl ends of PTHF and Ce(IV) salts without decomposing the peroxide groups in the middle. Macroperoxy initiators thermally grafted on cis-polybutadiene (PBD) with thermal curing to yield graft copolymers containing crosslinked and soluble parts, which were separated by the sol-gel analysis. FTIR spectra of the crosslinked samples indicated the characteristic signals of the PTHF, PBD and PMMA blocks. The crosslinked copolymers decomposed at around 470 °C. Postpolymerization of the crosslinked products indicated the increase in crosslinking density which has been followed by measuring the gradual increase of swelling values. Postpolymerization crosslinking was estimated as a first order reaction rate.     

Low-temperature specific heat of polystyrene and related polymers (1.6° to 4°K)

The specific heat of polystyrenes of different origin and molecular weight, of α-substituted and ortho-substituted polystyrenes, and of polystyrenes crosslinked with different amounts of divinylbenzene have been measured between 1.6 and 4°K. The specific heat of all samples shows a temperature dependence that can not be explained by assuming a Debye frequency spectrum for the vibrational modes in these polymers. Good agreement is obtained by fitting the data to a superposition of a Debye T³ term and an Einstein specific heat with a characteristic temperature of 15–18°K. This localized frequency mode may have its origin in the one-dimensional nature of the polymer chain. A simple calculation of the length of a polystyrene chain necessary to obtain these characteristic temperatures shows reasonable agreement with the number of Einstein oscillators observed in the samples.     

Polymeric catenanes from crosslinked poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) and cyclic poly(dimethylsilozane)

Poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) has been crosslinked in the presence of large poly(dimethylsiloxane) cyclics (92 repeating units). Approximately 26% by weight of the cyclics were threaded and permanently captured by the polymer network forming a topological isomeric structure referred to as a polymeric catenane. Nonentrapped cyclics were extracted with chloroform. Chemical analyses and micrographs showed evidence for crosslinking and cyclic entrapment, while physical testing demonstrated distinct differences in physical properties such as the glass transition temperature, ultimate mechanical properties, and dynamic viscoelastic response between the crosslinked control samples, and those containing cyclic poly(dimethylsiloxane).     

Template polymerization of N-vinylimidazole along poly(methacrylic acid) in water. VI. Crosslinked PMAA as template

The effect of crosslinked poly(methacrylic acid) (c-PMAA) on the polymerization of N-vinylimidazole in aqueous solution was studied using UV, calorimetry, SEM, and TEM. It was established that synthetic lightly crosslinked PMAA samples behaved intermediate between rigid crosslinked PMAA particles functioning as microreactors, and linear conventional PMAA, where template and conventional polymerization in the surrounding solution are integrated. A modified calorimetric technique was used to measure monomer conversion, and to correct for the rapid adsorption process. Rate enhancements up to a factor of 4 were obtained for the c-PMAA's, which were lower than those obtained for linear conventional PMAA, and which slightly decreased with increasing crosslink density of the samples. Template complexes possessed a platelet-like morphology similar to template complexes obtained for linear PMAA.     

环氧氯丙烷橡胶的热可逆共价交联

以环戊二烯二羧酸钾 [DCPD(COOK) 2 ]为交联剂 ,采用溶液反应法使环氧氯丙烷橡胶 (环氧氯丙烷均聚物 ,CER)交联 ,制得了凝胶含量达 88 75 %的交联CER ,研究了溶剂种类、反应温度、催化剂及交联剂用量对凝胶形成量的影响 .IR谱证明 ,DCPD(COOK) 2 与CER发生双端酯化而交联 ;反应溶解性试验表明 ,该共价交联聚合物具有热可逆转化特性 ,热可逆转化百分率随反应温度的提高、交联剂用量的增多而下降     

荧光法研究交联聚苯乙烯氯甲基化过程的结构形态衍变

本文以St/DVB凝胶、St/DVB超髙交联凝胶为参比网络结构,用荧光光谱方法跟踪研究了St/DVB交联凝胶氯甲基化反应过程中网络结构形态的衍变.发现随着凝胶中氯百分含量的增加,其苯基激基缔合物320nm荧光谱带趋于消失;在最初反应阶段.苯基多环聚集体420nm荧光谱带强度迅速上升.而后急剧下降,同时在488nm左右出现一新的荧光谱带,与超高交链凝胶荧光谱带相近似:红外光谱证实了氯甲基化凝胶中亚甲基交联桥的增加.结果表明,伴随氯甲基化反应发生的后交联反应可使交联凝胶疏松网络区结构趋向紧密,使溶剂难以逾渗的微凝胶核松弛解体,从而使St/DVB交联凝胶网络涨落趋向均匀.     

FLUORESCENCE STUDIES ON MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGE OF ST/DVB CROSSLINKED GELS DURING CHLOROMETHYLATION

1. INTRODUCTION Crosslinked polymer gels have solid-liquid dual performance, which play an important role in modern high technology [1]. A wide variety of functional and intelligent materials can be prepared via chemical modification of crosslinked polym…     

Thermal‐crosslinked polyacrylonitrile fiber compacts

Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) textile fibers, in the form of fabrics or threads, were compacted in a heat‐pressure cycle and crosslinked by nitrile polymerization to form a thermoset composite article, whose mechanical properties were found to surpass those of commercially available polypropylene (PP) fiber counterparts. Additional advantages of the PAN compacts included their significant thermal stability (>300°C, i.e., twice that of PP) in addition to their flame retardancy, thereby rendering them as the structural material of choice for applications where heat protection and fire resistance are essential. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

稀土掺杂PVC的紫外及微波交联研究

聚氯乙烯 (ＰＶＣ)是我国目前产量最大 ,应用面最广的高分子原材料。但其耐热性、稳定性及抗老化性都较差。我们考虑到使用稀土掺杂以改进其相关性能 ,同时掺入了少量从水玻璃中提取出来的活性硅醇到ＰＶＣ中以增加其柔性 ,探索了紫外辐射交联和微波辐射交联对ＰＶＣ机械力学性能的影响。本文采用ＰＶＣ流延膜来进行辐射交联并测定样品的力学性能。结果发现 ,稀土掺杂的结果使得样品的扯断伸长率大幅度提高 ,拉伸强度上升显著。而添加活性硅醇后ＰＶＣ流延膜的扯断伸长率进一步提高 ,拉伸强度则下降 ,柔性得以提高。将氯化钕溶于 95 %的乙醇…     

Properties of crosslinked polylactides (PLLA & PDLA) by radiation and its biodegradability

Crosslinked materials derived from poly(lactide) (PLA) have been produced by radiation modification in the presence of a suitable crosslinker (triallyl isocyanurate) (TAIC). The crosslinking structure introduced in PLA films has not only much improved the heat stability but also their mechanical properties. The properties of crosslinked samples are governed by crosslinking density and these improvement seemed to increase with radiation dose. This implied that the three dimensional networks have been introduced in material by radiation and the crosslinking density depended on the structure and length of PLA chains. Biodegradability of PLA was also determined by an enzymatic degradation test and burying in compost at 55 °C. Differing with PLLA, PDLA was insignificantly degraded by proteinase K. The degradation rate of PLA in compost was postponed with the introduction of crosslinks.     

Improvements of physical and mechanical properties of electron beam irradiation—crosslinked EVA foams

In this work, ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer foams were prepared and crosslinked by using high‐energy electron beam (e‐beam) radiation (10 MeV). The effect of parameters such as irradiation dose, the contents of foaming agent, radiation activator, and radiation sensitizer on improvement of physical and mechanical properties of the EVA foamed samples were investigated. The foams were obtained through a four‐step process of melt mixing, forming, crosslinking, and foaming. During the melt mixing process EVA was compounded with different amounts of azodicarbonamide (ADCA) as a blowing agent, zinc oxide (ZnO) as a radiation activator, and trimethylol propane‐trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) as a radiation sensitizer. The samples were compression molded into flat sheets at low temperature (110°C) and were then radiation‐crosslinked by 20–80 kGy e‐beam. Finally, the crosslinked samples were converted to foams by a high temperature (210°C) compression molding process. The foamed samples were analyzed in terms of gel content, density, compression molding set, tensile properties, and micro‐structural features. It was found that an increase in absorbed radiation dosage increases crosslink density, elasticity, percentage recovery, tensile strength, and compression properties of the EVA foams. Due to the increased recovery the percentage of compression set was reduced. Similarly increasing the TMPTMA content in the formulation increased the crosslink density and the resulting mechanical properties. Contrary to these findings, addition of ADCA led to the formation of extra gases which in turn reduced the crosslink density, and resulted in the deterioration of the mechanical properties and hence an increase in the compression set. However, addition of ZnO and TMPTMA led to the formation of smaller and more uniform cell size with improved mechanical properties. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ultrafine hydrogel fibers with dual temperature‐ and pH‐responsive swelling behaviors

Ultrafine hydrogel fibers that were responsive to both temperature and pH signals were prepared through the electrospinning of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm) and poly(acrylic acid) mixtures in dimethylformamide. Both the diameters (700 nm to 1.2 μm) and packing of the fibers could be controlled through changes in the polymer compositions and PNIPAAm molecular weights. These fibers were rendered water‐insoluble by the addition of either Na₂HPO₄ or poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to the solution, followed by the heat curing of the fibers. The fibers crosslinked with Na₂HPO₄ swelled to 30–120 times in water; this was significantly higher than the swelling of those crosslinked with PVA. The PVA‐crosslinked hydrogel fibers, however, exhibited faster swelling kinetics; that is, they reached equilibrium swelling in less than 5 min at 25 °C. They were also more stable after 1 week of water exposure; that is, they lost less mass and retained their fibrous form better. All the hydrogel fibers showed a drastic increase in the swelling between pH 4 and 5. The PVA‐crosslinked hydrogel fibers exhibited distinct temperature‐responsive phase‐transition behavior of PNIPAAm, whereas the Na₂HPO₄‐crosslinked hydrogel fibers showed altered two‐stage phase transitions that reflected side‐chain modification of PNIPAAm. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 6331–6339, 2004