Effect of DBPH and vacuum gamma radiation on metallocenic ethylene-1-hexene and ethylene-1-octadecene copolymers

Two different post reactor processes were compared, ⁶⁰Co vacuum gamma irradiation and chemical modification with 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(tert-butylperoxy)-hexane (DBPH), on two metallocenic copolymers. These copolymers have a similar molecular weight and crystallinity, but different side chain lengths and concentration of end vinyl groups. The influence of the crosslinking agents on the structure of the samples was studied using gel extraction, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), FTIR spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The analysis of the data indicates that crosslinking reactions predominated over scission reactions in all cases. At the same conversion, peroxide modified samples show higher crosslinking levels than irradiated samples. The modified polymers show a complex rheological behavior and an increment in their rheological properties due to crosslinking. FTIR data demonstrated a depletion of vinyl terminal groups with the increment of the absorbed dose and the peroxide concentrations applied. This depletion was more significant in the peroxide crosslinked samples. A mathematical model that accounts for scission and crosslinking reactions fitted well the experimental data.     

Mechanical properties,surface chemistry,and barrier characteristics of electron beam irradiated‐annealed LDPE/PA6/LDPE multi‐layer films at N2

The effects of electron beam irradiation in the nitrogen environment, on chain scission, crosslinking, crystallinity, mechanical performance, and barrier properties of LDPE/PA6/LDPE multi‐layer films were studied. The evaluation of radiation‐induced crosslinking effect by the gel content measurement and Charlesby–Pinner plot suggested more of crosslinking over chain scission, in all the layers, which was more pronounced in polyethylene phase. The FTIR analysis results showed good agreement with those observed by the gel content measurements. It is believed that the crosslinking reaction had occurred through the C? N bonds in polyamide‐6, and vinyl group in polyethylene layers. The evaluation of radiation effect on the crystallinity and crosslinking of films by FTIR technique showed that by increasing the applied doses, the crystallinity in all the layers was decreased and the crosslinking was increased. The differential scanning calorimetry of irradiated samples revealed that due to the crosslinking reaction, the crystallinity was decreased by the applied dose. The tensile strength of the films was increased and the percent elongation at break was decreased, by increasing the applied doses. This study was also indicated that the radiation‐induced crosslinking effect on the tensile properties was dominantly observed up to 50 kGy. The surface free energy analysis of the films using the contact angle measurement and geometric mean equation indicated that the surface polarity was decreased by increasing the absorbed doses. It was found that due to the decline in the surface polarity and the simultaneously formation of crosslinked network in these films, both water vapor transmission rate and oxygen permeability were significantly decreased. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polymer morphology and random chain scission of nylon 66

Nylon 66 films with varying spherulite size but almost constant percentages of crystallinity were prepared (melt method). These films were degraded by NO₂ over a range of temperatures from 35 to 65°C. Random chain scission took place except in the initial stages at low temperatures at which some crosslinking occurred. Observation of the films with the extent of degradation under polarized light revealed that dark bands developed around and also inside spherulite boundaries that became wider with the extent of degradation. This indicates that amorphous material is formed during random chain scission; the spherulites remained practically intact, however. The experimental chain scission rate constants did not change essentially with spherulite diameter until small diameters were reached, at which time the rate constants increased noticeably. Degradation can be accounted for by chain scission in amorphous and interfacial regions; in the latter the rate constants increased with this area and in addition main chain links were weaker in fold regions, due to strain energy, than normal ones in amorphous regions. The energy of activation for chain scission was compatible with a predominantly diffusion-controlled process.     

Poly(ethylene oxide) irradiated in the solid state,melt and aqueous solution—a DSC and WAXD study

Interactions of the aggregate state of poly(ethylene oxide), PEO, and γ-irradiation conditions (total dose, atmosphere) on its thermal and crystalline properties were investigated by DSC and WAXD taking into account sample molecular mass and form. In PEO irradiated in the solid state and in the presence of oxygen, chain scission dominated over concurrent crosslinking up to 200 kGy, particularly in PEO powders, due to a large surface being in contact with air. In solid samples the degree of crystallinity and crystallite size increased with the dose up to 50 kGy, probably not just due to partial crystallization upon degradation of amorphous phase, but to recrystallization of broken tie molecules. The least changes in crystallinity and phase transformation temperatures occurred in solid films. A substantial decrease in crystallinity and transformation temperatures without the initial crystallinity increase was achieved in samples that were amorphous on irradiation, at temperatures above the PEO melting temperature and in aqueous solutions. Radiation crosslinking of the PEO aqueous solution in an inert atmosphere is the most suitable way to obtain a lower degree of crystallinity and phase transformation temperatures while preserving mechanical properties.     

过氧化物引发交联聚ε-己内酯的研究

以过氧化苯甲酰(BPO)为引发剂,对聚ε-己内酯(PCL)进行交联,研究了过氧化物含量,交联温度和交联时间对交联反应的影响,较高的交联温度可以提高BPO引发交联反应的速率.采用DSC、WAXD和DMA等方法对交联后聚ε-己内酯的结晶行为、玻璃化转变、力学性能及其生物降解特性进行了研究.结果表明,交联PCL的结晶度下降,熔点降低,玻璃化转变温度降低,但结晶温度有所提高.交联PCL的断裂伸长率和杨氏模量均下降.但是仍具有完全的生物降解能力.     

Ozonation of hydrocarbon diene elastomers: A mechanistic study

A study of the effects of ozonation on polybutadiene, polyisoprene, and several related hydrocarbon elastomers has shown that elastomers containing di-substituted double bonds (e.g., cis-1,4-polybutadiene) give crosslinked products as well as chain scission products in nonpolar solvents, whereas those containing tri-substituted double bonds (e.g., cis-1,4-polyisoprene) give chain scission products only. Both types of elastomer, however, give only chain scission products in polar solvents. Further investigation of the ozonation of elastomers, including the effect of ozonides of monoolefins and the solvent effect has led us to postulate that the chain scission involves the attack of a second ozone molecule on the preformed ozonide, and, the crosslinking is due to the attack of the biradical carbonyl oxide on the rubber.     

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.     

Thermal and shrinkage behaviour of stretched peroxide-crosslinked high-density polyethylene

The thermal shrinkage of stretched crosslinked high-density polyethylene (HDPE) was investigated with the aim to produce heat shrinkable materials. The heat shrinkable property was achieved by a process of heating-stretching-cooling by aid of tensile machine on crosslinked HDPE obtained by compounding with various amount of peroxide. Effect of stretching ratio and stretching temperature on thermal and shrinkage behaviour at varying peroxide contents was investigated. The results showed that crosslinking hindered the crystallization process by decreasing the melting and crystallization temperatures as well as the total degree of crystallinity. The stretching ratio had no significant effect on shrink temperature but rather on ultimate shrinkage. The stretching temperature had relatively significant influence on the shrink temperature. Crosslinked HDPE stretched at above melting point (140 °C) had higher shrink temperature as compared to those stretched at lower temperature (90 °C). These effects could be reasonably explained by Hoffman theory and changes in crystallites size and total amount of crystallinity.     

增塑化学微交联聚氯乙烯中化学交联和物理交联的协同作用

由氯乙烯／ 邻苯二甲酸二烯丙基酯（ＶＣ／ＤＡＰ） 悬浮共聚合成了化学微交联聚氯乙烯（ＰＶＣ） 树脂,并进行增塑加工．共聚得到的化学交联ＰＶＣ 具有溶胶／ 凝胶分配特性,交联密度较低;化学交联ＰＶＣ 的溶胶和凝胶均存在分子链缠结作用,尤其当凝胶含量较高时,物理缠结对凝胶交联密度有较大贡献．化学交联对增塑ＰＶＣ 结晶性的影响较小,因此在增塑化学微交联ＰＶＣ 中同时存在化学交联网络和以分子链物理缠结点和微晶为交联点的物理交联网络,两者协同影响增塑ＰＶＣ 材料的性能．     

Thermal rearrangement study of low molecular weight polybutadiene

Various polybutadienes (PBDs) of low molecular weight were heated below complete crosslinking at 250 °C under anaerobic nonpyrolytic conditions, and the structural changes were investigated. The predominant crosslinking reactions arise from the presence of 1,2-vinyl isomer and the most important one is intermolecular reaction accompanied with methyl group formation. The analysis showed that two crosslinking types as well as two types of methyl groups have been produced in which one was the result of 1,2-vinyl isomer of one chain crosslinked via methylene carbon of another chain of cis or trans isomer, and the second methyl group was the product of the reaction between 1,2-vinyl isomers of two PBD chains. Chain scission also occurred in two pathways due to the presence of 1,2-vinyl isomer, scission at two adjacent 1,2-vinyl isomer and scission at adjacent 1,2-vinyl with cis or trans isomer giving rise to methyl carbons.     

Degradation of polymers and morphology: Photo-oxidative degradation of isotactic polystyrene in presence of sulfur dioxide as function of polymer crystallinity

The photo-oxidative chain scission of isotactic polystyrene films has been studied as a function of the degree of crystallinity, SO₂, and NO₂ pressures, and temperature. The rate of chain scission increases in the presence of SO₂ with extent of crystallinity. It is assumed to be faster due to strain in and near the folds in the crystalline areas than in the amorphous regions. In the presence of NO₂, chain scission increases up to about 8% crystallinity but subsequently becomes constant with further increase in crystallinity. It is suggested that the diffusion rates of oxygen and nitrogen dioxide into the films decrease with increasing crystallinity. These two processes compensate each other.     

交联方法对交联聚乙烯结晶行为的影响

研究了硅烷交联聚乙烯和过氧化物交联聚乙烯由于结晶和交联的顺序不同而造成的结晶行为的差异，交联密度相同时，过氧化物交联聚乙烯的结晶度和熔点明显低于硅烷交联聚乙烯，交联聚烯非等温结晶动力学表明：交联前后聚乙烯的Ａｖｒａｍｉ指数ｎ基本不变，交联后，半结晶期ｔ１／２延长、结晶速率常数ＺＣ下降，其中过氧化物交联聚乙烯的变化幅度大于硅烷交联聚乙烯。     

Crosslinking of vinyl‐terminated biphenyl and naphthalene side‐chain liquid‐crystalline poly(epichlorohydrin) derivatives

We performed the crosslinking of vinyl‐terminated biphenyl and naphthalene side‐chain liquid‐crystalline polyethers using peroxide‐type initiators with and without the addition of tertiary amine promoters. The crosslinking temperatures were chosen in the range of mesophase stability to allow the mesophase order to be frozen. The biphenyl derivatives, with a high isotropization temperature, were crosslinked to a large extent. This led to anisotropic thermosets. To crosslink naphthalene derivatives, amine promoters were needed, but degrees of crosslinking were lower, and anisotropic elastomers were obtained. Crosslinking processes were studied by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The nature of the frozen mesophase was confirmed by X‐ray diffraction studies on mechanically oriented samples. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 2237–2244, 2002     

Effects of electron beam irradiation on poly(butylene adipate)diol

Effects of electron beam (EB) irradiation on poly(butylene adipate)diol (PBAD) were studied by means of GPC, DSC, and X-ray diffractometry. Below 5 Mrad, chain scission predominantly occurs, while above 10 Mrad, crosslinking and chain scission take place in parallel. Structure of EB-irradiated PBAD is mainly characterized by the main reactions, degradation and crosslinking. Crystallinity of PBAD increased by EB irradiation. This phenomenon was explained by reorganization due to high molecular mobility of EB-irradiated PBAD. But, increment of crystallinity decreased with increasing dose because of formation of crosslinking, excessive degradation and thermal effect of EB. As the result, the crystallinity of EB-irradiated PBAD with a high dose becomes lower than that of original PBAD by thermal treatment.     

Branching degree and rheological response correlation in peroxide‐modified linear low‐density polyethylene

Correlations between rheological behavior and degree of long chain branching (LCB) of linear low‐density polyethylene (LLDPE) upon a peroxide (dicumyl peroxide [DCP]) modification process under various conditions are discussed in this paper. The gel content analysis revealed negligible insoluble crosslinked fraction implying that incorporation of DCP to LLDPE predominately leads to branching rather than crosslinking. The slight changes in average molecular weight and molecular weight distribution induced by peroxide modification under various conditions revealed that formation of low‐molecular‐weight fractions due to chain scission is also negligible. The changes in terminal, trans, and pendant double bonds concentration of the modified samples with different amounts of peroxide were well depicted by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Considering insignificant changes in molecular weight and molecular weight distribution during peroxide modification, the deviation observed in zero‐shear‐rate viscosity (η₀) values of the modified LLDPE with that of power‐law equation related to the linear PEs could be reliably attributed to the presence of LCB in the peroxide modified samples. Increasing the DCP content at roughly constant molar mass led to increasing of η₀ values as a result of increased degree of LCB. The increase in η₀ values was ascribed to prolonged relaxation times of the polymer molecules due to the retarded reptation motion‐driven relaxation mechanism. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Curing of Styrene-Free Unsaturated Polyester Alkyd and Development of Novel Related Clay Nanocomposites

Thermoset unsaturated polyesters (UP) are usually obtained by crosslinking of alkyd chains dissolved in an unsaturated reactive monomeric diluent, usually styrene. Recently we found that UP-alkyd chains (without styrene) are intrinsically cured into a crosslinked matrix in the presence of peroxide. The thermal, mechanical, dynamic mechanical and chemorheological properties and the network molecular structure of the crosslinked UP-alkyd are a function of the peroxide content used. All properties change considerably upon the addition of small amounts of peroxide (between 1 and 2%wt.) and change to a lesser extent upon employing higher peroxide concentrations (up to 6%wt.). Due to co-occurrence of crosslinking and scission events, the crosslinked system contains both gel and sol fractions. The sol fraction demonstrates a plasticizing effect on the crosslinked network, affecting the thermal and mechanical properties of the crosslinked polymer. The new materials developed in this work are interesting for utilization in innovative styrene-free UP-alkyd/organo-clay nanocomposites. It was found that inducing high shear levels for prolonged durations promotes the intercalation and exfoliation of the silicate layers, resulting in a better dispersion of clay particles. Crosslinking of the UP-alkyd/organo-clay nanocomposites alters their nanostructure, particularly affected by the peroxide content used. Thus, depending on the content employed, either an exfoliated or a combined intercalated/exfoliated structure may be realized.     

间规聚丙烯过氧化物在多官能团单体存在下的交联

过氧化物交联;交联动力学;间规聚丙烯过氧化物在多官能团单体存在下的交联     

Ultraviolet‐induced crosslinking of poly(butylene succinate) and its thermal property,dynamic mechanical property,and biodegradability

Crosslinking is an effective way to improve polymer properties. This paper focuses on ultraviolet‐induced crosslinking of poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) in the presence of a photoinitiator and a crosslinking agent at ambient temperature. The effects of the concentration of photoinitiator, the crosslinking agent content, and the irradiation time on the crosslink behavior were investigated. To obtain an appropriate gel fraction in different irradiation times, 3.0 wt% of photoinitiator and 10.0 wt% of crosslinking agent were proved to be the optimum choice. Furthermore, properties such as thermal properties, dynamic mechanical property, and enzymatic degradation of PBS before and after crosslinking were examined. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis revealed that glass transition temperature (T_g) increased with increase in gel fraction, while melting temperature (T_m) and the degree of crystallinity decreased. This may be caused by the reduced molecular chain mobility and inhibited molecular motion for crystallization in crosslinked samples. The crosslinked polymer also showed improved thermal stability and dynamic mechanical property. In addition, the introduction of crosslinking retarded the enzymatic degradation rate of PBS, but it was still biodegradable. The improved properties of crosslinked PBS will extend the application of PBS. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Side chain crosslinking of aromatic polyethers for high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell applications

Novel aromatic polymers bearing polar pyridine units in the main chain and side chain crosslinkable hydroxyl and propargyl groups have been successfully synthesized. The polymers have been investigated in terms of their critical properties related to their application in high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, such as doping ability, mechanical properties, and thermal stability. Crosslinked membranes were prepared by direct crosslinking of hydroxyl side chain groups with decafluorobiphenyl used for the first time as a crosslinking agent. However, further functionalization of hydroxyl groups to the propargyl derivative has also led to crosslinked polymers after thermal curing. Both types of crosslinked membranes exhibited higher glass transition temperatures as well as lower doping levels when doped in phosphoric acid compared with the non crosslinked analogs, confirming the formation of a successfully crosslinked network. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Peroxide induced crosslinking and degradation of polyvinyl chloride

Peroxide induced crosslinking and degradation of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) were experimentally investigated using an on-line electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy technique. The reaction variables included temperature, peroxide type and concentration. A single line ESR spectrum was observed with its peak-to-peak width decreasing during the reaction. The mechanism involved in the reaction was elucidated based on the radical information. The radical concentration versus reaction time profile exhibited two distinct regions: the chemically initiated reaction continued by the thermal initiation. The addition of peroxide induced and significantly enhanced the thermal initiated crosslinking and degradation. The radical concentration data coupled with the extent of dehydrochlorination gave an estimate of the rate constant of polyene propagation. A significant decrease of the rate constant was observed during the reaction. The gel content and swelling ratio were also measured to provide additional information to the reaction process. The initial gelation rate increased with the increase of temperature and/or peroxide concentration. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 36: 851–860, 1998