Synthesis and thermal behavior of a novel UV‐curable transparent flame retardant film and phosphorus‐nitrogen synergism of flame retardancy

A novel phosphorus monomer (PDHA) has been synthesized through phenyl dichlorophosphate (PDPC) reacting with 2‐hydroxyethyl acrylate (HEA). The structure of PDHA was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (¹H NMR). A series of UV curable resins were manufactured by blending PDHA with triglycidyl isocyanurate acrylate (TGICA) at different weight ratios. The fire performance was examined by micro‐scale combustion calorimeter (MCC) and limiting oxygen index (LOI). The results obtained from MCC indicated that the addition of PDHA to TGICA reduced the HRR and HRC. In addition, the LOI values varied from 28 to 34. The char residues of the composites were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Their thermal degradation behavior was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and real time FTIR analysis (RT‐FTIR). The test results indicated that when the weight ratio of PDHA/TGICA = 1:1, the onset temperature of the composite was highest and the most char residue at 700°C was observed. RT‐FTIR showed that the phosphate group of PDHA first degraded to form poly(phosphoric acid)s at around 300°C, which had the major contribution to form the compact char to protect the sample from further degradation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Identification and quantitative analysis of the intermediate phase in a linear high-density polyethylene

The observation of chain conformation and mobility in polyethylene by solid-state ¹³C magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) permits unambiguous identification and quantitative analysis of an intermediate phase. The carbon-carbon bonds in the intermediate phase adopt, on the average, an all-trans conformation and are more mobile than in the crystalline state (room temperature rate of reorientation ≈ 10⁷ Hz). Comparisons of crystallinities by differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle x-ray diffraction, and NMR support the high orientation of the intermediate phase and suggest a lower heat of fusion than for the crystals. Results from ¹³C spin-lattice relaxation and ¹H spin diffusion show that the mass fractions are ≈ 20% and the domain sizes ≈ 36 Å. Both change with crystallization and annealing conditions. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Hydrothermal treatment of microcrystalline cellulose under mild conditions: characterization of solid and liquid-phase products

Microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) particles were subjected to hydrothermal treatment using an autoclave with temperatures ranging from 200 to 250 °C and reaction times ranging from 20 to 100 min. The structure and chemical composition of the reacted solid phase was analyzed by X-ray diffraction, thermo-gravimetric analysis, FTIR spectroscopy and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy. The relative composition of the water-soluble products was determined by one-dimensional ¹H-NMR and two-dimensional homo and hetero-nuclear NMR spectroscopy. Within the experimental temperature and treatment time ranges, the crystallinity of the reacted solid phase was found to be mostly dependent on the treatment temperature while the aqueous solution was found to change with both temperature and treatment time. At the maximum temperature employed in this study (250 °C), the solid products are similar to amorphous oxidized carbon with glucose as the main water-soluble product. At lower temperatures the particles are unconverted MCC and the liquid products are primarily levulinic acid, formic acid and acetic acid with smaller quantities of 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural and glucose. Heterogeneous and liquid phase reaction-schemes are proposed to explain the observed solid and water-soluble products as a function of temperature and treatment time.     

Photoinduced ionic polymerization. VII. Cationic polymerization of cyclohexene oxide in solid state

Photopolymerization of cyclohexene oxide in the presence of electron acceptors was studied in a bulk system (in liquid as well as in solid states). The polymerization was proved to proceed by a cationic mechanism in both states by the effect of inhibitors. In a liquid phase the light intensity dependence of the rate of polymerization and the molecular weight distribution showed a contribution of a free ionic polymerization. Any discontinuous phenomenon in the rate as well as in the molecular weight was not discerned between liquid(above ?36°C) and plastic crystal (between ?36 and ?81°C) phases. A quantum yield of monomer consumption as high as 8 × 10³ was observed in the plastic crystal phase. Below ?81°C in the normal crystal phase the rate as well as the molecular weight was remarkably suppressed.     

Polarized infrared spectroscopic study on changes in molecular orientation and interaction during phase transitions of a ferroelectric liquid crystal with a naphthalene ring

Temperature-dependent polarized infrared spectra were measured over the temperature range 105-30°C for a ferroelectric liquid crystal with a naphthalene ring (FLC-1) in the isotropic, smectic A (SmA), and chiral smectic C (SmC*) phases to investigate its molecular conformation, interactions, and alignment in each phase. It has been found, from the temperaturedependent spectral changes in the 1610-1600 cm^-1 region, that the degree of twist between the naphthalene and benzene rings of FLC-1 changes with temperature. The peak intensity of the band at 1606 cm^-1 containing contributions from both the benzene and naphthalene ring stretching modes begins to decrease, not suddenly but gradually, upon going from the SmA phase to the SmC* phase, suggesting that the molecular orientation of the two rings changes gradually between the two phases. The frequencies of two CH₂ stretching bands suggest that the disorder of the alkyl chain of FLC-1 is similar for the liquid crystal phase and the isotropic liquid phase. The splitting of the core C=O stretching band indicates that the resonance system consisting of the benzene ring and the C=O group in the core part of FLC-1 is involved in two kinds of intermolecular interaction between adjacent molecules in the liquid crystal phase.     

Effect of dilution on a block copolymer in the complex phase window

The phase behavior of a styrene–isoprene (SI) diblock copolymer, with block molecular weights of 1.1 × 10⁴ and 2.1 × 10⁴ g/mol, respectively, is examined in the neutral solvent bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DOP) and the styrene-selective solvent di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP). DBP is a good solvent for PS, but is near a theta solvent for PI at approximately 90°C. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), rheology, and static birefringence are used to locate and identify order–order (OOT) and order–disorder transitions (ODT); all three techniques gave consistent results. The neat polymer adopts the gyroid (G) phase at low temperatures, with an OOT to hexagonally-packed cylinders (C) at 185°C, and the ODT at 238°C. Upon dilution with the neutral solvent DOP, the C window is diminished, until for a polymer concentration ϕ = 0.65, a direct G to disorder (D) ODT is observed. These results reflect increased stability of the disordered state, based on the different concentration scalings of the interaction parameter, χ, at the OOT and ODT. The OOT follows the dilution approximation, i.e., χ_OOT ∼ ϕ⁻¹, but the ODT is found to follow a stronger concentration dependence, i.e., χ_ODT ∼ ϕ^−1.4, similar to the scaling of ϕ^−1.6 found previously for lamellar SI diblocks in toluene and DOP. Addition of the selective solvent DBP produces dramatic changes in the phase behavior relative to DOP and the melt state; these include transitions to lamellar (L) and perforated layer (PL) structures. The observed phase sequences can be understood in terms of trajectories across the SI melt phase map (temperature vs. composition): addition of a neutral solvent or increasing temperature corresponds to a “vertical” trajectory, whereas adding a selective solvent amounts to a “horizontal” trajectory. When the solvent selectivity depends on temperature, as it does for the SI/DBP system, increasing temperature results in a diagonal trajectory. For both neutral and selective solvents the domain spacing, d*, scales with ϕ and χ as anticipated by self-consistent mean-field theory. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 36: 3101–3113, 1998     

Thermotropic and barotropic phase transitions of dialkyldimethylammonium bromide bilayer membranes: effect of chain length

The bilayer phase transitions of dialkyldimethylammonium bromides (2C(n)Br; n = 12, 14, 16) were observed by differential scanning calorimetry and high-pressure light-transmittance measurements. Under atmospheric pressure, the 2C(12)Br bilayer membrane underwent the stable transition from the lamellar crystal (L(c)) phase to the liquid crystalline (L(α)) phase. The 2C(14)Br bilayer underwent the main transition from the metastable lamellar gel (L(β)) phase to the metastable L(α) phase in addition to the stable L(c)/L(α) transition. For the 2C(16)Br bilayer, moreover, three kinds of phase transitions were observed: the metastable main transition, the metastable transition from the metastable lamellar crystal (L(c(2))) phase to the metastable L(α) phase, and the stable lamellar crystal (L(c(1)))/L(α) transition. The temperatures of all the phase transitions elevated almost linearly with increasing pressure. The temperature (T)-pressure (p) phase diagrams of the 2C(12)Br and 2C(14)Br bilayers were simple, but that of the 2C(16)Br bilayer was complex; that is, the T-p curves for the metastable main transition and the L(c(2))/L(α) transition intersect at ca. 25 MPa, which means the inversion of the relative phase stability between the metastable phases of L(β) and L(c(2)) above and below the pressure. Moreover, the T-p curve of the L(c(2))/L(α) transition was separated into two curves under high pressure, and as a result, the pressure-induced L(c(2P)) phase appeared in between. Thermodynamic quantities for phase transitions of the 2C(n)Br bilayers increased with an increase in alkyl-chain length. The chain-length dependence of the phase-transition temperature for all kinds of transitions observed suggests that the stable L(c(1))/L(α) transition incorporates the metastable L(c(2))/L(α) transition in the bilayers of 2C(n)Br with shorter alkyl chains, and the main-transition of the 2C(12)Br bilayer would occur at a temperature below 0 °C.     

Calorimetric study of the isotropic to nematic phase transition in an aligned liquid crystal nano‐colloidal gel

A high‐resolution calorimetric study of the specific heat (C_p ) has been carried out for the isotropic to nematic phase transition in an aligned liquid crystal (octylcyanobiphenyl ‐ 8CB) and aerosil nano‐colloid gel. A stable alignment was achieved by repeated thermal cycling of the samples in the presence of a strong uniform magnetic field, which introduces anisotropy to the quenched random disorder of the silica gel. In general, the specific heat features of the I?N transition in aligned (anisotropic) gel samples are consistent with those seen in random (isotropic) gel samples, namely the observance of two C_p peaks and non‐monotonic transition temperature shifts with increasing silica concentration. However, larger transition temperature shifts with silica density, modification of the phase conversion process in the two‐phase coexistence region, and a larger effective transition enthalpy are observed for the aligned samples. The lower‐temperature aligned C_p peak is larger and broader while exhibiting less dispersion than the equivalent peak for the random gel. This may be a consequence of the alignment altering the evolution from random‐dilution‐dominated to random‐field‐dominated effects. The exact origin of the larger transition temperature shifts is uncertain but the larger enthalpy suggests that the nematic state is different in the aligned system than in random gels. The general non‐monotonic behaviour of the transition temperature is interpreted using dimensional analysis as a combination of an effective elastic stiffening of the liquid crystal combined with a liquid crystal and aerosil surface interaction energy.     

Solid state characterizations and analysis of stability in azelnidipine polymorphs

Azelnidipine, a new dihydropyridine calcium ion antagonist, was protected by patent in Japan. In present study, identifications of the crystal phases, including two polymorphic and a pseudopolymorphic crystal forms of azelnidipine, were attempted using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), IR-, Raman-, THz-, and ss-NMR-spectroscopy. PXRD identified three different crystal forms, while, spectroscopy analysis provided the information of crystal structure involving intermolecular interactions. The transition thermodynamics of the azelnidipine polymorphs were extensively investigated by solubility method. The solubility of the two polymorphs of α and β in 50% ethanol at 25, 31, 37, 42, and 49°C was investigated; the values obtained were used to calculate the thermodynamic parameters of the transition reaction. The temperature of polymorphic phase transition in 50% ethanol was 50.78°C, and the values of ΔGα,β^θ, ΔHα,β^θ, and ΔSα,β^θ at 25°C were －1.18?kJ·mol^－1, －14.81?kJ·mol^－1, and －45.73?J·mol^－1·K^－1, respectively. Form β was proved to be thermodynamic stable form at room temperature and enantiotropically related with form α. The kinetics of the solid-state decomposition, studied using DSC analysis, showed that the activation energies of decomposition of the polymorphs α and β at high temperatures were 148.67 and 151.93?kJ·mol^－1.     

Spectroscopic studies on the influence of 10 mol% of glycine on nonlinear optical crystal L-valinium picrate

Nonlinear optics is a fascinating field, which plays a vital role in the emerging field of photonics and optoelectronics. A new nonlinear optical crystal of glycine mixed l-valine picrate (GVP) have been grown from saturated aqueous solution by slow evaporation method at a temperature of 36 °C using a constant temperature bath of accuracy of ±0.01 °C. The synthesized organic optical material has been purified by repeated recrystallization. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis has been made to determine the cell parameters and it confirms the crystal lattice to be orthorhombic. UV–vis-NIR spectrum have recorded for GVP crystals in the range from 190 nm to 1100 nm and it is found that the crystal has cut-off at 450 nm. Fourier transform infrared transmission has confirmed the presence of the functional group present in the title compound. The spectrum has been recorded by KBr pellet technique. The ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra have been recorded to elucidate the molecular structure of GVP crystals. The second harmonic generation (SHG) of the grown crystal have been confirmed by Kurtz–Perry method using Nd:YAG laser as source.     

Untersuchungen an Natriumtrifluormethylsulfonat – Kristallstruktur und Phasenumwandlung des Monohydrats und Natriumionenleitfähigkeit des wasserfreien Salzes

Studies on Sodium Trifluormethanesulfonate – Crystal Structure and Phase Transition of Sodium Trifluormethanesulfonate Monohydrate and Sodium Ion Conductivity of Anhydrous Sodium Trifluormethanesulfonate According to the results of temperature dependent powder diffractometry (Guinier-Simon-technique) sodium trifluormethanesulfonate monohydrate is dimorphous. The phase transition occurs at ?35°C. The room-temperature modification crystallizes monoclinic in space group P2₁/c with the lattice parameters a = 941.6(5) pm, b = 654.3(2) pm, c = 1062.4(5) pm and β = 107.73(2)°. The crystal structure consists of double layers of trifluormethanesulfonate anions, the lipophilic CF₃-groups pointing at each other. Sodium is coordinated by four oxygen atoms from four different anions and by two molecules of crystal water. The resulting polyhedron may be addressed as a distorted octahedron. The low-temperature modification crystallizes orthorhombic in space group Pnma with the lattice parameters a = 645.31(9) pm, b = 538.03(9) pm, c = 1745.3(3) pm. The loss of crystal water occurs at 136°C. Anhydrous sodium trifluormethanesulfonate shows a phase transition at 252°C. The high-temperature modification is a good sodium ionic conductor (σ = 4.1 · 10^?1 Ω^?1 cm^?1 at 250°C).     

The H2-phase of the lyotropic liquid crystal sodium 3,4,5-tris(omega-acryloyloxyundecyloxy)benzoate

The phase behaviour of the lyotropic liquid crystal sodium 3,4,5-tris(omega-acryloyloxyundecyloxy)-benzoate was investigated by small angle X-ray scattering. The water content of the lyotropic liquid crystal phase was varied between 8 and 20wt% and the investigations were performed in a temperature range up to 70^oC. A reversed hexagonal structure (H₂-phase) as well as the isotropic phase were observed. The lattice constant of the H₂-phase was found to be independent of the water content. An extremely small dependence on temperature could be found. Based on the shape of the molecules and the observed structural properties, a model for the arrangement of the molecules within the H₂-phase is given. The transition temperature from the H₂-phase to the isotropic phase decreases significantly from 60^oC for the sample with 8wt% water content to 30^oC for the sample with 20wt% water content.     

Morphological phase behaviour under pressure of polycatenar mesogens with a perfluorinated moiety

Two polycatenar materials composed of a four-aromatic-ring core with a perfluorinated moiety attached in one terminal position through either butylene- or pentylene spacer groups, and three tetradecyloxy chains at the other end (abbreviated as 14PC₄F and 14PC₅F), were investigated to study the effect of pressure on the phase transition behaviour. A polarizing optical microscope equipped with a high pressure optical hot stage, was used for the purpose. The T vs. P phase diagrams of 14PC₄F and 14PC₅F were constructed in the pressure region up to 100 MPa. 14PC₄F showed the stable crystal (Cr₁)-columnar tetragonal (Col_tet)-smectic A (SmA)-columnar hexagonal (Col_h)-isoropic liquid (I) phase transition sequence under all pressures. 14PC₅F exhibited the phase sequence metastable crystal (Cr₂)-cubic (Cub)-Col_tet-SmA-I in a melt-cooled sample on heating under pressure. But when the melt-cooled Cr₂ sample was annealed at 52-54°C for 2-3 h, the stable crystal (Cr₁) was formed slowly, giving a stable Cr₁-Cub-Col_tet-SmA-I phase sequence. The temperature region of the stable cubic phase broadened with increasing pressure. Furthermore a new mesophase of 14PC₅F was pressure-induced between the I and SmA phases on cooling at pressures above about 16 MPa. Since the monotropic mesophase exhibited a texture very similar to that of the high temperature Col_h phase of 14PC₄F with planar orientation, the new phase was assigned at a high temperature columnar hexagonal phase of 14PC₅F.     

Zur Thermochemie und Struktur von Berylliumchlorid

Thermochemistry and Structure of Beryllium Chloride BeCl₂ is dimorphous, with a transition point at 405°C. The transition enthalpy and transition entropy have been determined by solution calorimetry: Δ_UH° = 2.9 kJmol^?1 and Δ_US° = 9.7 JK^?1mol^?1. The previously known SiS₂-type structure of BeCl₂ is that of the high temperature phase. The structure of the phase stable at room temperature has been determined from single crystal data. a = 1 062.4(6) pm, c = 1 804(2) pm, I4₁/acd, Z = 32, R = 0.038 (Mg(NH₂)₂-type). The structure consists of P₄O₁₀-like [Be₄Cl₆Cl_4/2]-units, connected by their terminal anions.     

二乙二醇十八烷基醚单甲基丙烯酸酯及其聚合物的制备和表征简

以二乙二醇十八烷基醚和甲基丙烯酰氯为原料,采用醇钠-酰氯法合成了二乙二醇十八烷基醚单甲基丙烯酸酯(DEGOEMA),并利用自由基聚合得到聚(二乙二醇十八烷基醚单甲基丙烯酸酯)(PDEGOEMA). 采用凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)分析测试了PDEGOEMA的分子量和分子量分布. 通过傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、核磁共振氢谱(1H NMR)、差示扫描量热(DSC)、热重(TG)和X射线衍射(XRD)对DEGOEMA和PDEGOEMA的结构、相变行为、热稳定性和晶体结构进行了研究. 结果表明,这种新型单体及其聚合物是一种具有稳定的结构、良好的结晶性能、高相变焓及良好热稳定性的相变材料. PDEGOEMA的起始吸热温度为41 ℃,起始放热温度为36 ℃,热焓为73 J/g,在314 ℃以下热稳定性良好,可用于加工或使用温度较高的环境.     

二乙二醇十八烷基醚单甲基丙烯酸酯及其聚合物的制备和表征

以二乙二醇十八烷基醚和甲基丙烯酰氯为原料, 采用醇钠-酰氯法合成了二乙二醇十八烷基醚单甲基丙烯酸酯(DEGOEMA), 并利用自由基聚合得到聚(二乙二醇十八烷基醚单甲基丙烯酸酯)(PDEGOEMA). 采用凝胶渗透色谱(GPC)分析测试了PDEGOEMA的分子量和分子量分布. 通过傅里叶变换红外光谱(FTIR)、 核磁共振氢谱(¹H NMR)、 差示扫描量热(DSC)、 热重(TG)和X射线衍射(XRD)对DEGOEMA和PDEGOEMA的结构、 相变行为、 热稳定性和晶体结构进行了研究. 结果表明, 这种新型单体及其聚合物是一种具有稳定的结构、 良好的结晶性能、 高相变焓及良好热稳定性的相变材料. PDEGOEMA的起始吸热温度为41 ℃, 起始放热温度为36 ℃, 热焓为73 J/g, 在314 ℃以下热稳定性良好, 可用于加工或使用温度较高的环境.     

Thermal stability of shear-induced precursor structures in isotactic polypropylene by rheo-X-ray techniques with couette flow geometry

Combined in situ rheo-SAXS (small-angle X-ray scattering) and -WAXD (wide-angle X-ray diffraction) studies using couette flow geometry were carried out to probe thermal stabilty of shear-induced oriented precursor structure in isotactic polypropylene (iPP) at around its normal melting point (162 °C). Although SAXS results corroborated the emerging consensus about the formation of “long-living” metastable mesomorphic precursor structures in sheared iPP melts, these are the first quantitative measures of the limiting temperature at which no oriented structures survive. At the applied shear, rate = 60 s⁻¹ and duration t_s = 5 s, the oriented iPP structures survived a temperature of 185 °C for 1 h after shear, while no stable structures were detected at and above 195 °C. Following Keller's concepts of chain orientation in flow, it is proposed that the chains with highly oriented high molecular weight fraction are primarily responsible for their stability at high temperatures. Furthermore, the effects of flow condition, specifically the shear temperature, on the distributions of oriented and unoriented crystals were determined from rheo-WAXD results. As expected, at a constant flow intensity (i.e., rate = 30 s⁻¹ and duration, t_s = 5 s), the oriented crystal fraction decreased with the increase in temperature above 155 °C, below which the oriented fraction decreased with the decrease in temperature. As a result, a crystallinty “phase” diagram, i.e., temperature versus crystal fraction ratio, exhibited a peculiar “hourglass” shape, similar to that found in many two-phase polymer–polymer blends. This can be explained by the competition between the oriented and unoriented crystals in the available crystallizable species. Below the shear temperature (155 °C), the unoriented crystals crystallized so rapidly that they overwhelmed the crystallization of the oriented crystals, thus depleting a major portion of the crystallizable species and increasing their contribution in the final total crystalline phase. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 44: 3553–3570, 2006     

Temperature‐dependent polymorphic crystalline structure and melting behavior of poly(butylene adipate) investigated by time‐resolved FTIR spectroscopy

The polymorphic crystalline structure and melting behavior of biodegradable poly(butylene adipate) (PBA) samples melt‐crystallized at different crystallization temperatures were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The crystalline structure and melting behavior of PBA were found to be greatly dependent on the crystallization temperature. By comparison of the FTIR spectra and the corresponding second derivatives between the α‐ and β‐crystal of PBA, the spectral differences were identified for the IR bands appeared at 1485, 1271, 1183, and 930 cm^?1 and the possible reasons were presented. Especially, the 930 cm^?1 band was found to be a characteristic band for the β‐crystal. Combining the DSC data with the analysis of normalized intensity changes of several main IR bands during the melting process, the melting behaviors of the α‐ and β‐crystal were clarified in detail. It is demonstrated by the in situ IR measurement that the β‐crystalline phase would transform into the α‐crystalline phase during the melting process, and the solid–solid phase transition from the β‐ to α‐crystal was well elucidated by comparing the intensity changes of the 1170 and 930 cm^?1 bands. The dependence of the β‐ to α‐crystal phase transition on the heating rate was revealed by monitoring the intensity ratio of the 909 and 930 cm^?1 band. It was suggested that at the heating rate of 0.5 or 1 °C/min, the percent amount of the transformed α‐crystal from the β‐crystal was much higher than that at the higher heating rate. The β‐crystal transforms into the α‐crystal incompletely at the higher heating rate because of the less time available for the phase transition. In addition, the β‐ to α‐crystal phase transition was further confirmed by the IR band shifts during the melting process. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 1997–2007, 2009     

Synthesis of novel poly(aminophosphonate ester)s flame retardants and their applications in EVA copolymer

Novel oligomeric intumescent flame retardants, poly(amino phosphonate ester)s (PAPEs), containing both phosphorous and nitrogen, were synthesized by reacting diethyl phosphite with two different polyschiff bases obtained from the reaction of diamines with dialdehyde. The target PAPEs (designated as PAPE‐d and PAPE‐e, respectively) were characterized by ¹H NMR, ³¹P NMR, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, gel permeation chromatography and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. Thermal stability and flammability of ethylene‐vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA)/PAPE blends with various PAPE content were investigated by TGA, limited oxygen index (LOI), vertical burning test (UL‐94) and microscale combustion colorimeter (MCC). The results indicate that PAPEs effectively improve the flame retardancy of EVA. The EVA/30%PAPE‐e blend has a LOI value of 28, and its peak heat release rate (PHRR) value in MCC measurement is reduced by 36%. At the same time, the EVA/PAPE blends also have high yield of residual char, indicating that PAPEs are effective charring agents. Scanning electron microscopy observations of the residues of the EVA/PAPE blends show the existence of compact char layer on the surface of the residues, which is responsible for the improvement of the flame retardancy of EVA. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Melt Behaviour of Poly(p-xylylene) (PPX) Coated Gel-spun UHMW-PE Fibers As Revealed by Temperature Modulated DSC

The method of temperature modulated DSC has been applied to obtain additional information about the effect of constraints on the melting behaviour of gel-spun ultra high molecular mass polyethylene (UHMW-PE) fibers coated with a high temperature stable poly(p-xylylene) (PPX) polymer. The underlying signal, corresponding to the normal DSC signal, reveals two endothermic peaks for the coated PE fibers. A shift in the underlying and magnitude signal from 142 to 145°C at 0.1 K min^–1 , a relative small magnitude signal, together with a vanishing step-like change in the phase signal with increasing PPX coating layer thickness characterize the constraints in terms of a hindrance of the melting of the unconstrained orthorhombic crystal fraction. The time constant of the melting process can be estimated as larger than the reciprocal angular frequency 1/ω=5 s of the modulation. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.