Hollow glass microspheres coated with CoFe2O4 and its microwave absorption property

Spinel CoFe₂O₄ coating on the surface of hollow glass microspheres of low density was synthesized by co-precipitation method. The phase structures, morphologies, particle size, shell thickness, chemical compositions of the composites have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that CoFe₂O₄ coating on hollow glass microspheres can be achieved, and the coating layers are constituted by CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles of mean size ca. 10 nm. The as-synthesized powder materials were uniformly dispersed into the phenolic cement, then the mixture was pasted on metal plate with the area of 200 mm×200 mm as the test plate. The test of microwave absorption was carried out by the radar-absorbing materials (RAM) reflectivity far field radar cross-section (RCS) method. The results indicate that the coated CoFe₂O₄/hollow glass microspheres composites can be applied in lightweight and strong absorption microwave absorbers.     

ICF靶用空心玻璃微球耐压性能测试

 利用自行研制的空心微球耐外压装置和充气装置，测试了目前激光惯性约束聚变实验打靶使用的空心玻璃微球耐内压能力和耐外压能力。空心玻璃微球采用液滴法制备，直径为180～250 mm、壁厚为0.8~4.0 mm。理论计算表明，当微球纵横比超过90时，耐外压能力与球壳材料的杨氏模量有关，由此测量得到的空心玻璃微球杨氏模量为55~75 GPa。玻璃微球的耐内压能力主要与球壳材料的抗拉强度有关，实验测量得到的玻璃微球抗拉强度为90~140 MPa。     

用多孔玻璃膜管悬浮聚合法制备单分散性聚苯乙烯微球

Monodisperse polystyrene microspheres are prepared by shell porous glass(SPG)-suspension polymerization. The influences of SPG on size and size dispersity of the microspheres are investigated. The properties of the microspheres are studied by GPC, TEM and SEM. The results indicate that the polystyrene microspheres possess definite monodispersibity and their particle size is in the range of 5～12μm.     

Phase separation induced by shear quenching in polymer blends with a diblock copolymer

The effects of adding A–B diblock copolymer to a polymer blend (A/B) on phase‐separation kinetics and morphology have been investigated in a fixed shallow‐quench condition (ΔT = 1.5 °C) by in situ time‐resolved light scattering and phase‐contrast optical microscopy. A shear‐quench technique was used in this study instead of a conventional temperature‐quench method. Mixtures of nearly monodisperse low relative‐molecular masses of polybutadiene (M_w = 2.8 kg/mol), polystyrene (M_w = 2.6 kg/mol), and a near‐symmetric butadiene–styrene diblock copolymer (M_w = 6.3 kg/mol) as an interfacial modifier were studied. We observed that the addition of the diblock copolymer could either retard or accelerate the phase‐separation kinetics depending on the concentration of the diblock copolymer in the homopolymer blends. In contrast to the conventional temperature quench, we observed complex phase‐separation kinetics in the intermediate and late stages of phase separation by the shear‐quench technique. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci B: Polym Phys 39: 819–830, 2001     

Phosphorous disulfide and its ions in the electronic ground state: a gas phase theoretical study

Ab initio molecular orbital theory and density functional theory calculations were performed on the electronic ground states of the open-shell PS₂ molecule and its singly charged ions. A comparison of the optimized molecular structures indicates as the stepwise one-electron reduction of the PS₂⁺ ion, to yield PS₂ and PS₂⁻, provokes a symmetric elongation of both PS bonds along with a bending of its linear equilibrium geometry. The ionization potential (IP), adiabatic electron affinity (EA_ad), and atomization energy (AE) of the open-shell PS₂ molecule were calculated at different levels of theory. The following values were obtained at the more realistic UMP4SDTQ/6-311+G(3df)//UHF/6-311+G(3df) level of theory: IP=8.32 eV, EA_ad=3.03 eV and AE=12.40 eV. At the same level of theory, the calculated vertical detachment energy (VDE) of the PS₂⁻ anion is 3.22 eV. The donor–acceptor complexes formed in the gas-phase upon interaction of either one or two ammonia molecules with PS₂⁺ were also investigated. The calculated gas-phase binding energies indicate that the formation of the bis-adduct is favored over that of the mono-adduct by a binding energy gain of about 20 kcal/mol.     

Facile method to prepare monodispersed Ag/polystyrene composite microspheres and their properties

This article presents a facile method to prepare silver/polystyrene composite microspheres. In this approach, monodispersed polystyrene (PS) particles were synthesized with carboxyl acid groups on the surfaces of the PS particles via dispersion polymerization at first. With the addition of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ to the PS dispersion, [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ was absorbed to the surfaces of the PS particles, and then by heating the system, [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ complex ions were reduced to silver to form the Ag/PS composite microspheres. In the synthesis of PS dispersion, PVP was used as dispersant to stabilize the PS particles, it also acted as reducing agent in the reduction of [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺ complex ions to silver, so no additional reducing agent was needed. The resulting composite microspheres were characterized by TEM, SEM, XPS, and XRD. The catalytic properties and surface‐enhance Raman scattering (SERS) was studied as well. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 4547–4554, 2009     

Synthesis and properties of porous polyvinylamine microspheres from acrylonitrile

A novel route to synthesize crosslinked porous polyvinylamine (PVAm) microspheres from acrylonitrile (AN) was developed. In the first step, crosslinked porous polyacrylonitrile (PAN) spheres were prepared by copolymerization of AN and divinylbenzene (DVB). Then they were hydrolyzed to form polyacrylamide (PAM) spheres. And lastly, the porous PVAm spheres were successfully obtained via Hofmann degradation of PAM spheres. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) indicated that these PVAm microspheres have rough surfaces and porous interior structure. The pore size, the amino content, and the content of equilibrium water were also investigated. The pore size of these PVAm microspheres increased with the hydrolytic process. The contents of equilibrium water was changed from 49.6 to 96.5% depending on the different crosslinking degrees, and the amino contents were varied between 9.60 and 15.30 mmol/g depending on the different molar ratio of n(NaClO)/n(NaOH). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 46: 1674–1682, 2008     

Improvement of interfacial adhesion in PP/PS blends enhanced with supersonic atmosphere plasma spraying surface‐treated carbon fiber

The effects of surface treatment of a carbon fiber (CF) by supersonic atmosphere plasma spraying (SAPS) on the interfacial adhesion behavior and morphology of polypropylene/polystyrene (PP/PS) matrix blends filled CF composites were investigated. Effects of surface treated a commercial CF on mechanical properties are studied. Contact angle was measured to examine the changes in wettability of the CF. The chemical and morphological changes were characterized by using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. PP/PS/CF composites were fabricated with and without SAPS treatment, and their interlaminar fracture toughnesses were compared. The results showed that the interlaminar shear strength of composites has been greatly improved filled SAPS modification CF. The water contact angle of resin sample decreased 50% after addition of SAPS surface‐treated CF. Scanning electron microscopy results on the fractured surface exhibited PP/PS blends adhered well around the CFs of the SAPS‐treated specimen compared with that of the untreated specimen. This attributed to the CF interlock, and it improves the wetting between fibers and resins. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large impact in electrical properties of polypropylene by improving the filler-matrix interface effect in PP/PS blends

Inorganic nanoparticles are widely used to improve space charge behavior, DC breakdown strength and other electrical properties of polymer insulating materials, but the uniform distribution of inorganic nanofillers in matrix is difficult due to their agglomeration and bad compatibility with the polymeric matrix. In this paper, polypropylene (PP)/polystyrene (PS) blends were prepared to suppress space charge accumulation and improve DC breakdown strength. Polypropylene-g-polystyrene (PP-g-PS) graft copolymer was used as compatibilizer to improve the compatibility of PP matrix and PS filler. The evolution of microstructure of PP/PS blends were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM), the space charge distributions were measured by a pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) system, and DC breakdown strength was also tested. The morphologies show that the size of PS particles reduced to 310 nm when the content of PP-g-PS graft copolymer increased to 24 wt%, and the interaction between PP matrix and PS particles enhanced. The presence of PS particles in all PP/PS blends suppressed the space charge accumulation compared to neat PP, but the DC breakdown strength in uncompatibilized blend was lower than neat PP. The increasing of content of PP-g-PS improved the DC breakdown strength with the maximum value of 408.9 kV/mm was obtained. This may attribute to excellent interface structure formed between PP matrix and PS particles.     

Dissolution of sintered thorium dioxide in phosphoric acid using autoclave and microwave methods with detection by gamma spectrometry

A quantitative and fast method of dissolution of refractory thoria (ThO₂) was developed for the determination of thorium (Th) in a given sample. The dissolution of sintered ThO₂ powder, microspheres and pellets using 88% phosphoric acid was investigated. The conditions of quantitative dissolution of ThO₂ microspheres were optimized by conventional heating in autoclave and also by microwave heating. 100 mg of sintered ThO₂ microspheres were dissolved in 8 g of phosphoric acid in an autoclave, and heating at 170 °C for 3 h, in comparison to 5 g of phosphoric acid by microwave heating (375 W) at 220 °C for 1 h. Dissolution studies on the powder form of sintered ThO₂ were also performed. 1 g of sintered ThO₂ powder could be dissolved in 6.5 g of phosphoric acid in autoclave heating at 170 °C for 1 h. Strong complexing of (PO₄)³⁻ with Th⁴⁺ may be the influencing factor for quantitative dissolution of ThO₂.