Tensile modulus of polymer nanocomposites

Based on Takayanagi's two-phase model, a three-phase model including the matrix, interfacial region, and fillers is proposed to calculate the tensile modulus of polymer nanocomposites (E-c). In this model, fillers (sphere-, cylinder- or plate-shape) are randomly distributed in a matrix. If the particulate size is in the range of nanometers, the interfacial region will play an important role in the modulus of the composites. Important system parameters include the dispersed particle size (t), shape, thickness of the interfacial region (tau), particulate-to-matrix modulus ratio (E-d/E-m), and a parameter (k) describing a linear gradient change in modulus between the matrix and the surface of particle on the modulus of nanocomposites (E-c). The effects of these parameters are discussed using theoretical calculation and nylon 6/montmorillonite nanocomposite experiments. The former three factors exhibit dominant influence on E-c At a fixed volume fraction of the dispersed phase, smaller particles provide an increasing modulus for the resulting composite, as compared to the larger one because the interfacial region greatly affects E-c. Moreover, since the size of fillers is in the scale of micrometers, the influence of interfacial region is neglected and the deduced equation is reduced to Takayanagi's model. The curves predicted by the three-phase model are in good agreement with experimental results. The percolation concept and theory are also applied to analyze and interpret the experimental results.

Reactive reinforcement of the interface of poly(ether sulfone)/poly(phenylene sulfide) polymer blend by PMR-POI

The effect of polymerization of monomer reactant-polyimide (POI) as the interfacial agent on the interface characteristics, morphology features, and crystallization of poly(ether sulfone)/poly(phenylene sulfide) (PES/PPS) blends were investigated using a scanning electron microscope, FTIR, WAXD, and XPS surface analysis. It was found that the interfacial adhesion was enhanced, the particle size of the dispersed phase was reduced, and the miscibility between PES and PPS was improved by the addition of POI. It was also found that POI was an effective nucleation agent of the crystallization for PPS.

Preparation of Pt/C catalyst with solid phase reaction method

The PVC catalyst was prepared with solid phase reaction method (Pt/C(S)) for the first time. Its performances were compared with that prepared by the traditional liquid phase reaction method. The results demonstrate that the electrocatalytic activity of PVC catalyst with solid phase reaction method for methanol oxidation is higher than that with liquid phase reaction method. XRD and TEM measurements indicate that the Pt/C(S) possesses low crystalline extent and small particle size.

Preparation and characteristics of polyimide-TiO2 nanocomposite film

A sol-gel approach has been developed to prepare polyimide-TiO2, hybrid films fi om soluble polyimides and a modified titanium precursor. The rate of the hydrolysis reaction of titanium alkoxide can be controlled by using acetic acid as a modifier. FTIR and XPS indicated that TiO2, particles were well distributed in polyimide matrixes with particle size small per than 60 nm. Polyimide hybrid films having the TiO2, component less than or equal to 10% exhibited high thermal stability, high optical transparency and good mechanical properties and possessed higher dielectric constants than correspondingly polyimides. (C) 2000 Society of Chemical Industry.

A new preparation of zinc sulfide nanoparticles by solid-state method at low temperature

A novel solid-state method of the preparation of zinc sulfide nanoparticles is reported. By solid-state reaction of zinc acetate and thioacetamide at low temperature, zinc sulfide nanoparticles of different sizes were prepared. The temperature of preparation varied from room temperature to 300 degrees C. The particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), differential thermal analysis (DTA), and photoluminescence spectrum. X-ray diffraction patterns revealed that the particles exhibited pure zinc-blende crystal structure and that particle size increased with increasing temperature. The TEM micrograph showed that the mean particle size was about 40 nm for the sample heated at 100 degrees C. A blue shift was observed in the photoluminescence emission spectrum. A possible mechanism of the reaction corresponding to our observation is proposed, (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Brittle-tough transition in PP/EPDM blends: effects of interparticle distance and tensile deformation speed

The toughness of polypropylene (PP)/ethylene-propylene-diene monomer rubber (EPDM) blends containing various EPDM contents as a function of the tensile speed was studied. The toughness of the blends was determined from the tensile fracture energy of the side-edge notched samples. A sharp brittle-tough transition was observed in the fracture energy versus interparticle distance (ID) curves when the crosshead speed < 102.4 mm/min. It was observed that the brittle-ductile transition of PP/EPDM blend occurred either by reducing ID or by decreasing the tensile speed. The correlation between the critical interparticle distance and tensile deformation rate was compared with that between the critical interparticle distance and temperature for PP/EPDM blends. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electrochemical synthesis of Ag nanoparticles on functional carbon surfaces

In this paper, we present a new method of fabricating metal nanoparticles on carbon substrates through molecular design. Scanning tunneling microscopy measurements show that the electrochemically synthesized Ag nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed on the modified highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface with a narrow particle size distribution. Moreover, the size and number density of Ag nanoparticles on the grafted HOPG surface can be easily changed through control of the experimental conditions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Tremolite-reinforced nylon 66 composites: Mechanical and rheological properties

The reinforcement effect of an acicular inorganic filler, tremolite, on nylon 66 was studied. The mechanical properties of tremolite-filled nylon 66 composites and the effect of the filler particle size on them were obtained. The dynamic mechanical properties and rheological properties of the composites were measured. Two treatments, silane and unsaturated polyester, were used to improve the interface between tremolite and the nylon matrix. The morphologies of the composites were investigated using SEM. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Toughening of nylon with epoxidised ethylene propylene diene rubber

Blends of nylon-6 and epoxidised ethylene propylene diene (eEPDM) rubber were prepared through reactive mixing. It is found that the toughness of nylon-6 can be much improved by this method, and that the particle size of eEPDM is much smaller than that of unexpoxidised EPDM (uEPDM) rubber in a nylon-6 matrix. This indicates that the epoxy group in eEPDM could react with a nylon-6 end group to form a graft copolymer which could act as an interfacial compatibiliser between the nylon-6 and the eEPDM rubber dispersed phase. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preparation of highly dispersed gold microparticles and their electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of formaldehyde

The electrochemical preparation of highly dispersed Au microparticles on the surfaces of glassy carbon (GC) electrodes and their electrocatalytic activities for the oxidation of formaldehyde were studied. It was found that the reduction of Au3+ to Au is controlled by diffusion and the formation mechanism of Au microparticles on the GC surfaces corresponds to an instantaneous nucleation and diffusion-controlled three dimensional growth process. The particle size is about 80-90 nm in diameter after the electrochemical ageing treatment. These highly dispersed Au microparticles have high surface areas and exhibit better electrocatalytic activity than that of bulk-form Au toward the electrochemical oxidation of formaldehyde in alkaline media.

Synthesis and properties of cerium oxide nanometer powders by pyrolysis of amorphous citrate

CeO2 nanometer powders of different sizes were prepared at low temperature by pyrolysis of amorphous citrate. XRD patterns show that CeO2 is cubic in structure, space group O-h(5)-F-M3M. TEM indicates that the prepared CeO2 is spherical in shape, and the particle size distribution is in narrow range. It was found that calcination temperature is a more important factor affecting the crystallite size of CeO2 than calcining time, the smaller the particle, the bigger the crystal lattice distortion, the worse the crystal growth. Solubility test of CeO2 in nitric acid reveals that the surface activity of CeO2 decreases with the increasing particle sizes. IR spectra analysis shows that the absorption of Ce-O bond is shifted to higher energy with the decrease of CeO2 particle sizes.

The influence of heat treatment on structures of the aggregated state of polyamide-1010

The structural parameters of the aggregated state of polyamide (PA)-1010 annealed at various temperatures were computed by means of the desmearing intensity from Smalt Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) measurements and by using the concept of the distance distribution function. The results indicated that the structural parameters of the aggregated state were strongly dependent upon heat treatment conditions and the maximum values of the structural parameters were obtained for the samples annealed at T = 175 degrees C. The particle size Z annealed at different temperature was ranged between 8.1-12.8nm, and the values of the distance distribution function P-max(Z) were obtained when Z = 4.0-6.8 nm. Using one dimension electron density correlation function (1D EDCF) method long period (L) and thickness of the lamellar (d(0)) were estimated and were found to increase with the increase of the degree of crystallinity.

The phase inversion and morphology of nylon 1010 polypropylene blends

Noncompatibilized and compatibilized blends of nylon 1010/PP blends having five different viscosity ratios were prepared by melt extrusion. Glycidyl methacrylate-grafted-polypropylene (PP-g-GMA) was used as the compatibilizer to enbance the adhesion between the two polymers and to stabilize the blend morphology. The effect of the viscosity ratio on the morphology of nylon 1010/polypropylene blends was investigated, with primary attention to the phase-inversion behavior and the average particle size of the dispersed phase. The relationship between the mechanical properties and the phase-inversion composition was investigated as well. Investigation of the morphology of the blends by microscopy indicated that the smaller the viscosity ratio (eta(PP)/eta(PA)) the smaller was the polypropylene concentration at which the phase inversion took place and polypropylene became the continuous phase. The compatibilizer induced a sharp reduction of particle size, but did not have a major effect on the phase-inversion point. An improvement :in the mechanical properties was found when nylon 1010 provided the matrix phase. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

APPLICATION OF THE MOMENT METHODS TO ANALYSIS OF X-RAY-DIFFRACTION LINE-PROFILE FOR PA1010-BMI SYSTEM

Pure X-ray diffraction profiles have been analysed for polyamide 1010 and PA1O1O-BMI system by means of multipeak fitting resolution of X-ray diffraction. The methods of variance and fourth moment have been applied to determine the particle size and strain values for the paracrystalline materials. The results indicated that both variance and fourth moment of X-ray diffraction line profile yielded approximately the same values of the particle size and the strain. The particle sizes of (100) reflection have been found to decrease with increasing BMI content, whereas the strain values increased.

MORPHOLOGY AND DYNAMIC-MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF NYLON 66/POLY(ETHER IMIDE) BLENDS

The morphology and dynamic mechanical properties of blends of poly(ether imide) (PEI) and nylon 66 over the full composition range have been investigated. Torque changes during mixing were also measured. Lower torque values than those calculated by the log-additivity rule were obtained, resulting from the slip at the interface due to low interaction between the components. The particle size of the dispersed phase and morphology of the blends were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The composition of each phase was calculated. The blends of PEI and nylon 66 showed phase-separated structures with small spherical domains of 0.3 similar to 0.7 mu m. The glass transition temperatures (T(g)s) of the blends were shifted inward, compared with those of the homopolymers, which implied that the blends were partially miscible over a range of compositions. T-g1, corresponding to PEI-rich phase, was less affected by composition than T-g2, corresponding to nylon 66-rich phase. This indicated that the fraction of PEI mixed into nylon 66-rich phase increased with decreasing PEI content and that nylon 66 was rarely mixed into the PEI-rich phase. The effect of composition on the secondary relaxations was examined. Both T-beta, corresponding to the motion of amide groups in nylon 66, and T-gamma, corresponding to that of ether groups in PEI, were shifted to higher temperature, probably because of the formation of intermolecular interactions between the components.