Improved Mechanical Properties of Compatibilized Polypropylene/Polyamide-12 Blends

Compatibilized blends of polypropylene (PP) and polyamide-12 (PA12) as a second component were obtained by direct injection molding having first added 20% maleic anhydride-modified copolymer (PP-g-MA) to the PP, which produced partially grafted PP (gPP). A nucleating effect of the PA12 took place on the cooling crystallization of the gPP, and a second crystallization peak of the gPP appeared in the PA12-rich blends, indicating changes in the crystalline morphology. There was a slight drop in the PA12 crystallinity of the compatible blends, whereas the crystallinity of the gPP increased significantly in the PA12-rich blends. The overall reduction in the dispersed phase particle size together with the clear increase in ductility when gPP was used instead of PP proved that compatibilization occurred. Young's modulus of the blends showed synergistic behavior. This is proposed to be both due to a change in the crystalline morphology of the blends on the one hand and, on the other, in the PA12-rich blends, to the clear increase in the crystallinity of the gPP phase, which may, in turn, have been responsible for the increase in its continuity and its contribution to the modulus.

A numerical study into the effects of Bio-synthetic Paraffinic Kerosine blends with Jet-A fuel for civil aircraft engine

Growing concerns regarding fluctuating fuel costs and pollution targets for gas emissions, have led the aviation industry to seek alternative technologies to reduce its dependency on crude oil, and its net emissions. Recently blends of bio-fuel with kerosine, have become an alternative solution as they offer "greener" aircraft and reduce demand on crude oil. Interestingly, this technique is able to be implemented in current aircraft as it does not require any modification to the engine. Therefore, the present study investigates the effect of blends of bio-synthetic paraffinic kerosine with Jet-A in a civil aircraft engine, focusing on its performance and exhaust emissions. Two bio-fuels are considered: Jatropha Bio-synthetic Paraffinic Kerosine (JSPK) and Camelina Bio-synthetic Paraffinic Kerosine (CSPK); there are evaluated as pure fuels, and as 10% and 50% blend with Jet-A. Results obtained show improvement in thrust, fuel flow and SFC as composition of bio-fuel in the blend increases. At design point condition, results on engine emissions show reduction in NO x, and CO, but increases of CO is observed at fixed fuel condition, as the composition of bio-fuel in the mixture increases. Copyright © 2012 by ASME.

Properties of two model soils stabilized with different blends and contents of GGBS, MgO, lime, and PC

This paper addresses the use of ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) and reactive magnesia (MgO) blends for soil stabilization, comparing them with GGBS-lime blends and Portland cement (PC) for enhanced technical performance. A range of tests were conducted to investigate the properties of stabilized soils, including unconfined compressive strength (UCS), permeability, and microstructural analyses by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The influence of GGBS:MgO ratio, binder content, soil type, and curing period were addressed. The UCS results revealed that GGBS-MgO was more efficient than GGBS-lime as a binder for soil stabilization, with an optimum MgO content in the range of 5-20% of the blends content, varying with binder content and curing age. The 28-day UCS values of the optimum GGBS-MgO mixes were up to almost four times higher than that of corresponding PC mixes. The microstructural analyses showed the hydrotalcite was produced during the GGBS hydration activated by MgO, although the main hydration products of the GGBS-MgO stabilized soils were similar to those of PC. © 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Graphene nanoribbon blends with P3HT for organic electronics.

In organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) the electrical characteristics of polymeric semiconducting materials suffer from the presence of structural/morphological defects and grain boundaries as well as amorphous domains within the film, hindering an efficient transport of charges. To improve the percolation of charges we blend a regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with newly designed N = 18 armchair graphene nanoribbons (GNRs). The latter, prepared by a bottom-up solution synthesis, are expected to form solid aggregates which cannot be easily interfaced with metallic electrodes, limiting charge injection at metal-semiconductor interfaces, and are characterized by a finite size, thus by grain boundaries, which negatively affect the charge transport within the film. Both P3HT and GNRs are soluble/dispersible in organic solvents, enabling the use of a single step co-deposition process. The resulting OFETs show a three-fold increase in the charge carrier mobilities in blend films, when compared to pure P3HT devices. This behavior can be ascribed to GNRs, and aggregates thereof, facilitating the transport of the charges within the conduction channel by connecting the domains of the semiconductor film. The electronic characteristics of the devices such as the Ion/Ioff ratio are not affected by the addition of GNRs at different loads. Studies of the electrical characteristics under illumination for potential use of our blend films as organic phototransistors (OPTs) reveal a tunable photoresponse. Therefore, our strategy offers a new method towards the enhancement of the performance of OFETs, and holds potential for technological applications in (opto)electronics.

A novel method of extraction of blend component structure from SANS measurements of homopolymer bimodal blends

A new method is presented for the extraction of single-chain form factors and interchain interference functions from a range of small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) experiments on bimodal homopolymer blends. The method requires a minimum of three blends, made up of hydrogenated and deuterated components with matched degree of polymerization at two different chain lengths, but with carefully varying deuteration levels. The method is validated through an experimental study on polystyrene homopolymer bimodal blends with M A≈1/2MB. By fitting Debye functions to the structure factors, it is shown that there is good agreement between the molar mass of the components obtained from SANS and from chromatography. The extraction method also enables, for the first time, interchain scattering functions to be produced for scattering between chains of different lengths. © 2014 The Authors. Published by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

SEBS、POE与异氰酸酯的接枝反应及其对PA6、PBT的增韧研究

本工作采用熔融反应接枝的方法将(3-异氰酸酯基-4-甲基)苯氨基甲酸-2-丙烯酯(TAI)引入到聚苯乙烯-b-聚(乙烯-co-丁烯)-b-聚苯乙烯三嵌段共聚物(SEBS)上，以实现SEBS的功能化。红外光谱表明TAI已经成功接枝到SEBS上。GPC测试表明接枝后SEBS具有高的分子量与宽的分子量分布。DMA分析证明，接枝后聚(乙烯-co-丁烯) (PEB)段的玻璃化转变提高。对未参与接枝的单体的分析表明，单体TAI是个不容易自聚的单体，并对接枝过程的机理进行了研究。 为了提高TAI的存储稳定性和解决反应过程中的毒性大的问题，采用己内酰胺为封端剂对TAI中的异氰酸酯进行了封端。红外光谱和核磁共振结果表明，己内酰胺封端的TAI（BTAI）中含有双键和封闭型异氰酸酯结构，不存在着活泼的异氰酸酯。红外光谱结果表明，在高温下BTAI可以重新产生活泼的异氰酸酯基团。DSC与TG/DTA研究证明，BTAI的初始解离温度大约为135 C。采用熔融反应接枝的方法将BTAI接枝到SEBS和乙烯-辛烯共聚物（POE）分子上。研究表明，接枝率随着单体含量或引发剂含量的增加而增加。接枝以后的SEBS与POE的剪切变稀行为都比未接枝的SEBS与POE要明显。 利用BTAI功能化的SEBS和POE两种弹性体，通过熔融反应共混方法制备了PA6合金。两种弹性体与PA6共混物的红外光谱和流变行为的研究表明，在反应共混中形成了新的接枝共聚物。共混物的脆断面的场发射扫描电镜照片表明，共混物形成一种海-岛结构，而反应共混物的具有更均匀的粒子分散性，更小的粒子尺寸。PA6/SEBS-g-BTAI共混的透射电镜照片说明，共混物中形成了一种以PS为核-PEB为壳的核壳结构。与相应的物理共混物相比，通过反应共混制备的PA6合金（PA6/SEBS-g-BTAI合金和PA6/POE-g-BTAI合金）的拉伸强度、杨氏模量得到了提高。两种反应共混物的缺口冲击强度得到了非常明显的提高，合金材料的缺口冲击强度可以达到1000 J/m 以上。共混物中弹性体对PA6的结晶起到了成核的作用，结晶温度提高。形成的共聚物阻碍了PA6的分子链的运动，使得PA6的结晶温度下降。 本工作还利用上述制备的POE-g-BTAI和SEBS-g-BTAI两种功能化的弹性体与聚对苯二甲酸丁二醇酯（PBT）进行共混。研究表明，在反应共混过程中PBT中的反应基团与释放出的异氰酸酯发生反应，生成了新的共聚物。通过共混物的脆断面的FESEM图片可以看到，POE与PBT的共混物中，POE以球状粒子分散在PBT中，并且反应共混物的粒子分散均匀，粒子尺寸变小。与POE/PBT共混不同的是，在PBT与SEBS共混过程中，二者形成了交错结构，而反应共混在较低含量就形成了交错结构。POE与PBT反应共混物的缺口冲击强度得到了很大的提高，冲击强度可以达到1100 J/m以上，而PBT与SEBS的反应共混物的冲击强度改变不大。相对于物理共混物，两种弹性体与PBT的反应共混物的拉伸强度与拉伸模量都得到了提高。弹性体的加入提高了PBT的结晶温度，反应共混物的结晶温度低于物理共混物的结晶温度，说明弹性体的加入起到了PBT的成核剂的作用，生成的共聚物亦阻碍了PBT的分子链的移动。 关键词：聚苯乙烯-b-聚(乙烯-co-丁烯)-b-聚苯乙烯三嵌段共聚物；乙烯-辛烯共聚物；封闭型异氰酸酯；反应加工；聚酰胺6；聚对苯二甲酸丁二醇酯

Novel Method for Preparation of Polypropylene Blends with High Melt Strength by Reactive Compounding

Ultrafine full-vulcanized polybutadiene rubber(UFBR) with particle sizes of ca. 50-100 nm were used for modifying mechanical and processing performances of polypropylene(PP) with PP-g-maleic anhydride(PP-g-MA) as a compatibilizer for enhancing the interfacial adhesion between the two components. The morphology, dynamical rheology response and mechanical properties of the blends were characterized by means of SEM, rheometer and tensile test, respectively.

Online study of the formation of PA6 droplets in PP matrix under shear flow

Breakup process of polyamide 6 (PA6) in polypropylene (PP) matrix under shear flow was online studied by using a Linkam CSS 450 stage equipped with optical microscopy. Both tip streaming and fracture breakup modes of PA6 droplets were observed in this study. It was reported that the droplet would break up by tip streaming model when the radio of the droplet phase viscosity to the matrix phase viscosity (n(r) = n(d)/n(m)) is smaller than 0.1 (Taylor, Proc R Soc London A 1934, 146, 501; Grace, Chem Eng Commun 1982, 14, 225; Bartok and Mason, J Colloid Sci 1959, 14, 13; Rumscheidt and Mason, J Colloid Sci 1961, 16, 238; de Bruijn, Chem Eng Sci 1993, 48, 277). However, the tip streaming model was observed even when the viscosity ratio was much greater than 0.1 (n(r) = 1.9). In this study for the tip streaming mode, small droplets were ruptured from the tip of the mother droplet. On the other hand, the mother droplet was broken into two or more daughter droplets with one or several satellite droplets between them for the fracture mode. It was found that PA6 droplet was much elongated at first, and then broke up via tip streaming or fracture to form daughter droplets or small satellite droplets with the shape of fiber or ellipse.

Crystallization and phase behavior of crystalline syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadiene/isotactic polypropylene blends in solution-cast thin films

Crystallization and phase behavior in solution-cast thin films of crystalline syndiotactic 1,2-polybutadiene (s-1,2-PB) and isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) blends have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) techniques. Thin films of pure s-1,2-PB consist of parallel lamellae with the c-axis perpendicular to the film plane and the lateral scale in micrometer size, while those of i-PP are composed of cross-hatched and single-crystal-like lamellae. For the blends, TEM and AFM observations show that with addition of i-PP, the s-1,2-PB long lamellae become bended and i-PP itself tends to form dispersed convex regions oil a continuous s-1,2-PB phase even when i-PP is the predominant component, which indicates a strong phase separation between the two polymers during film formation. FESEM micrographs of both lower and upper surfaces of the films reveal that the s-1,2-PB lamellae pass through i-PPconvex regions from the bottom, i.e. the dispersed i-PP regions lie on the continuous s-1,2-PB phase. The structural development is attributed to an interplay of crystallization and phase separation of the blends in the film forming process.

Compatibilization of side-chain, thermotropic, liquid-crystalline ionomers to blends of polyamide-1010 and polypropylene

A novel side-chain, liquid-crystalline ionomer (SLCI) with a poly(methyl hydrosiloxane) main chain and side chains containing sulfonic acid groups was used in blends of polyamide-1010 (PA1010) and polypropylene (PP) as a compatibilizer. The morphological structure, thermal behavior, and liquid-crystalline properties of the blends were investigated by Fourier transform infrared, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy. The morphological structure of the interface of the blends containing SLCI was improved with respect to the blend without SLCI. The compatibilization effect of greater than 8 wt % SLCI for the two phases, PA1010 and PP, was better than the effects of other SLCI contents in the blends.

Compatibilization effects of block copolymers in high density polyethylene/syndiotactic polystyrene blends

Three triblock copolymers of poly[styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene] (SEBS) of different molecular weights and one diblock copolymer of poly[styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)] (SEB) were used to compatibilize high density polyethylene/syndiotactic polystyrene (HDPE/sPS, 80/20) blend. Morphology observation showed that phase size of the dispersed sPS particles was significantly reduced on addition of all the four copolymers and the interfacial adhesion between the two phases was dramatically enhanced. Tensile strength of the blends increased at lower copolymer content but decreased with increasing copolymer content. The elongation at break of the blends improved and sharply increased with increments of the copolymers. Drop in modulus of the blend was observed on addition of the rubbery copolymers. The mechanical performance of the modified blends is strikingly dependent not only on the interfacial activity of the copolymers but also on the mechanical properties of the copolymers, particularly at the high copolymer concentration. Addition of compatibilizers to HDPE/sPS blend resulted in a significant reduction in crystallinity of both HDPE and sPS. Measurements of Vicat softening temperature of the HDPE/sPS blends show that heat resistance of HDPE is greatly improved upon incorporation of 20 wt% sPS.