Study of Polymer Blends with Sub-cluster Theory PartⅠ Essential Concepts and Equations of Sub-cluster Theory

Various viscosity-composition curves of polymer blends are summarized in eight groups. To represent these curves. 'sub-cluster equations' are derived on the basis of so called 'sub-cluster theoryThe essential concepts of sub-cluster theory and the derivation of those 'Sub-cluster equations' are briefly introduced.

EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE LOW CYCLE FATIGUE CRACK PROPAGATION IN PC/ABS POLYMER BLENDS

Low cycle fatigue crack propagation (FCP) behavior of two PC/ABSblends with a weight ra- tio of PC to ABS being 80/20 and 60/40,respectively, is investigated. Experiments are carried out by usingstandard compact tension (CT) specimens. The fracture surfaces areexamined with a scanning electron mi- croscope (SEM). It is shownthat the FCP resistance of PC/ABS blend with 20/100 ABS particles ishigher than that of PC/ABS blend with 40/100 ABS particles. It isfound that proper ABS particle content can result in the tougheningof PC/ABS blends through particle cavitation and shear yielding inmatrix.

COALESCENCE INDUCED GRADIENT MORPHOLOGY NEAR A WALL IN PHASE SEPARATED POLYMER BLENDS DURING QUIESCENT ANNEALING

A fast coalescence mechanism is proposed to account for the wall effect on the formation of gradient morphology in phase separated polymer blends during quiescent annealing. The existence of solid wall with high polarity is believed to change the potential field around the dispersed particles near the wall. This additional potential interaction between the solid wall and the dispersed particles causes faster coalescence of the dispersed particles near the wall than in the bulk. The gradient phase morphology thus formed can be predicted by combining the wall-particle interaction and the touch-coalescence mechanism. The effect of interfacial tension on the gradient morphology is also discussed.

COMPUTER SIMULATION OF MISCIBILITY AND SELF-ASSEMBLY STRUCTURE FOR POLYMER-CONTAINING SYSTEMS WITH SPECIAL INTERACTIONS

The miscibility and structure of A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends with special interactions were studied by aMonte Carlo simulation in two dimensions. The interaction between segment A and segment C was repulsive, whereas it wasattractive between segment B and segment C. In order to study the effect of copolymer chain structure on the morphologyand structure of A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends, the alternating, random and block A-B copolymers were introducedinto the blends, respectively. The simulation results indicated that the miscibility of A-B block copolymer/C homopolymerblends depended on the chain structure of the A-B copolymer. Compared with alternating or random copolymer, the blockcopolymer, especially the diblock copolymer, could lead to a poor miscibility of A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends.Moreover, for diblock A-B copolymer/C homopolymer blends, obvious self-organized core-shell smicture was observed inthe segment B composition region from 20% to 60%. However if diblock copolymer composition in the blends is less than40%, obvious self-organized core-shell structure could be formed in the B-segment component region from 10 to 90%.Furthermore, computer statistical analysis for the simulation results showed that the core sizes tended to increasecontinuously and their distribution became wider with decreasing B-segment component.

Study of Polymer Blends with Sub-cluster Theory Part 2 Comparison of PVC/ABS, PVC/SBS Blends

Series of PVC/ABS and PVC/SBS blends of composition 20/ 80. 40/ 60, 60 / 40 and 80 / 20were prepared in a screw extruder. The phase morphology, miscibility and rheological behaviour of two systems were investigated. The viscosity-composition plots were represented by sub-cluster equation, the various differences between two systems are interpreted with the equation parameters

COMPATIBILITY IN POLYMER BLENDS OF POLY (VINYL ACETATE) AND POLY (METHYL METHACRYLATE)STUDIED BY NMR

Compatibility of poly (vinyl acetate) (PVAc) with poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) mixtures has been studied by using nuclear magnetic relaxation, differential scanning calorimeter and small-angle X-ray scattering techniques. The nuclear magnetic relaxation time T_1's were measured as a function of composition in blends of PMMA and PVAc prepared from chloroform solution. The results show that the system is miscible for casting from chloroform solution.

Performance and Stability of Polymer Solar Cells Based on the Blends of Poly(3-Hexylthiophene) and Indene-C_(60) Bis-Adduct

The performance and morphology stability of polymer bulk heterojunetion solar cells based on poly（3-hexylthiophene） （P3HT） as the donor and indene-C6o bisadduct （ICBA） or methanofullerene [6,6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester （PCBM） as the aeceptor are compared. Effect of the different donor and aeeeptor weight ratios on photo- voltaic performance of the P3HT：ICBA device is studied. The optimal device achieved power conversion emeiency of 5.51~o with dso of l0.86mA/cm2, Voc of 0.83 V, and fill factor （FF） of 61.1 % under AM 1.5G （lOOmW/cm2） simulated solar illumination. However, the stability measurement shows that cells based on P3HT：ICBA are less stable than those of the device based on P3HT：PCBM. Atomic force microscope results reveal that the morphol- ogy of the P3HT：ICBA film changed considerably during the storage periods due to unstable interpenetrating D-A network. This observation can be explained by the fact that there is lack of intermolecular hydrogen bonds in the P3HT：ICBA system. However, in the P3HT：PCBM system the molecules in the blend film are firmly held together in the solid state by means of intermoleeular hydrogen bonds originating from C-H. ~. Os bonds （where Os comes from the singly-bonded 0 atom of PCBM）, forming a stable three-dimensional network. The measured PL decay lifetimes for P3HT：PCBM and P3HT：ICBA systems are 33.66 ns and 35.34 ns, respectively, indicating that the P3HT：ICBA system has a less efficient exciton separation eftleiency than that of P3HT：PCBM, which may result in the interracial photogenerated charges accumulated on the D： A interface. Such progressive phase segregation between P3HT and ICBA eventually leads to the degradation in performance and deteriorates the stability of the device. We also present an approach to enhance the stability of P3HT：ICBA systems by adding PCBM as the second acceptor. Our results show that by carefully tuning the contents of PCBM as the second acceptor, more stable polymer solar cells can be obtained.

Study of Thermal,Phase Morphological and Mechanical Properties of Poly(L-lactide)-b-Poly(ethylene glycol)-b-Poly(L-lactide)/Poly(ethylene glycol)Blend Bioplastics

A poly(L-lactide)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(L-lactide)(PLLA-PEG-PLLA)block copolymer has great potential for use as a flexible bioplastic.Highly flexible bioplastics are required for flexible packaging applications.In this work,a PEG was incorporated into block copolymer as a plasticizer by solvent casting.PLLA-PEG-PLLA/PEG blends with different blend ratios were prepared,and the plasticizing effect and miscibility of PEG in block copolymer were intensively investigated compared to PLLA/PEG blends.The results indicated that the PEG was an effective plasticizer for the block copolymer.The blending of PEG decreased glass-transition temperature and accelerated the crystallization of both the PLLA and PLLA-PEG-PLLA matrices.The PEG was completely miscible when blended with block copolymer and it improved thermal stability of the block copolymer matrix but not of the PLLA matrix.Film extensibility of PLLA-PEG-PLLA/PEG blends steadily increased as the PEG ratio increased.These non-toxic and highly flexible PLLA-PEG-PLLA/PEG bioplastics are promising candidates for several applications such as biomedical devices,tissue scaffolds and packaging materials.

FRACTAL CHARACTER OF PHASE MORPHOLOGY OF HIGH IMPACT POLYSTYRENE/POLY(cis-BUTADIENE) RUBBER BLENDS

Evolution and fractal character of the phase morphology of high impact polystyrene/poly（cis-butadiene） rubber （HIPS/PcBR） blends during melting and mixing were investigated using scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The characteristic length L was defined as the size of particles of the dispersed phase in blends. Different fractal dimensions, Df and Din, were introduced to study the distribution width of phase dimensions in the dimensionless region and the uniformity of the spatial distribution of particles, respectively. The results showed that the average characteristic length Lm and Df increase as the volume fraction of the dispersed phase increases, when the volume fraction of the dispersed phase is lower than 50%. In other words, the size of particles increases and their distribution in the dimensionless region becomes more uniform. Meanwhile, the uniformity of the spatial distribution becomes more perfect as the volume fraction increases. At a certain composition, Lm decreases in the initial stage of the mixing and levels off in the late stage. In the initial stage, Df becomes large rapidly with the process of blending, which means that the distribution of L in the dimensionless region becomes more uniform. Meanwhile, the spatial distribution tends to be ideal rapidly in the early stage and fluctuates in a definite range in the late stage of the mixing.

Research and Application Progress of Silk Fibroin Membranes

This paper mainly introduced the preparation of silk fibroin membranes and their structural change characteristics.Silk fibroin membranes can be used as tissue engineering materials,enzyme-immobilizing membranes,biosensors and drug controlled-release membranes and other different materials.They have excellent characteristics such as non-toxic,non-polluting and degradable,and thus have broad application prospects.

Preparation of Poly(o-toluidine)/Nano ZrO2/Epoxy Composite Coating and Its Application for Corrosion Protection of Steel

The main objective was to study the anticorrosion performance of poly（o-toluidine）/nano ZrO2/epoxy composite coating.Poly（o-toluidine）/nano ZrO2 composite was prepared by in situ polymerization of o-toluidine monomer in the presence of nano ZrO2 particles.Fourier transformation infrared spectroscopy（FT-IR）,UV-visible spectroscopy（UV-vis）,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,Scanning electron microscopy（SEM）,and Thermogravimetric analysis（TGA） were used to characterize the composition and structure of the composite.Poly（o-toluidine）/nano ZrO2 composite was mixed with epoxy resin through a solution blending method and the three components poly（o-toluidine）/nano ZrO2/epoxy composite coating was coated onto the surface of steel sample by the brush coating method.The anticorrosion performance of poly（o-toluidine）/nano ZrO2/epoxy composite coating on steel sample was studied by polarization curve and electrochemical impendence spectroscopy in 3.5% Na Cl solution as corrosion environment and also compared with that of poly（o-toluidine）/epoxy composite coating and pure epoxy coating.It was observed that the composite coating containing poly（otoluidine）/nano ZrO2 composite has got higher corrosion protection ability than that of poly（o-toluidine）.The electrochemical measurement results demonstrated that poly（o-toluidine） fillers improve the electrochemical anticorrosion performance of epoxy coating and the addition of nano ZrO2 particles increases the tortuosity of the diffusion pathway of corrosive substances.

Interfacial Engineering of Polymer Blend with Janus Particle as Compatibilizer

Mixing two or more polymers to produce the“polymer alloy”is one of the most versatile and economical strategies for developing new polymeric materials.The compatibility between polymer components largely determines the comprehensive performance of polymer blend.More recently,a type of unique surface partitioned materials,Janus particles,has been proposed to act as a novel interfacial compatibilizer for polymer blends.Such Janus particles integrates the amphipathicity of diblock copolymer and interfacial stabilization of nanoparticles,displaying a significant superiority in comparison with molecular compatibilizers for a wide range of polymer blends.In this review,we mainly focus on the compatibilizing effects of Janus nanofillers of various morphologies,including spherical,snowman-like,and two-dimensional nanosheets,on polymer blends.We shed light on the impacts of compatibilization of Janus particles on phase morphologies,mechanical properties,and functionalities of polymer blends.This review could provide a guidance for designing an effective Janus particle compatibilizer to develop high-performance polymer blends.

MONOMERIC INTERACTION BETWEEN ETHYLENE-TEREPHTHALATE AND CAPROLACTONE

The miscibility of poly(ethylene terephthalate (ET)- caprolactone (CL) (TCL)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) blends were examined by Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). In these blends, a miscibility limit specified by ET content in the TCL was found to be about 70 (wt%). In the blends of TCL/TCL with different ET contents, a miscibility window defined by ET content was also found to range from 82 to 58 (wt%). Based on the experimental miscibility limits and the mean field binary interaction model, the interaction parameter between monomeric units of ET and CL was obtained.

A DYNAMIC MECHANICAL ANALYSIS STUDY OF THE TRANSITION BEHAVIOUR OF I-PP/EPDM BLENDS

The transition behaviour of the blends of isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) with ethylene-propylene terpolymer (EPDM) containing 42 wt% propylene was investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis technique (DMA). Owing to its high propylene content, EPDM is compatible with i-PP to some degree. The interaction between the two components was strengthened. As expected, for partially compatible system the glass transition temperature of i-PP in the blends shifted to lower temperature. It was found that there existed two transitions, αEPDM and βEPDM, for the EPDM used in this work. The former was considered to be the glass transition of the random chain segments of EPDM, while the latter the local motion of the long ethylene sequences in EPDM. The unusual transition behaviour of αEPDM in the blends was explained in terms of the greater thermal expansion of EPDM and the compatibility of the two components. On the other hand, the βEPDM changed with the composition of the blends in a regular manner.

Comparison of the Free Volume of LiCl-Added SPPO Membrane and SPPO-PES Blend Membrane by Positron Annihilation Method

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy （PALS） is a powerful technique for the study of free volume in polymers. The lifetime of ortho-positronium （o-Ps）, a bound state of an electron and a positron, can be used to assess the pore size, while the intensity can be used to characterize the number of pores. Based on the values of the long-lived o-Ps components in the lifetime spectra, the radii and fractional free volumes of sulfonated poly （2,6-dimethyl-1,4- phenyleneoxide） （SPPO） membranes with added LiCl and SPPO-PES （Polyethersulfone） blend were compared. Free volume radii in both kinds of membranes are discussed.

Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Thermoplastic Starch and Poly(Vinyl Alcohol-Co-Ethylene)Blends

The interest in thermoplastic starch(TPS)as a substitute material to replace conventional thermoplastics continues especially due its biodegradability,availability,low cost and because it is obtained from renewable sources.However,its poor mechanical properties and its high sensitivity to humidity have limited its use in several applications.Here,the copolymer poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol)(EVOH),with two different ethylene contents,27 and 44 mol%were blended with TPS by extrusion in order to overcome these limitations.The obtained blends were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis(TGA),differential scanning calorimetry(DSC),mechanical tensile testing,Scanning Electron Microscopy(SEM)and moisture absorption test.The addition of EVOH copolymer did not significantly changed the thermal stability of TPS,however it increased the tensile strength in 65%when compared to TPS.The morphology of the blends did not showed two distinct phases,an indication of miscibility or partial miscibility of the components.A decrease of moisture absorption was obtained by the addition of EVOH and is more pronounced for the EVOH with 44% of ethylene.

ITSTUDIES ON THE EFFECT OF UREA ON THE COMPATIBILITY OF PMMA/PVC MIXTURES IN DMF BY A DILUTE- SOLUTION VISCOMETRY METHOD

The interaction between poly(methymethacrylate) (PMMA) and poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) has been studied indilute urea solutions of dimethylformamide (DMF) at 28℃ using a dilute solution viscometry method. The results show thatthe polymer mixtures are compatible in DMF solution in the absence of urea. The influence of urea addition on the degree ofcompatibility of the polymer mixtures has been studied in terms of the compatibility parameters (△b_m and △[η]_m). It wasfound that the compatibility of the polymer mixtures is decreased with increasing urea addition, passing through a minimumat 0.5 M urea.

Toughening of Immiscible rPS/SAN Blends by SEBS Elastomers: Properties and Morphology

In this research, an attempt was made to improve compatibility in a polymer blend composed of incompatible constituents, namely, recycled polystyrene (rPS) and polystyrene-co-acrylonitrile (SAN), through the addition of a compatibilizer. The compatibilizing agent, styrene-ethylenebutadiene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS), was added to the polymer blend in ratios of 5 and 10 wt%. For this purpose, blends of rPS and SAN at different ratios, without and with varying concentrations of compatibilizer, were prepared by melt blending using a co-rotating twin-screwextruder. Mechanical properties including tensile and impact strength, rheological properties (RPA), thermal behaviour (DSC) and morphological characteristics (SEM) were evaluated. According to the results obtained by complex viscosity, the blends behave as a pseudoplastic fluid. The results showed that the addition of SEBS increased the Izod impact strength and the elongation at break and decreased the tensile strength and tensile modulus. rPS/SAN blend modified with SEBS had better mechanical properties than the rPS/SAN alloy. SEM photographs revealed that the SEBS was not only distributed in the SAN phase but also distributed in rPS phase in rPS/SAN/SEBS blend. Furthermore, DSC analysis for blends of rPS/SAN gave a good indication of the improvement on miscibility for most compositions. SEM micrographs of tensile fracture surfaces indicated that the formation of the co-continuous phase and the improvement of interface adhesion are the most important reasons for the excellent tensile properties of the rPS/SAN/SEBS blends. Within the range of analysed compositions, the morphologies investigated by SEM are typical of immiscible blends.

Development of Biobased Poly(Lactic Acid)/Epoxidized Natural Rubber Blends Processed by Electrospinning: Morphological, Structural and Thermal Properties

This article reports the production of electrospun fibers from blends of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) solutions. The produced fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). SEM images showed the reduction in fiber size with ENR content of up to 25% in the mixture PLA/ENR. FTIR analysis revealed a possible interaction between carboxylic group of PLA and epoxi group of ENR. Thermal analysis showed the increase of the crystallinity fraction with ENR content and a decrease in thermal stability of eletrospun mats with the addition of ENR. The dynamic mechanical properties showed an enhancement of the stiffness of PLA/ENR blends with the increase of ENR content, which can support the production of interesting materials for tissue engineering based on renewable and biocompatible polymers. The reported properties indicate the possibility to use such fiber mats as potential materials in tissue engineering.

Miscibility Behavior of Polyacrylamides Poly(Ethylene Glycol)Blends:Flory Huggins Interaction Parameter Determined by Thermal Analysis

Blends of polyacrylamide—PAM, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)—PNIPAAm, poly(N-tert-butylacrylamide)—PTBAA, poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)—PDMAA and poly(N,N-diethylacrylamide)—PDEAA with poly(ethylene glycol)— PEG were prepared by casting in methanol and water at concentrations of 20 wt%, 40 wt%, 60 wt%, and 80 wt% in PEG. The miscibility of the components was studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry—DSC. All blend systems are characterized by a single glass transition temperature (Tg), close to the Tg of the amorphous component. The Hoffman Weeks method was used to determine equilibrium melting temperature (Tm) data. The determination of the melt point depression of the blends allowed the calculation of Flory-Huggins interaction parameter (χ12) of the two polymers in the melt, by using the Nishi Wang equation. The interaction parameters, calculated for all the blends, are slightly negative and close to zero, suggesting a partial miscibility between the components.