Search results for "Elastic"
showing 10 items of 2162 documents
Redox-Responsive and Thermoresponsive Supramolecular Nanosheet Gels with High Young's Moduli
2018
Supramolecular gels made from 2D building blocks are emerging as one of the novel multifunctional soft materials for various applications. This study reports on a class of supramolecular nanosheet gels formed through a reversible self-assembly process involving both intramolecular folding and intermolecular self-assembly of poly[oligo(ethylene glycol)-co-(phenyl-capped bithiophenes)]. Such hierarchical self-assembled structure allows the gels to switch between sol and gel states under either redox or thermostimulus. Moreover, the gels illustrate high Young's moduli, compared to their controls that are made from the same oligo(ethylene glycol) and phenyl-capped bithiophenes blocks but have h…
Material valorisation of amorphous polylactide. Influence of thermo-mechanical degradation on the morphology, segmental dynamics, thermal and mechani…
2012
[EN] This paper reports the effects of multiple mechanical recycling on the structure and properties of amorphous polylactide (PLA). The influence of the thermo-mechanical degradation induced by means of five successive injection cycles was initially addressed in terms of macroscopic mechanical properties and surface modification. A deeper inspection on the structure and morphology of PLA was associated to the thermal properties and viscoelastic behaviour. Although FT-IR analysis did not show significant changes in functional groups, a remarkable reduction in molar mass was found by viscometry. PLA remained amorphous throughout the reprocessing cycles, but the occurrence of a cold-crystalli…
Effect of the additive level and of the processing temperature on the re-building of post consumer pipes from polyethylene blends
2007
Abstract One of the main shortcomings of the mechanical recycling is that the properties of the secondary materials are generally sensibly inferior with respect to the virgin ones. This feature implies, for sure, that they cannot be used for the same technological application but also other uses of the secondary material are impossible. The aim of this work is to study the re-building of recycled post-consumer pipes, made of a blend of different polyethylenes, by re-processing in the presence of a nitroxyl compound as radical generator. The processing temperature and the additive concentration have been varied in order to study the effect of these parameters on the final properties. The mec…
Linking structure and nanomechanical properties via instrumented nanoindentations on well-defined and fine-tuned morphology poly(ethylene)
2009
Several poly(ethylene) samples with a broad range of morphologies were studied in this work using nanoindentations. The samples had degrees of crystallinity ranging from 30 to 100% while their Young's modulus ranged from few tens of MPa up to several GPa. Experimental conditions for the correct evaluation of Young's modulus were at first identified, choosing a suitable loading rate in order to minimize viscoelastic effects on the unloading. The force curves, i.e., plots of applied load vs. penetration depth, were then analyzed following two common procedures available in the literature. None of these procedures leads to satisfying results when compared to other experimental techniques. Howe…
Rheology of a Lower Critical Solution Temperature Binary Polymer Blend in the Homogeneous, Phase-Separated, and Transitional Regimes
1996
Small amplitude oscillatory shear rheology is employed in order to investigate the linear viscoelastic behavior of the lower critical solution temperature blend polystyrene/poly(vinyl methyl ether), PS/PVME, as a function of temperature and composition. At low temperatures, where the mixture is homogeneous, the dependence of the zero shear viscosity (η0) on concentration is measured and is well-described by means of a new mixing rule, based on surface fractions instead of volume fractions. Shift factors from time-temperature superposition (TTS) exhibit a Williams−Landel−Ferry (WLF) behavior. As the macrophase separation temperature is approached (the phase diagram being established by turbi…
Investigation on the Properties and on the Photo-Oxidation Behaviour of Polypropylene/Fumed Silica Nanocomposites
2021
This work investigates the effects of very small amounts of fumed silica on the morphology and on the rheological and mechanical behaviour of polypropylene nanocomposites and on their photo-oxidation behaviour. Polypropylene nanocomposites were prepared using a twin-screw corotating extruder with 0, 1 and 2 wt/wt% of SiO2. Morphological, mechanical, thermomechanical and rheological properties were examined. It was found that the viscosity of the matrix is reduced by the presence of the silica nanoparticles, suggesting a poor adhesion between the two phases and probably some lubricating effect. On the contrary, the mechanical and, in particular, the thermomechanical properties of the matrix …
Effect of Moisture Content on the Processing and Mechanical Properties of a Biodegradable Polyester
2021
This work is focused on the influence of moisture content on the processing and mechanical properties of a biodegradable polyester used for applications in injection molding. The pellets of the biodegradable polyester were exposed under different relative humidity conditions at a constant temperature before being compression molded. The compression-molded specimens were again placed under the above conditions before the mechanical testing. With all these samples, it is possible to determine the effect of moisture content on the processing and mechanical properties separately, as well as the combined effect of moisture content on the mechanical properties. The results obtained showed that th…
Reversible Modulation of Elasticity in Fluoroazobenzene-Containing Hydrogels Using Green and Blue Light.
2017
Hydrogels are soft materials that have found multiple applications in biomedicine and represent a good platform for the introduction of molecular switches and synthetic machines into macromolecular networks. Tuning their mechanical properties reversibly with light is appealing for a variety of advanced applications and has been demonstrated in the past; however, their activation typically requires the use of UV light, which displays several drawbacks related to its damaging character and limited penetration in tissues and materials. This study circumvents this limitation by introducing all-visible ortho-fluoroazobenzene switches into a hydrophilic network, which, as a result, can be activat…
Creep response of a LDPE-based nanocomposite
2016
Polymer nanocomposites and their behavior have been widely investigated by several paths, including mechanical, rheological, and permeability tests, finding that several parameters (such as the polymer matrix, the nanofiller, their amounts, the presence of compatibilizers, processing parameters, etc.) can influence the main properties. However, less information is available regarding the creep response of polymer nanocomposites; in particular, few or no data are reported about the combined effect of different loads and different temperatures. In this article, the creep behavior of a low density polyethylene/organomodified clay nanocomposite has been investigated. The characterization of vis…
Recycled Polycarbonate Blend as Matrix for Development of Polymer Nanocomposite
2012
Summary: Secondary polycarbonate (SPC) is modified with various amounts (5, 10, 30 wt%) of ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVAc) in order to reduce its brittleness. It is observed that at optimal EVAc weight content maximum tensile strength σM and impact strength AI increse by 14% (ωEVAc = 5 wt%) and 450% (ωEVAc = 10 wt%) in comparison to neat SPC, respectively. Addition of montmorillonite nanoclay (MMT) allowed further increase of elastic modulus E, strength and creep resistance of the investigated SPC blend with 10 wt% of EVAc.