Search results for "Polymers"
showing 10 items of 3567 documents
Composite films of natural clay nanotubes with cellulose and chitosan
2014
Composite films based on cellulose, chitosan and halloysite clay nanotubes were prepared using a solution casting method, which allowed for a uniform distribution of nanotubes within the material and provided control over the morphology of the composite. The mechanical performance of these bio nanocomposites is influenced by humidity and the nanotubes showed a plasticisation effect on the polymeric matrix. The composites of chitosan and halloysite nanotubes (HNTs), with modified hydrophobic inner lumens, resulted in a technique for controlled and sustainable surface cleaning. Lignocellulose wood microfibres modified with HNTs were also produced by a layer-by-layer assembly. The obtained ma…
Strategy for good dispersion of well-defined tetrapods in semiconducting polymer matrices.
2014
The morphology or dispersion control in inorganic/organic hybrid systems is studied, which consist of monodisperse CdSe tetrapods (TPs) with grafted semiconducting block copolymers with excess polymers of the same type. Tetrapod arm-length and amount of polymer loading are varied in order to find the ideal morphology for hybrid solar cells. Additionally, polymers without anchor groups are mixed with the TPs to study the effect of such anchor groups on the hybrid morphology. A numerical model is developed and Monte Carlo simulations to study the basis of compatibility or dispersibility of TPs in polymer matrices are performed. The simulations show that bare TPs tend to form clusters in the m…
Interpolymer complexes and polymer compatibility.
2012
A reliable method to decide whether two polymers A and B are miscible or incompatible would be very helpful in many ways. In this contribution we demonstrate why traditional procedures cannot work. We propose to use the intrinsic viscosities [η] of the polymer blends instead of the composition dependence of the viscosities as a criterion for polymer miscibility. Two macromolecules A and B are miscible because of sufficiently favorable interactions between the two types of polymer segments. For solutions of these polymers in a joint solvent, this Gibbs energetic preference of dissimilar intersegmental contacts should prevail upon dilution and lead to the formation of interpolymer complexes, …
Rheological properties of progesterone microemulsions: Influence of xanthan and chitosan biopolymer concentration
2008
In this preformulations study, rheological properties of microemulsions with progesterone (1%) were studied to analyze the effect of xanthan and chitosan at different concentrations (0.5–3%). Steady shear and oscillatory rheological properties were analyzed using a controlled stress rheometer. Steady shear data were satisfactorily adjusted to the Carreau model. For all preparations, shear-thinning behavior was observed. Zero shear viscosity (η0) increased with the biopolymer concentration. The results from dynamic experiments showed the behavior of all preparations with xanthan gum and those of chitosan to be characteristic of weak gels and liquid-like solutions, respectively. The correlati…
Time-resolved rheology as a tool to monitor the progress of polymer degradation in the melt state - Part I: Thermal and thermo-oxidative degradation …
2015
Abstract Thermal and thermo-oxidative degradation of polyamide 11 (PA11) in the melt state (T = 215 °C) are studied by resorting to time-resolved mechanical spectroscopy. Such an approach allows to elude the changes in the rheological properties occurring while testing, thus enabling the rigorous study of polymer degradation in the melt state. Different concurrent degradation reactions in oxidative (air) and non-oxidative (N2) environment are promptly guessed by studying the time evolutions of rheological functions. In particular, changes in the zero-frequency complex viscosity reflects changes in the average molecular weight, while the appearance of a yield stress in the complex viscosity …
Transmission of mechanical energy through polymeric liquid crystals and their blends
1988
Molecular composites, also called polymeric liquid crystals (PLC), are contrasted with the traditional composites; the name heterogeneous composites is proposed for the latter. Advantages of blending PLCs with ordinary engineering polymers are discussed. Results reported for blends of poly(ethylene terepthalate) (PET) with a PLC containing sequences of PET and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (PHB) include thermophysical properties, melt rheology, mechanical properties of solid blends, and scanning electron microscopy of fracture surfaces. A model called the island model was developed to explain the results: One assumes that the lines of force as well as propagating cracks tend to concentrate in the p…
Preparation and determination of the structure of high-performance polymer blends by small-angle neutron scattering
1995
Amorphous blends from a deuterated polyaryletherketone and a polyetherimide have been prepared and investigated by neutron scattering. The used components differ remarkably in their structure antheir solution properties. The blends on the other hand are combinatorial mixtures : the scattering quantity Φ 1 Φ 2 /S(q) is independent of the composition of the blends if the polymer chains have the same length
Small angle X-ray scattering from amorphous polymers arising from heterogeneities
1973
The small angle X-ray scattering of glassy polymers (PET, PC, PVC, PMMA) and of polymer melts (PE) was studied. The dependence of the intensity scattered at small angles on the sample treatment suggests that neither the inherent structure of the pure polymer phase nor microholes are the origin of the scattering. In agreement with all experimental facts the scattering can be attributed to foreign particles such as for instance stabilizers in the polymer matrix. The consequence of this result is discussed with respect to the nodular structure of the amorphous phase and with respect to structural models of the amorphous phase. The nodular structure is not related to regions of different densit…
Designing Medical Devices Based on Silicon Polymeric Material with Controlled Release of Local Anesthetics
2012
The drug delivery systems that are the object of this article take the form of a polymer matrix made of silicone containing a drug. These devices can be used as patches for local dermal applications releasing the drug in a controlled manner. The model active agent, lidocaine hydrochloride was chosen from the range of local anesthetics. When the drug is restricted to the surface, it is released more rapidly than when it is allowed to spread evenly throughout the silicon structure. When hydrophilic polymers such as PVA and HEC are mixed in with the lidocaine hydrochloride and deposited on the surface of the polymer matrix, we observed that the burst effect was eliminated without modifying the…
Processing and adjusting the hydrophilicity of poly(oxymethylene) (co)polymers: nanoparticle preparation and film formation
2016
Handling the insoluble POM: the preparation of nanoparticles based on hyperbranched-linear-hyperbranched ABA triblock copolymers with variable hydrophilicity and composed of short hyperbranched polyglycerol (hbPG) as the A-blocks and linear poly(oxymethylene) (POM) as a B-block is described. The POM-hbPG-nanoparticles with diameters in the range of 190 to 250 nm were generated in a convenient process, combining the solvent evaporation process with the miniemulsion technique, a water borne handling for POM-copolymers. Furthermore, the film formation properties of the nanoparticles were investigated by deposition on silicon and subsequent sintering, which leads to films with a thickness in th…