Chinese Journal of Polymer Science

Oleic acid (OA)-modified SiO₂(OA-m-SiO₂) nanoparticles were prepared using surface modification method. Infrared spectroscopy (IR) was used to investigate the structure of the OA-m-SiO₂ nanoparticles, and the result showed that OA attached onto the surface of SiO₂ nanoparticles through esterification. Effect of OA concentration on the dispersion stability of OA-m-SiO₂ in heptane was also studied, and the result indicated that OA-m-SiO₂ nanoparticles were dispersed in heptane more stably than the unmodified ones. OA-m-SiO₂ nanoparticles can also be dispersed in polypropylene (PP) matrix in nano-scale. The effect of OA-m-SiO₂ on crystallization of PP was studied by means of DSC. It was found that the introduction of OA-m-SiO₂ resulted in significant increase in the crystallization temperature, crystallization degree and crystallization rate of PP, and OA-m-SiO₂ could effectively induce the formation of β-crystal PP. Effect of OA-m-SiO₂ content on mechanical properties of PP/OA-m-SiO₂ nanocomposites was also studied. The results show that OA-m-SiO₂ can significantly improve the mechanical properties of PP.

In the present study the adsorptive properties of p-aminobenzoic acid with hypercrosslinked and multi-functional polymeric adsorbents at different solution pHs were systematically investigated in accordance with the particular physicochemical characteristics of the aromatic amphoteric compound involving both Lewis acid and Lewis base functional groups. It was found that the equilibrium adsorption data of the three polymeric adsorbents fitted well in the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm equations. Studies at various pH levels indicate that the capacity of the adsorbents for adsorption of the ionic forms of adsorbate is less than that for the corresponding neutral species. At pH 3.78, the adsorption capacities of the three adsorbents are the highest. Whereas the adsorption property of multi-functional polymeric adsorbent NJ-99 is the largest, which may be attributed to the strong hydrogen-bonding interaction between the amino groups on the resin and the carboxyl group of p-aminobenzoic acid. The trend of the adsorption capacities of the three adsorbents towards p-aminobenzoic acid with the solution pH is in accord with the dissociation curve of the neutral molecular p-aminobenzoic acid. The adsorption forces include π-π interaction, hydrogen-bonding interaction and electrostatic attraction or repulsion when there exist the molecular and ionic adsorbing species at different pHs in aqueous solution.

In this study, the electrorheological (ER) behavior of suspensions prepared from d₅₀ = 2.4 μm talc powder, dispersed in insulating silicone oil (SO) medium was investigated. Sedimentation stabilities of suspensions (c = 5 wt%) prepared using these talc powder powders were determined to be 78 days. The ER activity of all the suspensions was observed to increase with increasing electric field strength, concentration and decreasing shear rate. The shear stress of talc powder suspensions increased linearly with increasing concentrations of the particles and with the applied electric field strength. Electric field viscosity of all the suspensions decreased sharply with increasing shear rate and showed a typical shear thinning non-Newtonian visco-elastic behavior. Effects of frequency on the ER activity of talc powder/SO system were also investigated.

In this work, two new diacids, di(m-carboxyphenyl) succinate (m-dCPS) and di(o-carboxyphenyl) succinate (o-dCPS), were synthesized by reaction of m-, o-hydroxy benzoic acid with succinic chloride, respectively. Their corresponding copolymers with sebacic acid (SA), P(m-dCPS:SA) and P(o-dCPS:SA), were prepared by melt copolycondensation and characterized by NMR, UV and DSC methods. Compared with inherently fluorescent poly[di(p-carboxyphenyl) succinate-co-sebacic anhydride] (P(p-dCPS:SA)), P(m-dCPS:SA) and P(o-dCPS:SA) displayed different luminescent properties. P(m-dCPS:SA) could emit fluorescence under the excitation of both visible and UV light, while P(o-dCPS:SA) could only emit fluorescence when excited with UV light. Degradation rate of the two new copolyanhydrides increased with the increase of SA fraction in the copolymers. In addition, P(o-dCPS:SA) degraded more rapidly than P(m-dCPS:SA) with the same composition. Typical surface-degradation characteristics of these copolyanhydrides were observed.

A hypercrosslinked adsorption resin (ZH-05) modified by N-acetylaniline in the post crosslinking process was prepared. The adsorption properties of ZH-05 toward 2,4-dichlorophenol in comparison with granular activated carbon (GAC) and Amberlite XAD-4 were observed. The present study mainly focuses on the static equilibrium adsorption behaviors, desorption profiles and the proof of chemisorption. The results show that the Langmuir equation can give a perfect fitting to experimental data, and high temperature was favorable for adsorption of 2,4-dichlorophenol on ZH-05. A related equation was used to correlate the amount of chemisorption and the suppositional chemisorption equilibrium concentration of adsorbate in aqueous solution. The adsorption capacities from different ranges of temperature and the static desorption experiment both reveal the same conclusion, i.e., the adsorption of 2,4-dichlorophenol from water on ZH-05 is a coexistent process of physical adsorption and chemical transition as on GAC.

Polyimide-alumina hybrid films were synthesized via in situ polymerization and thermal imidation process from a solution of polyimide precursor and nanosized alumina in N,N-dimethylacetamide, and the microstructure of the hybrid films was characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and infra-red (IR) spectrometry. The dependence of thermal stability, tensile properties, dielectric properties and degradation endurance under corona on the nano-Al₂O₃ content of polyimide-alumina hybrid films was studied. The results show that with the increase of Al₂O₃ content, the thermal stability and the dielectric properties of the hybrids increase, while the tensile properties decrease. Better corona resistance can be achieved if the PI film is filled with α-Al₂O₃ nanometric particle.

Monodisperse micron-sized polyacrylamide (PAM) particles with a regular shape have been successfully prepared through dispersion polymerization of the monomer using a rotary reactor. FTIR and NMR spectroscopic results demonstrated the formation of PAM. POM and TEM observations revealed that PAM particles had a regular shape and good dispersity. A thick layer of surfactant (PVP) still existed on PAM particles after multiple centrifugation and ultrasonic re-dispersion in ethanol, which indicates a strong interaction between PVP and PAM. The effects of various polymerization factors on the average size of PAM particles have also been studied.

In this communication, by means of stress relaxation experiments, the viscous stress at various strains during tensile deformation of oriented polyolefin samples including high density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and isotactic polypropylene (iPP), has been determined. The viscous stress in the oriented samples takes up to 50%–70% of the total stress, which is unusually high compared with their isotropic counterparts. The unusual high viscous stress was discussed based on mainly the existence of shish structure in oriented polyolefins, which could enhance the inter-lamella coupling significantly.

PEG (Polyethylene Glycol)-grafted nano-titania has been obtained in a one-step procedure using hexamethylene diisocyanate as the coupling agent and dibutyltin dilaurate as the catalyst in toluene at 80°C and characterized qualitatively by FTIR and quantitatively by elemental analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. A comparison of nano-titania with two other commonly used inorganic nanoparticles, nano-silica and nano-alumina, is made, revealing that reactivity order is nano-silica > nano-alumina > nano-titania in view of PEG grafting. Possible mechanism of PEG grafting is also discussed.

PVC was subjected to a chemical modification aiming at replacing the chlorine atoms by pyridine groups via a homolytic route. Pyridine groups were peculiarly affixed to the PVC matrix via a carbon-carbon bond rather than a carbon-nitrogen one. PVC was first iodinated using the Conant-Finkelstein reaction, followed by the application of the homolytic conditions of Minisci to generate pyridinated PVC with a varying degree of substitution. The extent of substitution was not high; the reaction on 30% iodinated PVC afforded a degree of modification no greater than 3%.

Monodisperse poly(poly(ethyleneglycol) methyl ether acrylate-co-acrylic acid) (poly(PEGMA-co-AA)) microspheres were prepared by distillation-precipitation polymerization with divinylbenzene (DVB) as crosslinker with 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator in neat acetonitrile without stirring. Under various reaction conditions, four distinct morphologies including the sol, microemulsion, microgels and microspheres were formed during the distillation of the solvent from the reaction system. A 2D morphological map was established as a function of crosslinker concentration and the polar monomer AA concentration, in comonomer feed in the transition between the morphology domains. The effect of the covalent crosslinker DVB on the morphology of the polymer network was investigated in detail at AA fraction of 40 vol%. The ratios of acid to ethylene oxide units presenting in the comonomers dramatically affected the polymer-polymer interaction and hence the morphology of the resultant polymer network. The covalent crosslinking by DVB and the hydrogen bonding crosslinking between two acid units as well as between the acid and ethylene oxide unit played key roles in the formation of monodisperse polymer microspheres.

A novel unsymmetrical fluorinated diamine monomer with kink non-coplanar heterocyclic structures, 1,2-dihydro-2-(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenyl)-4-[4-(4-amino-2-trifluoromethylphenoxy)phenyl](2H)phthalazin-1-one, was prepared through the nucleophilic substitution reaction of 1-trifluromethyl-2-chloro-5-nitrobenzene with 1,2-dihydro-4-(4- hydroxyphenyl)(2H)phthalazin-1-one in the presence of potassium carbonate, followed by catalytic reduction with hydrazine and Pd-C. A series of new fluorinated polyamides were synthesized by the phosphorylation polyamidation of the fluorinated diamine with various dicarboxylic acids. The prepared polymers were obtained in quantitative yields with moderately and high inherent viscosities (0.47–0.87 dL/g). They were all amorphous and readily soluble in various polar aprotic solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N-dimethylacctamide (DMAc), pyridine (Py) and m-cresol at room temperature. These fluorinated polyamides have excellent thermal properties. The glass transition temperatures were all above 300°C. The 5% and 10% weight loss temperatures were in the range of 437–466°C and 482–525°C in nitrogen atmosphere, respectively.

In order to improve the tensile properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate)(PET), we used the direct esterification method to synthesize PET in a home-made facility, and a certain amount of ethylene glycol (EG), one of the two starting monomers, was substituted by glycerin (GE). Four PETs with different GE contents were prepared to investigate the effect of GE on the crystallization and tensile properties of the prepared copolyester. The results showed largely improved tensile properties and increased crystallization temperature due to the possible crosslinking structure in PET by using a small amount of GE.

Two multi-nuclear titanium complexes [Ti(η⁵–Cp*)Cl(μ–O)]₃(1) and [(η⁵–Cp*TiCl)(μ–O)₂(η⁵–Cp*Ti)₂(μ–O)(μ–O)₂]₂Ti (Cp* = C₅Me₅)(2) have been investigated as the precatalysts for syndiospecific polymerization of styrene. In the presence of modified methylaluminoxane (MMAO) as a cocatalyst, complexes 1 and 2 display much higher catalytic activities towards styrene polymerization, and produce the higher molecular weight polystyrenes with higher syndiotacticities and melting temperatures (T_m) than the mother complex Cp*TiCl₃ does when the polymerization temperature is above 70°C and the Al/Ti molar ratio is in the low range especially.