Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Item
    A new strategy to improve viscoelasticity, crystallization and mechanical properties of polylactide
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2021) Huang, Ying; Müller, Michael Thomas; Boldt, Regine; Zschech, Carsten; Gohs, Uwe; Wießner, Sven
    Biodegradable polylactide/masticated natural rubber (PLA/mNR) blends were prepared by electron induced reactive processing (EIReP) without using any chemical additives. The PLA/mNR blends showed droplet-matrix morphology with decreased mNR particle size after EIReP treatment. The absolute value of complex viscosity and storage modulus increased significantly for the EIReP modified blends, suggesting the improved melt strength and elasticity. The crystallization investigation showed that the cold crystallization peak of PLA phase gradually disappeared after EIReP modification. Instead, the crystallization peak arose during melt cooling process. Consequently, the crystallinity of PLA phase increased from 6.2% to 39.0% as the mNR content increased from 0 to 20 wt%. It was found that the softening temperature of PLA examined by dynamic mechanical analysis increased effectively with the characters of higher modulus compared to the non-modified blends. The EIReP modified blends exhibited excellent mechanical properties with 7-fold increase of impact toughness compared with neat PLA, implying a superior interfacial adhesion and chain interactions between the two polymer phases. Furthermore, the thermogravimetric analysis demonstrated that the thermal stability was slightly enhanced for the EIReP modified blends.
  • Item
    Poly(acrylonitrile-co-butadiene) as polymeric crosslinking accelerator for sulphur network formation
    (London [u.a.] : Elsevier, 2020) Hait, Sakrit; Valentín, Juan López; Jiménez, Antonio González; Ortega, Pilar Bernal; Ghosh, Anik Kumar; Stöckelhuber, Klaus Werner; Wießner, Sven; Heinrich, Gert; Das, Amit
    The major controlling factors that determine the various mechanical properties of an elastomer system are type of chemical crosslinking and crosslink density of the polymer network. In this study, a catalytic amount of acrylonitrile butadiene copolymer (NBR) was used as a co-accelerator for the curing of polybutadiene (BR) elastomer. After the addition of this copolymer along with other conventional sulphur ingredients in polybutadiene compounds, a clear and distinct effect on the curing and other physical characteristics was noticed. The crosslinking density of BR was increased, as evidenced by rheometric properties, solid-state NMR and swelling studies. The vulcanization kinetics study revealed a substantial lowering of the activation energy of the sulphur crosslinking process when acrylonitrile butadiene copolymer was used in the formulation. The compounds were also prepared in the presence of carbon black and silica, and it was found that in the carbon black filled system the catalytic effect of the NBR was eminent. The effect was not only reflected in the mechanical performance but also the low-temperature crystallization behavior of BR systems was altered. © 2020 The AuthorsMaterials science; Materials chemistry; Crosslinking accelerator; Sulphur network; Solid state NMR; Curing kinetics; Activation energy; Acrylonitrile butadiene; Polybutadiene; Low-temperature; Crystallization. © 2020 The Authors