Structure and property relationship
Igor Chmutin; Ludmila Novokshonova; Petr Brevnov; Guzel Yukhayeva; Natalia Ryvkina
Abstract
There are described nanocomposites based on ultra high molecular weight polyethylene and graphite nanoplates prepared by in-situ polymerization method. It is carried out a comprehensive study of electric properties of these composites, including direct current (dc) and alternating current (ac) properties. ...
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There are described nanocomposites based on ultra high molecular weight polyethylene and graphite nanoplates prepared by in-situ polymerization method. It is carried out a comprehensive study of electric properties of these composites, including direct current (dc) and alternating current (ac) properties. There is explored dependence of the conductivity and dielectric permeability on filler concentration, temperature, deformation and frequency of electric field. These relationships are compared with those for composites based on other carbon fillers including both nanoscale (carbon nanotubes, carbon black) and micron-sized (graphite, schungite) fillers. More specific electrical properties of investigated materials such as lower percolation threshold and higher dielectric permittivity compared to those for composites based on other carbon fillers are attributed to the plate-like shape of graphite nanoplates. These materials are distinguished also by their high electrical stability against temperature and deformation. Therefore, it makes graphite nanoplates the most preferable conductive filler for some practical applications. Some possible application areas for UHMWPE/graphite nanoplates nanocomposites will be also discussed.
Polymer processing
Ali Foroozan; Tahereh Behboodi; Yousef Jahani
Abstract
In this study, the compatibility of the blends of polypropylene (PP) and polybutene-1(PB-1) homopolymer before and after long chain branching process were studied. The blends were prepared and long-chain branched directly via reactive extrusion process in presence of free radical initiator and trimethylolpropane ...
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In this study, the compatibility of the blends of polypropylene (PP) and polybutene-1(PB-1) homopolymer before and after long chain branching process were studied. The blends were prepared and long-chain branched directly via reactive extrusion process in presence of free radical initiator and trimethylolpropane tri methacrylate (TMPTMA) poly functional monomer. The optimum percentage of TMPTMA and PB-1 resin have determined by measuring the grafting efficiency and by studying the rheological behavior in shear steady state and transient extensional mode and the morphology of samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Referring to the blends’ morphologies observed in SEM images which were approved by rheological data, it was found an enhanced compatibility in the blend by branching with 1.5wt% for TMPTMA and 10wt% for PB-1 resin. In this composition, the highest grafting efficiency of 37% and branch index of 5.2 achieved. The zero shear viscosity (η0) of PP is increased from 4500 Pa.s to 6800 Pa.s after branching process and enhanced more to 2400 Pa.s by using 10 wt% PB-1 resin. The Long-chain branched structure showed prominent higher zero-shear viscosity, longer relaxation time and pronounced strain-hardening behaviors. The branching behavior of samples were quantified by using extensional viscosity data and the branch index of samples were determined.
Reaction engineering
Ali Ebrahimi; Saeid Ahmadjo; Mohsen Mohammadi; Mohammad-Mahdi Mortazavi; Mostafa Ahmadi
Abstract
Coordinative chain transfer polymerization (CCTP) has opened a new path for the development of novel products like olefin block copolymers and chain-end functional polyolefins. However, conflicting results are frequently reported on the catalyst performance including activity and comonomer selectivity ...
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Coordinative chain transfer polymerization (CCTP) has opened a new path for the development of novel products like olefin block copolymers and chain-end functional polyolefins. However, conflicting results are frequently reported on the catalyst performance including activity and comonomer selectivity under CCTP conditions. Here we have selected two catalysts including rac-ethylenebis(1-η5-indenyl)zirconocene and bis(imino) pyridine iron, with drastically different comonomer affinities. The effect of diethyl zinc as the chain transfer agent (CTA) on their individual performances is evaluated at different 1–hexene concentrations, in copolymerization with ethylene. Combined thermal fractionation and GPC results confirm that not all chains experience the reversible transfer reaction. Nevertheless, the metallocene catalyst shows twice activity and about 30% lower comonomer incorporation in the presence of CTA. Conversely, the late transition metal catalyst demonstrates lower activity and remains comonomer irresponsive. It could be concluded that, in addition to establishing a reversible transfer reaction, CTA affects the nature of active centers. This finding can help designing olefin copolymers with a more defined chemical composition based on CCTP reaction.
Characterization
Marzie Alidadi-Shamsabadi; Shirin Shokoohi
Abstract
Melt free-radical grafting reactions between ethylene-propylene-dieneterpolymer (EPDM) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) were investigated in a batch mixer (170°C, 60rpm). Effect of dicumylperoxide (DCP) initiator and GMA functionalizing monomer concentrations was studied on the grafted EPDM characteristics. ...
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Melt free-radical grafting reactions between ethylene-propylene-dieneterpolymer (EPDM) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) were investigated in a batch mixer (170°C, 60rpm). Effect of dicumylperoxide (DCP) initiator and GMA functionalizing monomer concentrations was studied on the grafted EPDM characteristics. Titration results indicated an increase in the graft degree (GD) and gel content (GC) values with increasing DCP concentration as a result of increasing primary free radical concentration and strengthening cross-linking side reaction. FTIR spectrums confirmed that GMA functionalities have been grafted onto EPDM with appearing carbonyl (C=O) peak. After that, the resultant EPDM-g-GMA was used as compatibilizer in PS(polystyrene)/EPDM/PA6 (polyamide6) ternary blends. The effect of rubbery compatibilizer on the blend morphology and mechanical properties was studied. The ATR-FTIR spectra of ternary blends, etched to remove unreacted PA6, demonstrated that the compatibilizing reactions occurred during melt blending. By investigating the SEM micrographs it was revealed that the EPDM-g-GMA compatibilizer at the concentration range of 5 wt.% to 15 wt.% changed the size and type of the blend morphology from separated dispersed to multicore-shell morphology. The finest morphology was achieved by using 7.5 wt.% EPDM-g-GMA. Also, the presence of compatibilizer up to 7.5 wt.% could improve the tensile modulus, yield stress and impact strength, but a decreasing trend was observed at higher concentration of the compatibilizer.
Shijia Ling; He Ren; Rui Zhang; Yue Liu; Boping Liu; Ruihua Cheng
Abstract
The chromium/vanadium bimetallic Phillips catalysts developed by our research group have been proved to be a promising process to produce bimodal polyethylene using a single-reactor process. The vanadium loading of CrV-1/1, CrV-1/2, and CrV-1/3 has a significant effect on the polymerization activity, ...
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The chromium/vanadium bimetallic Phillips catalysts developed by our research group have been proved to be a promising process to produce bimodal polyethylene using a single-reactor process. The vanadium loading of CrV-1/1, CrV-1/2, and CrV-1/3 has a significant effect on the polymerization activity, product molecular weight (MW), as well as the molecular weight distribution (MWD). Due to the unstable and easy deactivation of vanadium active centers at atmospheric or low (0.4 MPa) reaction pressure [Macromol. React. Eng. 2015, 9, 462–472], the reaction is carried out at 1.0 MPa to strength the V active center on the activities of ethylene homopolymerization, ethylene/1-hexene copolymerization, and the H2 responds properties. The reaction carried out at higher pressure promotes the polymerization activities. With the same amount of cocatalyst, the highest activity of the three Cr-V bimetallic catalysts CrV-1/1, CrV-1/2 and CrV-1/3 decreases with the increase of vanadium loading. The Cr-V bimetallic catalysts require more cocatalyst than the single metal Cr cat. It was found two obvious peaks in the GPC curves of homopolyethylen and ethylene/1-hexene copolymer. It means that the higher reaction pressure benefits the promotion of the active center of catalyst for higher MW. By increasing the loading from 0.48 wt.% (CrV-1/1) to 0.96 wt.% (CrV-1/2), the molecular weight increases by nearly 30%. Besides, according to the deconvolutions of the GPC curves of homopolymers, ethylene/1-hexene copolymers, and the homopolymers with H2 modulation, the synergetic effect between Cr and V center is presented. As the vanadium loading increases, the active site accounted for the high molecular weight portion increases, and the Cr-V catalyst presents better hydrogen responds. When the partial pressure of hydrogen is 0.1 MPa, the molecular weight is reduced by nearly half. Specifically, the high molecular weight peak is weakened, while the low molecular weight peak is strengthened. The peak position does not change significantly. The higher vanadium content and the greater sensitivity of hydrogen modulation indicate that the vanadium active center has better hydrogen responds than the chromium active center does. The homopolymerization product of the Cr/V-1/1 catalysts exhibits higher tensile strength and elongation-at-break. The tensile properties of the copolymerized product of CrV-1/1 are further improved.
Olefin polymerization and copolymerization
Ahmad-Ali Shokri; Saeid Talebi; Mehdi Salami-Kalajahi
Abstract
Laboratory runs can be minimized via experimental design which yields the optimum and best data regarding the independent parameters. In this research work, response surface methodology (RSM) based on a threelevel central composite design (CCD) was utilized to optimize and evaluate the interactive effects ...
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Laboratory runs can be minimized via experimental design which yields the optimum and best data regarding the independent parameters. In this research work, response surface methodology (RSM) based on a threelevel central composite design (CCD) was utilized to optimize and evaluate the interactive effects of processing conditions for polymerization of 1,3-butadiene (Bd) diene monomer using Ziegler-Natta catalyst. The polybutadiene rubber (PBR) having different cis content and molecular weight was obtained. The catalyst components included neodymium versatate (NdV3) as catalyst, triethyl aluminum (TEAL) as cocatalyst or activator, and ethylaluminum sesquichloride (EASC) as chloride donor. For the modeling, three independent variables, namely monomer concentration (8-28 wt%), reaction time (1.5-2.5 h), and reaction temperature (45-75ºC) at three levels were selected to optimize the dependent variables or responses including monomer conversion, viscosity-average molecular weight and the cis isomer content of the obtained polymer. The interaction between three crucial parameters was studied and modeled. Quadratic models were obtained to relate process conditions to dependent variables. It was observed that the optimal conditions predicted by RSM were consistent with the experimental data. Statistical analysis demonstrated that concentration of the monomer and the time of reaction significantly affected cis content. Moreover, processing conditions to achieve the desired response variables were predicted and experimentally approved. The optimal reaction conditions derived from RSM are monomer concentration = 19 wt%, polymerization time = 2 hours, and polymerization temperature = 50ºC. Polymerization was carried out at optimum conditions. The appropriate level of dependent variables including 94.2% monomer conversion, 151812 g/mol viscosity-average molecular weight and 98.8% cis content was acquired.
Catalysis
Hossein Bordbar; Ali Akbar Yousefi; Hossein Abedini
Abstract
Titanium (Ti) is the ninth most abundant element on earth. The titanium mineral ores are widely distributed in different parts of the world. The two main ores of titanium include rutile (TiO2) and ilmenite (FeO.TiO2). It is aimed to provide the readers with an insight to the main processes currently ...
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Titanium (Ti) is the ninth most abundant element on earth. The titanium mineral ores are widely distributed in different parts of the world. The two main ores of titanium include rutile (TiO2) and ilmenite (FeO.TiO2). It is aimed to provide the readers with an insight to the main processes currently employed to extract and recover titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) from different titanium ores. Due to the crucial importance of TiCl4 catalyst in the synthesis and polymerization of polyolefins, the present work examines the literature and developments made in the processing of ilmenite and rutile ores for the extraction of TiCl4. The attention has been paid to the chlorination processes and the main parameters affecting the recovery of TiCl4. Different approaches developed to date are reviewed. Different processes, reaction mechanisms and conditions as well as the kinetic models developed for extraction and purification of TiCl4 in fluidized bed reactors are also reviewed. A literature survey on the combined fluidized bed reactor systems developed for achieving a high-grade synthetic rutile via selective chlorination of low-grade titanium ores having high metal oxides content such as magnesium oxide (MgO) and calcium oxide (CaO) is also reported. Different strategies adopted to avoid agglomeration process during the extraction process are discussed too.
Abbas Razavi
Abbas Razavi
Abstract
Editor-in-Chief's Notes
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Editor-in-Chief's Notes
Abbas Razavi
Abstract
Editor-in-Chief's Notes
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Editor-in-Chief's Notes
Abbas Razavi
Abstract
Editor-in-chief's note
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Editor-in-chief's note
Abbas Razavi
Abstract
Editor-in-Chief's Notes
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Editor-in-Chief's Notes
Abbas Razavi
Mehdi Nekoomanesh
Abstract
Editorial Notes
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Editorial Notes
Catalysis
Walter Kaminsky; Mercia Fernandes
Abstract
Beside Ziegler-Natta and Phillips catalysts the development of methylaluminoxane (MAO) as cocatalyst in combination with metallocenes or other transition metal complexes for the polymerization of olefins has widely increased the possibilities in controlling the polymer composition, polymer structure, ...
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Beside Ziegler-Natta and Phillips catalysts the development of methylaluminoxane (MAO) as cocatalyst in combination with metallocenes or other transition metal complexes for the polymerization of olefins has widely increased the possibilities in controlling the polymer composition, polymer structure, tacticity and special properties with high precision. These catalysts allow the synthesis of isotactic, isoblock, syndiotactic, stereoblockor atactic polymers, as well as polyolefin composite materials with superior properties such as film clarity, tensile strength and lower content of extractables. Metallocene and other single site catalysts are able to copolymerize ethene and propene with short and long chained a-olefins, cyclic olefins, or polar vinyl monomers such as ethers, alcohols or esters, especially, if the polar monomers are protected by aluminum alkyls. Different vinyl ethers such as vinyl-ethyl ether, vinyl-propyl ether, vinyl-hexyl ether, and 2,7-octadienyl methyl ether (MODE) were copolymerized with olefins using triisobutyl aluminum as protecting agents. Polar monomers could be incorporated into the polymer chain by up to 16 mol%. Such copolymers show better gas barrier and surface properties, as well as solvent resistance and they are suitable for blends of polyolefins with polyethers and other polar polymers because of an excellent adhesion of the two polymers.
Structure and property relationship
Ali Yadegari; Jalil Morshedian; Hossein-Ali Khonakdar; Udo Wagenknecht
Abstract
High density polyethylene (HDPE) films were produced using cast film extrusion process with different draw ratios, ranging from 16.9 to 148.8. Morphology, crystallinty and orientation state of crystalline and amorphous phases of the cast films were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), ...
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High density polyethylene (HDPE) films were produced using cast film extrusion process with different draw ratios, ranging from 16.9 to 148.8. Morphology, crystallinty and orientation state of crystalline and amorphous phases of the cast films were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarized Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses, respectively. The anisotropic crystalline structures of row-nucleated lamellar morphology were observed for the films produced with high draw ratios. The crystalline phase axes orientation functions were found to be significantly dependent on the applied draw ratios. As expected, annealing increased the crystallinity and melting point temperature (Tm) of the cast films and on the other hand, it also enhanced the crystalline phase orientation. However, the results revealed that annealing also promoted non-twisted lamellar structures, since it increased fc values (c-axis orientation function) and decreased fa values (a-axis orientation function) simultaneously. Additionally, it was found that the annealing induced enhancement in c-axis orientation function was more significant for the cast films with lower draw ratios, therefore, it was dependent on the draw ratio.
Composites and nanocomposites
Raid Banat; Malek Aljnaid; Manal Al-Rawashdeh
Abstract
Mechanical and physical properties of various weigh percentages (0% - 40%) of olive pomace flour (OPF)-loaded linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) in the presence of 0%, 5% and 10% coupling agent (C) were formulated and studied. Extrusion and hot press processing techniques were used to fabricate ...
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Mechanical and physical properties of various weigh percentages (0% - 40%) of olive pomace flour (OPF)-loaded linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) in the presence of 0%, 5% and 10% coupling agent (C) were formulated and studied. Extrusion and hot press processing techniques were used to fabricate OPF/LLDPE composites. Tensile stress at yield increased by 20% with the increasing of the filler loading up to 20%; and marginally increased in the presence of the C. Whereas, the decline in the tensile strain at yield of the polymer composite improved with the increase in the C content. The modulus increased from 631 MPa for the neat LLDPE to 680, 808 and 700 MPa for the composites filled by 5%, 10% and 20% filler content, respectively. Whereas, a decrease in the given modulus (550 MPa) was observed at 40% filler loading. The modulus has shown a successive improvement upon the addition of the C with values not less than 800 MPa. The impact strength decreased with the increase in filler loading from 119 kJ/m2 for the neat LLDPE to 81, 43, 27 and 16 kJ/m2 for the 5%, 10%, 20% and 40% OPF/LLDPE samples, respectively. On the contrary, 10% C addition improved the impact strength of the composite by two folds in the case of 10 - 40% filler inclusion. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) illustrations proved the mechanical performance of various bio-composite formulations. Water absorption of the bio-composite increased with the OPF loading, from 0.73% for the neat LLDPE to 2.6% for 40% OPF-filled polymer composite, and decreased upon increasing the C content with an average of 1.4% for all composites. Formulated by mixing cellulosic-based material OPF and LLDPE, the bio-composite demonstrated compatible physical properties and can be used as an already available cellulosic filler for the bio-composite materials.
Polyolefins Functionalization
Mohammad Shahbazi; Yousef Jahani
Abstract
In this work, the grafting of maleic anhydride onto two types of linear low density polyethylene with hexene-1 comonomer (LLDPE-H1) and butene-1 comonomer (LLDPE-B1), in the presence of styrene monomer (St) and dicumyl peroxide initiator (DCP) has been studied. The combined influences of MAH, St and ...
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In this work, the grafting of maleic anhydride onto two types of linear low density polyethylene with hexene-1 comonomer (LLDPE-H1) and butene-1 comonomer (LLDPE-B1), in the presence of styrene monomer (St) and dicumyl peroxide initiator (DCP) has been studied. The combined influences of MAH, St and DCP on the grafting efficiency via a melt reactive mixing process have been investigated using response surface methodology and the central cubic design has been employed for experimental design and data analysis. IR spectroscopy, contact angle measurements and adhesion test have been used to evaluate the extent of grafting reaction. The results showed that LLDPE-H1 with a 2.2% maximum grafting content showed more grafting content than the LLDPE-B1 (1.86%). This effect could be attributed to the type of comonomer in LLDPE-H1 which made it more prone to chain scission than LLDPE-B1, and a higher level of grafting was achieved. The gel content measurement showed that lower cross-linked structure was formed during the grafting process in the LLDP-H1 than that in the LLDPE-B1. The optimum conditions of maximum grafting and minimum gel content were statically investigated. The optimum percentage of grafting for LLDPE-H1 was 1.82% and it was 1.74% for LLDPE-B1, with the minimum gel content of 6.5% and 9%, respectively. It was found that the amount of grafted percentage was sensitive to the concentrations of the MAH, DCP, and St, while the extent of the gel content was more sensitive to the percentage of DCP.
Polyolefin degradation
Milad Fonouni; Reza Yegani; Sattar Anarjani; Akram Tavakoli
Abstract
An essential characteristic for high performance inherently hydrophobic membranes such as microporous high density polyethylene (HDPE) membranes is to have a hydrophilic surface. In this project, wet chemical functionalization as a facile and effective method was developed to give a hydrophilic property ...
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An essential characteristic for high performance inherently hydrophobic membranes such as microporous high density polyethylene (HDPE) membranes is to have a hydrophilic surface. In this project, wet chemical functionalization as a facile and effective method was developed to give a hydrophilic property to HDPE membranes using polar functional groups. KClO3, K2Cr2O7 and KMnO4 were selected as oxidizing agents. The optimum concentrations and treatment time intervals were determined for each oxidizing agent. Water contact angle and pure water flux measurements were conducted to evaluate the surface hydrophilicity and membrane performance, respectively. The results showed that among different oxidizing agents, 1wt% K2Cr2O7 solution with 60 min immersion time had the highest impact on the pure water flux. The percentage of re-construction phenomenon was about 4.70%, 21.94% and 32.6% for the HDPE membranes treated by KClO3, K2Cr2O7 and KMnO4, respectively. In addition, the attenuated total reflectance spectra-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) results confirmed the presence of hydroxyl groups (O–H peak appeared at 3418.78 cm−1) in the membrane modified by KClO3. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) filtration experiments revealed that the total fouling ratio (TFR) and irreversible fouling ratio (IFR) decreased from 88.10% and 42.60% for pristine membrane to 65%, 68% and 72%and 26.60%, 29.30% and 35% for the modified membranes treated by KClO3, K2Cr2O7 and KMnO4, respectively. The results indicated that incorporation of hydrophilic functional groups on the surface of HDPE membranes improved the fouling resistance behavior.
Rezgar Hasanzadeh; Taher Azdast; Ali Doniavi; Richard Eungkee Lee
Abstract
The loss of energy especially in industrial and residential buildings is one of the main reasons of increased energy consumption. Improving the thermal insulation properties of materials is a fundamental method for reducing the energy losses. Polymeric foams are introduced as materials with excellent ...
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The loss of energy especially in industrial and residential buildings is one of the main reasons of increased energy consumption. Improving the thermal insulation properties of materials is a fundamental method for reducing the energy losses. Polymeric foams are introduced as materials with excellent thermal insulation properties for this purpose. In the present study, a deep theoretical investigation is performed on the overall thermal conductivity of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) foams. The thermal conductivity by radiation is predicted using two different methods. The most appropriate model is selected in comparison with experimental results. The results show that the theoretical model has an appropriate agreement with the experimental results. The effects of foam characteristics including foam density, cell size, and cell wall thickness on the overall thermal conductivity are investigated. The results indicate that by decreasing the cell size and increasing the cell wall thickness, the overall thermal conductivity is decreased significantly. Also, there is an optimum foam density in order to achieve the smallest thermal conductivity. The lowest overall thermal conductivity achieved in the studied ranges is 30 mW/mK at foam density of 37.5 kg.m-3, cell size of 100 μm, and cell wall thickness of 6 μm.
Characterization
Afshar Alihosseini; Davood Zergani; Amir Hossein Saeedi Dehaghani
Abstract
The application of membranes in various industries is one of the most urgent needs to reduce energy consumption and environmental pollutants as well as low investment costs in the process of separation. In this investigation, the optimization of effective parameters for separation of gas mixture of CH4, ...
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The application of membranes in various industries is one of the most urgent needs to reduce energy consumption and environmental pollutants as well as low investment costs in the process of separation. In this investigation, the optimization of effective parameters for separation of gas mixture of CH4, CO2, O2 and N2 is studied by modified poly(4-methyl-1-pentane) (PMP) membrane including nanoparticles (TiO2, ZnO, Al2O3). Design expert software was used and prevailing data on membrane modeling were categorized according to the process variables such as permeability, selectivity, composition and percentage of nanoparticle, and gas pressure difference. In order to validate the model, the results predicted by the model were compared with the experimental data. Good agreement was observed between the predicted and experimental data, and it was found that nanoparticles have a considerable effect on the results. In the case of gas permeability, the best results were obtained for the nanoparticles of alumina (15 wt%) at the pressure of 3 bar. However, titanium dioxide nanoparticle (10 wt%) at the pressure of 9 bar showed the best results for gas selectivity. The optimum point for both permeability and selectivity was obtained for the membrane containing 10 wt% titanium dioxide at 5 bar.
Catalysis
Kotohiro Nomura
Abstract
Certain cyclic olefin copolymers (COCs) are known as promising amorphous materials with high transparency in the UV-vis region, thermal and humidity resistance, low dielectric constant, low water absorption, and dimensional stability. This short review focuses on the synthesis of (new) cyclic olefin ...
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Certain cyclic olefin copolymers (COCs) are known as promising amorphous materials with high transparency in the UV-vis region, thermal and humidity resistance, low dielectric constant, low water absorption, and dimensional stability. This short review focuses on the synthesis of (new) cyclic olefin copolymers by designed (nonbridged) half-titanocene catalysts, which enabled to proceed synthesis of the amorphous polymers by ethylene/ propylene copolymerization not only with norbornene (NBE), and tetracyclododecene (TCD), but also with so called low strained cyclic olefins (cyclopentene, cyclohexene, cycloheptene, and cyclooctene). Their thermal properties (glass transition temperature, Tg values) are affected by structure of the cyclic olefin employed and the contents, whereas linear relationships between Tg values and the contents were observed in all cases.
Catalysis
Toshiaki Funako; Patchanee Chammingkwan; Toshiaki Taniike; Minoru Terano
Abstract
In Ziegler-Natta olefin polymerization, the pore architecture of catalysts plays a crucial role in catalytic performances and polymer properties. While the type of preparation routes (such as chemical reaction and solution precipitation) greatly affects the catalyst pore architecture as a result of different ...
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In Ziegler-Natta olefin polymerization, the pore architecture of catalysts plays a crucial role in catalytic performances and polymer properties. While the type of preparation routes (such as chemical reaction and solution precipitation) greatly affects the catalyst pore architecture as a result of different solidification mechanisms, the modification of the pore architecture within a given route has been hardly achieved. In this study, we propose a simple way to vary the pore architecture of Mg(OEt)2-based Ziegler-Natta catalysts by the addition of a second alcohol. It was found that the addition of a second alcohol during Mg(OEt)2 synthesis affected not only the morphology of Mg(OEt)2 macroparticles but also the shape of building units. The degree of alternation was found to be sensitive to the molecular structure of a second alcohol. Noticeable influences were observed in the case of branched alcohols, where the transformation of plate-like building units to cylindrical ones led to the generation of totally different pore size distributions of resultant catalysts.
Structure and property relationship
Fateme Khademeh Molavi; Sedigheh Soltani; Ghasem Naderi; Rohollah Bagheri
Abstract
A novel mixing approach for achieving a good dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in ethylene- propylene diene monomer (EPDM) matrix has been investigated. In this approach EPDM was modified with vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) during melt mixing. In addition the effect of MWCNT concentration ...
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A novel mixing approach for achieving a good dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in ethylene- propylene diene monomer (EPDM) matrix has been investigated. In this approach EPDM was modified with vinyltrimethoxysilane (VTMS) during melt mixing. In addition the effect of MWCNT concentration on mechanical and rheological properties of modified EPDM has been studied. The formulated composites by this method exhibited significantly enhanced physical properties even at very low nanotube concentration. The grafting reaction was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) peak at 1070 and 1250 cm-1according to Si-O and Si-C vibration. The state of dispersion of the fillers in the polymer matrix was evaluated through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), In addition surface topology was studied with atomic force microscopy (AFM). The results showed that VTMS-grafted on the EPDM surface improved the dispersion of MWCNTs in the matrix. The rheological characteristics have been studied by rubber process analyzer (RPA). Some properties such as storage modulus (Ǵ) and complex viscosity (η^*) increased with increasing MWCNT content. It was found that at concentration of 2 wt.% MWCNT, the nanocomposites exhibited notably enhanced mechanical properties such as modulus and tensile strength.
