• Fibers and Polymers
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.81-85
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• 2001

The effects of rate of phase separation to ester interchange reactions and the repulsive pair interaction energy on the phase behavior in a phase-separated immiscible polyester blend are investigated using a Monte Carlo simulation method. The time evolution of structure factor and the degree of randomness are monitored as a function of homogenization time. When the phase separation is dominant over ester interchange reactions, the domain size slowly increases with homogenization time. However, when the pair interaction becomes less repulsive, the domain size does not significantly change with homogenization time. On the other hand, when ester interchange reactions are dominant over the phase separation, the homogenization proceeds without a change in the domain size. The higher the extent of phase separation, the lower the increasing rate of the DR. However, when the phase separation is sufficiently dominant, the effect of the extent of phase separation on the increasing rate of the degree of randomness become less significant.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Rheology Conference
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• 2002.11a
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• pp.67-71
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• 2002

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Rheology Conference
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• 2000.11a
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• pp.99-102
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• 2000

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.21 no.1 s.73
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• pp.79-85
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• 2006

Olefinic compatibilized blend(R-PP/R-PE)/layered silicate composites have been prepared by melt intercalation technique directed from $Na^{+}$ montmorillonite(MMT) or organophilic montmorillonites while using magnesium hydroxide as flame retardant. Morphology and flammability properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), thermogravimetry analysis(TGA), limiting oxygen index(LOI), UL94 test. It is found that the compatibilized blend/layered silicate(Cloisite 20A) nanocomposites have a mixed immiscible-intercalated structure and there is better intercalation when a compatibilizer is combined with the polymer and layered silicate to be melt blended. A very large increase in the LOI value was observed with hybrid filler addition and further enhancement in thermal stability and compatibility of blend was obtained for the compatibilized blend containing small amount of layered silicate.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2005

We investigated thermal, rheological, morphological and mechanical properties of a binary blend of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(butylene succinate adipate) (PBSA). The blends were extruded and their molded properties were examined. DSC thermograms of blends indicated that the thermal properties of PLA did not change noticeably with the amount of PBSA, but thermogravimetric analysis showed that thermal stability of the blends was lower than that of pure PLA and PBSA. Immiscibility was checked with thermal data. The rheological properties of the blends changed remarkably with composition. The tensile strength and modulus of blends decreased with PBSA content. Interestingly, however, the impact strength of PLA/PBSA (80/20) blend was seriously increased higher than the rule of mixture. Morphology of the blends showed a typical sea and island structure of immiscible blend. The effect of the blend composition on the biodegradation was also investigated. In the early stage of the degradation test, the highest rate was observed for the blend containing $80wt\%$ PBSA.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.226-232
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• 2001

The properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET)/maleic anhydride-grafted polypropylene (MAgPP)/poly(styrene-co-maleic anhydride)(PScMA) ternary blend were investigated. The ternary blend was immiscible based on the glass transition temperatures measured by dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). The degradation of MAgPP during melt mixing for 30 min at 280$^{\circ}C$ did not affect the properties of the ternary blend. The interaction among the components was confirmed from the rheological properties, which was increased with the PSCMA contents. In terms of the mechanical properties, it was observed to satisfy the mixture rule for a multiple system.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2009.11a
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• pp.41.2-41.2
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• 2009

Electrospinning of Polyvinylalcohol (PVA), Gelatin (GE), and PVA/GE blend solutions in acetic acid were investigated to fabricate biodegradable for tissue engineering. The morphology of the electrospun nanofibers was investigated with a field emission scanning electron microscope. The fibers have average diameters in the range 50-150 nm. The miscibility of PVA/GE blend fibers was examined by differential scanning calorimetry.The PVA and GE were immiscible in the as-spun nanofibrous structure. X-ray diffraction (XRD) determined the crystallinity of the membrane and tensile strength for evaluation physical properties. An in vitro study of PVA/GE blend nanofibers was conducted. To assay the cytocompatibility and cell behavior on the PVA/GE blend nanofibrous scaffolds, cell attachment and spreading of fibroblasts seeded on the scaffolds were studied. Our results indicate that thePVA/GE blend nanofibrous matrix, particularly the one that contained 20% PVA and 80% GE could be a good candidate for tissue engineering scaffolds, because it has an excellent cell attachment and spreading for fibroblast cell.

• Korea-Australia Rheology Journal
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.255-263
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• 1999

Blends of two thermotropic liquid crystalline polymers, HX2000 and Vectra A950, were prepared by melt blending. Effects of transesterification on these blends are investigated by comparing properties of the blends with and without the addition of an inhibitor, in terms of blend miscibility and rheology. Both the uninhibited and inhibited blends are found to be largely immiscible with very limited miscibility in HX2000-rich phase. No strong evidence indicates the occurrence of transesterification in the blends in the solid state. Dynamic rheological behaviour, such as shear storage modulus (G') and shear loss modulus (G") as a function of frequency, of the blends are interpreted by a three-zone model. HX2000 shows terminal-zone and plateau-zone behaviour, whilst Vectra A950 shows plateau-zone and transition-zone behaviour. The un- inhibited blends show plateau-zone behaviour up to 50% Vectra A950 content and the inhibited blends show plateau-zone behaviour up to 60% Vectra A950 content. Compositional dependence of the complex viscosities of the uninhibited and inhibited blends displayed positive deviations from additivity, which is a characteristic feature for the immiscible thermoplastic blends. When under steady shear, both the uninhibited and inhibited blends show shear thinning behaviour and their viscosities decrease monotonically with the addition of Vectra A950. Compositional dependence of the steady shear viscosities of the two sets of blends displayed negative deviations from additivity and the uninhibited blends were more viscous than the inhibited blends for the full composition range. Although limited agreement with the Cox-Merz rule is found for the inhibited blends, these two sets of blends, in general, do not follow the rule due to their liquid crystalline order and two-phase morphology. Despite being immiscible blends, transesterification, such as polymerization, in the blends might occur during the rheological characterization, supported by the facts that uninhibited blends show HX2000-dominant behaviour at lower Vectra A950 content and are more viscous than the inhibited blends. The addition of transesterification inhibitor in such blends is advised if only physical mixing is desired.ired.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.413-420
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• 2003

Fluorescence microscope technique was employed for the characterization of phase separation behavior of a 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan labeled polystyrene (PS) / polybutadiene (PB) blend in dioctyl phthalate under steady shear. It was confirmed that the fluorescence microscope images reflect the real phase morphology by comparing with the images of phase contrast microscope. Comparing the fluorescence intensities from the phase separated domain (PS rich) and continuous phase (PB rich), the composition difference between these two phases were deduced. The observed shear dependence of compositional change is then used to confirm that the phase diagram is indeed shifted under the steady shear.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.588-595
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• 2009

The aim of this study was to increase compatibility of immiscible PLA/PCL blend by using electron beam irradiation in the presence of glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). The blends of PLA/PCL containing GMA were irradiated at doses of 10, 50 and 100 kGy and then the irradiated samples were characterized by observing morphology and rheological properties. Blends irradiated with 50 and 100 kGy showed greatly improved interfacial adhesion between two phases in the morphology. Complex viscosity of PLA/PCL(9/1) blend irradiated at dose of 100 kGy was about 100 times higher than that of pure PLA. We found that the compatibility of immiscible PLA/PCL could be improved by electron beam irradiation in the presence of GMA from the investigation of morphology and rheology.