• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.441-449
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• 2001

Compatibilization of blends based on poly(phenylene ether) (PPE) and polyamide (PA) has been practiced with the incorporation of a copolymer formed by grafting polystyrene onto polybutadiene latex (g-BS) which is further functionalized with maleic anhydride (MAH) (g-BS*) to impart reactivity with amine groups of PA. The major focus has been placed on the effect of the various structural factors in g-BS8 on the phase morphology and mechanical performance of the blends. For the balance of impact strength and heat resistance, it was important to locate g-BS n particles inside of the PPE phase, which was accomplished by the proper control of the molecular weight and amount of PS in g-BS*. For g-BS*'s having constant molecular weight and amount of PS, the reduction of MAH content or increase of rubber particle size in g-BS* resulted in the increase of domain size and consequently loss in mechanical properties. Based on the comparison made with the conventional PPE/PA blend comprising MAH grafted PPE as a compatibilizer, it was confirmed that the comparable level of mechanical performance can be achieved by an appropriate g-BS* type material with improved whiteness index.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.45-52
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• 1999

This paper describes how the gold particles self assemble on the specific phase on the microphase separated block copolymer thin film and form a well ordered patterns. For this study, polystyrene-polybutadiene-polystyrene (PS-PB-PS) triblock copolymer (30wt % PS) thin films (${\sim}100nm$) having a cylindrical morphology were cast from 0.1wt% toluene solution to be used as polymer thin film templates. The films having either vertical PS cylinders or in-plane PS cylinders in PB matrix from each different solvent evaporation condition were obtained. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy(TEM) was used to study the surface and bulk morphologies of block copolymer thin films. Small amount of gold particles was evaporated on a block copolymer thin film template to obtain a nano-scale pattern. When an as-cast thin film template was used, gold particles preferentially self assemble on the low surface tension PB phase and a relatively well ordered pattern in nano-scale was produced. However, after the formation of a low surface energy PB rich layer upon annealing, a gold self-assembled pattern was not observed.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.179-186
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• 2021

Carbon-based nanofillers, including nanodiamond (ND) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), have been employed in epoxy matrixes for improving the toughness, using the tow prepreg method, of epoxy compounds for high pressure tanks. The reinforcing performance was compared with those of commercially available toughening fillers, including carboxyl-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile (CTBN) and block copolymers, such as poly(methyl methacrylate)-b-poly(butyl acrylate)-b-poly(methyl methacrylate) (BA-b-MMA). CTNB improved the mechanical performance at a relatively high filler loading of ~5 phr. Nanosized BA-b-MMA showed improved performance at a lower filler loading of ~2 phr. However, the mechanical properties deteriorated at a higher loading of ~5 phr because of the formation of larger aggregates. ND showed no significant improvement in mechanical properties because of aggregate formation. In contrast, surface-treated ND with epoxidized hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene considerably improved the mechanical properties, notably the impact strength, because of more uniform dispersion of particles in the epoxy matrix. CNTs noticeably improved the flexural strength and impact strength at a filler loading of 0.5 phr. However, the improvements were lost with further addition of fillers because of CNT aggregation.

• Geomechanics and Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.535-543
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• 2019

Building on/with expansive soils with no treatment brings complications. Compacted expansive soils specifically fall short in satisfying the minimum requirements for transport embankment infrastructures, requiring the adoption of hauled virgin mineral aggregates or a sustainable alternative. Use of hauled aggregates comes at a high carbon and economical cost. On average, every 9m high embankment built with quarried/hauled soils cost $12600MJ.m^{-2}$ Embodied Energy (EE). A prospect of using mixed cutting-arising expansive soils with industrial/domestic wastes can reduce the carbon cost and ease the pressure on landfills. The widespread use of recycled materials has been extensively limited due to concerns over their long-term performance, generally low shear strength and stiffness. In this contribution, hydromechanical properties of a waste tyre sand-sized rubber (a mixture of polybutadiene, polyisoprene, elastomers, and styrene-butadiene) and expansive silt is studied, allowing the short- and long-term behaviour of optimum compacted composites to be better established. The inclusion of tyre shred substantially decreased the swelling potential/pressure and modestly lowered the compression index. Silt-Tyre powder replacement lowered the bulk density, allowing construction of lighter reinforced earth structures. The shear strength and stiffness decreased on addition of tyre powder, yet the contribution of matric suction to the shear strength remained constant for tyre shred contents up to 20%. Reinforced soils adopted a ductile post-peak plastic behaviour with enhanced failure strain, offering the opportunity to build more flexible subgrades as recommended for expansive soils. Residual water content and tyre shred content are directly correlated; tyre-reinforced silt showed a greater capacity of water storage (than natural silts) and hence a sustainable solution to waterlogging and surficial flooding particularly in urban settings. Crushed fine tyre shred mixed with expansive silts/sands at 15 to 20 wt% appear to offer the maximum reduction in swelling-shrinking properties at minimum cracking, strength loss and enhanced compressibility expenses.