Thermoplastic composite system using polymer blend and fillers

A thermoplastic/thermoset blend exhibiting thermal mending and reversible adhesion.

In this paper, we report on the development of a new and broadly applicable strategy to produce thermally mendable polymeric materials, demonstrated with an epoxy/poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) phase-separated blend. The initially miscible blend composed of 15.5 wt % PCL undergoes polymerization-induced phase separation during cross-linking of the epoxy, yielding a "bricks and mortar" morphology whe...

Novel Thermoplastic Polyimide Composite Materials

Bonding of thermoplastic polymer microfluidics

Thermoplastics are highly attractive substrate materials for microfluidic systems, with important benefits in the development of low cost disposable devices for a host of bioanalytical applications. While significant research activity has been directed towards the formation of microfluidic components in a wide range of thermoplastics, sealing of these components is required for the formation of...

PES/Quaternized-PES Blend Anion Exchange Membranes: Investigation of Polymer Compatibility and Properties of the Blend

Polyethersulfone (PES)-based anion exchange blend membranes were prepared from quaternized-PES (Q-PES) and N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) casting solutions with water as coagulant via non-solvent induced phase inversion. The compatibility of the blend system was investigated through thermodynamic studies while membrane formation was determined using the cloud point techni...

A Method of Forming Composite Structures Using In Situ-Formed Liquid Crystal Polymer Fibers in a Thermoplastic Matrix

A new high speed and potentially economical method of creating a composite material and structures therefrom is tested. The method consists of spinning composite fibers from a melt blend of a thermoplastic with a liquid crystal polymer (LCP). Discontinuous fibrils of the LCP are formed in situ during the spinning process. These composite fibers are aligned and placed in a mold and heated to mel...