polybutadiene nanoparticles were synthesized via batch emulsion polymerization of butadiene in the presence of potassium persulfate, disproportionate rosinate potassium cation and t-dodecyl mercaptane as initiator, emulsifier and chain transfer agent, respectively. polymerization reaction was performed at different temperatures (60, 70 and 80 °c). conversion was measured at the various time int...

Despite its widespread occurrence in nature and broad application in industrial practice, nucleation of crystalline materials remains largely unpredictable and therefore difficult to control. In this work, we demonstrate a new method to control nucleation with polymer microgels by tuning their microstructure to vary systematically the degree of nanoscopic confinement and its effects on nucleati...

In this paper, an electrospraying technique was applied to prepare polycaprolactone (PCL) polymer particles with a different microstructure. The PCL particles can be controlled to have a porous microstructure by tailoring the evaporation of solvents during the electrospraying process. The effect of various concentrations on the morphology and microstructure of PCL particles was investigated. Th...

Polymer gels are found in many applications ranging from foods (Ross-Murphy, 1995; Tunick, 2010) and drug delivery (Andrews & Jones, 2006) to adhesives (Creton, 2003) and consumer products (Solomon & Spicer, 2010). By manipulating the gel’s microstructure, a wide variety of physical properties can be achieved ranging from hard rubbery plastics to soft hydrogels. Silicone-based polymer gels in p...

A method to produce and pattern magnetic microstructure in a soft-polymer matrix is demonstrated. An externally applied magnetic field is used to influence the dynamics of magnetophoretic transport and dipolar self-assembly of magnetic nanoparticle clusters in the liquid precursor of poly-dimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Magnetic nanoparticles agglomerate by an interplay of van der Waals forces and dip...

An n-type pyromellitic diimide polymer composite with in situ microstructure growth of the common element compound SnCl2 reaches power factor of 50-100 μW m-1 K-2, the highest purely n-type polymer composite power factor yet reported. The composite has a gigantic Seebeck coefficient between -4000 and -5000 μV K-1, many times higher than other polymer composites.

In the present work, metakaolin-based geopolymer including different polymer admixtures was studied. Different types of commercial polymer admixtures VINNAPAS® and polyethylene glycol of different relative molecular weight were used as polymer admixtures. The main objective of this work is to investigate the influence of different types of admixtures on the properties of metakaolin-based geopol...

Films cast from multiphase polymer particles have the potential to combine the properties of their components synergistically. The properties of the film depend on the hybrid polymer architecture and the film morphology. However, how the polymer microstructure and particle morphology are transformed during film formation to determine the film morphology is not well understood. Here, using water...

A finite element model was used to study the dielectric constant and breakdown strength of polymer composite filled with high aspect ratio fillers. The impact of composite microstructure and filler aspect ratio on the dielectric properties was investigated. The results were used to explain the experimental data for BaTiO3 fiber filled poly(dimethyl siloxane) published previously. The effect of ...

This review covers recent advances and work on the microstructure features, mechanical properties and cracking processes of conducting polymer film/coating- substrate structures under different testing conditions. An attempt is made to characterize and quantify the relationships between mechanical properties and microstructure features. In addition, the film cracking mechanism on the micro scal...