-Heat conduction PACS 45.50.Jf -Few-and many-body systemsAbstract -We present a chain-of-atoms model where heat is rectified, with different fluxes from the hot to the cold baths located at the chain boundaries when the temperature bias is reversed. The chain is homogeneous except for boundary effects and a local modification of the interactions at one site, the "impurity". The rectification mechanism is due here to the localized impurity, the only asymmetrical element of the structure, apart from the externally imposed temperature bias, and does not rely on putting in contact different materials or other known mechanisms such as grading or long-range interactions. The effect survives if all interaction forces are linear except the ones for the impurity.

A facile and effective approach for manufacturing poly(butylene adipate‐co‐terephthalate) (PBAT) foams with obvious bimodal cellular structure (BCS) was proposed utilizing chain extension and batch supercritical CO2 foaming technology. Ethylene‐glycidyl methacrylate copolymer (EGMA) as crystalline chain extender was selected to modify PBAT. The results of torque tests, differential scanning calorimetry, and rheological performances demonstrated that the melt strength, viscoelasticity, and crystallization properties of PBAT were improved after introducing EGMA. The influences of EGMA content and foaming temperature on the cellular structure of PBAT foams were investigated systematically. By decreasing the foaming temperature, the size of both large and small cells in the bimodal chain extended PBAT‐3 (CPBAT‐3) foams decreased, as well as their BCS became distinct gradually. The BCS in diverse CPBAT foams was successfully controlled via varying EGMA content and foaming temperature. Finally, the formation mechanism of BCS in diverse PBAT foams was presented.

Fully biodegradable chain-extended poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (CPBAT)/acetylated cellulose nanocrystals (ACNCs) nanocomposites were prepared by the melt compounding process. The dispersibility of CNCs in deionized water was improved through the surface acetylation, which was observed by atomic force microscope and transmission electron microscope.

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