One of the conventional methods to develop biodegradable plastics at a reasonable cost is manufacturing the blend of expensive polycaprolactone (PCL) and lower-priced starch. However, past studies have shown that the amount of starch blended with plastics is relatively small and the dynamic properties are not sufficiently improved. This study focuses on the improvement of physical properties of starch, including thermal plasticity, compatibility with PCL and dynamic properties. Starch was blended with glycerine and water to achieve thermal plasticity and improve compatibility with PCL. Addition of maleic anhydride to PCL improved compatibility, which resulted in improved dynamic properties. Addition of clay results in dispersed thermo plastic starch, which improves compatibility with PCL. In addition, it was clarified that addition of clay accelerates the positive effect of electron irradiation on the blend.
We have been studying oriented thin films of polymers fabricated by the friction transfer method, which allows a variety of conjugated polymers to be aligned into highly oriented films. However, with this method it is difficult to prepare oriented films from a mixture. In this work we prepared oriented thin films of a mixture of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), which is a promising combination for application in organic solar cells. We obtained oriented blend films of P3HT and PCBM by the friction transfer method from a solid block prepared from a mixed solution with a weight ratio of 1 : 1. Atomic force microscopy shows that microscale phase separation took place in the blend films. Polarized UV–visible spectra show that the P3HT chains were aligned parallel to the friction direction in the blend films. X-ray diffraction studies suggested that the preferred orientation of P3HT crystallites was the “face-on” orientation in the blend film.
The degradation mechanism in molecular order by electron beam (EB) irradiation for three types of thermosetting polymers (bisphenol type vinylester, Novolak-type vinylester and tetra functional epoxy resin) is confirmed by dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) and the swelling test in this study. The level of degradation in molecular order is quite high. The same result was observed in Novolak-type vinylester but not in tetrafunctional epoxy resin. The results of the swelling test showed that the cross-linking networks were destroyed by γ -or electron beam irradiation remarkably for both the vinylester resins. For the tetrafunctional epoxy resin, γ -or electron irradiation does not give any effect even in molecular order in high radiation intensity such as 20 MGy. However, the mechanical properties such as bending strength, modulus and fracture toughness of all composites (both vinylester resin and tetrafunctional epoxy resin composites) reinforced by a chopped-strand glass mat or flake-like mica change a little after 20 MGy EB irradiation.
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