. The effect of temperature and strain rate on the deformation behaviour, structure development and properties of biaxially stretched PET-clay nanocomposites. Composites Science and Technology, Elsevier, 2011, 71 (5), pp.758. <10.1016/j.compscitech.2011.01.024>. Accepted ManuscriptThe effect of temperature and strain rate on the deformation behaviour, structure development and properties of biaxially stretched PET-clay nanocomposites This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. UK AbstractThe inclusion of a synthetic fluoromica clay in PET affects its processability via biaxial stretching and stretching temperature (95 °C and 102 °C) and strain rate (1 s -1 and 2 s -1 )influence the structuring and properties of the stretched material. The inclusion of clay has little effect on the temperature operating window for the PET-clay but it has a major effect on deformation behavior which will necessitate the use of much higher forming forces during processing. The strain hardening behavior of both the filled and unfilled materials is well correlated with tensile strength and tensile modulus. Increasing the stretching temperature to reduce stretching forces has a detrimental effect on clay exfoliation, mechanical and O 2 barrier properties. Increasing strain rate has a lesser effect on the strain hardening behavior of the PET-clay compared with the pure PET and this is attributed to possible adiabatic heating in the PET-clay sample at the higher strain rate. The Halpin-Tsai model is shown to accurately predict the modulus enhancement of the PET-clay materials when a modified particle modulus rather than nominal clay modulus is used.

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α, β-unsaturated diester was used to react with secondary amine in imidazole ring and also restrain its reactivity. The modified imidazole would thermally decompose into imidazole and unsaturated diesters. Mixture of the latent curing agent with epoxy resins has long storage stability at room temperature for more than one month. The curing behavior of modified imidazole/epoxy was investigated by nonisothermal differential scanning calorimetry method and the curing kinetics results revealed that the modified imidazole has higher curing temperature but similar apparent activation energy. Furthermore, the modified imidazole brings better impact strength for cured epoxy.

Summary: A novel methodology has been developed to describe the microstructure of polymer-clay nanocomposites quantitatively. It builds on the image analyses of transmission electron microscopy and optical microscopy micrographs, and two parameters, degree of dispersion and mean interparticle distance per unit volume of clay, are proposed to characterize the level of clay dispersion. It provides insights into the 'real' clay dispersion using a combination of both microscopical and macroscopical aspects.