XPS analysis of the PC/PVDF interface modified by PMMA. Location of the PMMA at the interface

Polycarbonate (PC) and polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF) are two immiscible polymers, which form two-phase polyblends with a weak interfacial adhesion and a high interfacial tension. This situation may be changed by the addition of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), which is miscible with PVDF and concentrates at the PVDF/PC interface. Location of PMMA at the PC/PVDF interface has been confirmed by XPS analysis, which shows that the interface enrichment in PMMA already takes place when only 10 wt% PMMA is premixed with PVDF

Microwave absorbers based on foamed nanocomposites with graded concentration of carbon nanotubes

A multilayered foamed nanocomposite with graded concentration of carbon nanotubes is proposed as a novel microwave absorber. The dispersion and foaming process enables to control the gradation in conductivity of each layer. Absorption performances are demonstrated through measurements of reflectivity and shielding effectiveness over the frequency range [8-16 GHz]. An improvement of about 5 dB in reflectivity is observed with respect to a foamed composite having a similar uniform concentration, while in both cases the shielding effectiveness is kept higher than 15 dB.Anglai

Composition effect on the core-shell morphology and mechanical properties of ternary polystyrene/styrene-butadiene rubber/polyethylene blends

The morphology of ternary polystyrene/styrene-butadiene rubber/polyethylene (PS/SBR/PE) blends has been investigated in the limits of a constant content of the major component (PS; 75 wt%) while changing the weight ratio of the two minor constitutive polymers. A core-shell structure for the dispersed phase has been predicted from the spreading coefficients and observed by transmission electron microscopy. Actually, upon increasing the relative content of PE with respect to SBR, the structure of the dispersed phase changes from a multicore structure to a PE/SBR core-shell morphology. The size of the PE subphase in the mixed dispersed phase increases sharply at a PE content that corresponds to phase inversion in the parent SBR/PE binary blends. The ultimate mechanical properties of these blends are sensitive to the strength of the SBR interphase between PS and PE. Some synergism has been observed in the PE/SBR composition dependence of the tensile strengths at yield and break