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Controlling Processing, Morphology, and Mechanical Performance in Blends of Polylactide and Thermotropic Polyesters.

ABSTRACT: Thermoplastic composites based on thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) materials are interesting candidates for reinforced composite application due to their promising mechanical performance and potential for recyclability. In combination with a societal push toward the more sustainable use of materials, these properties warrant new interest in this class of composites. Though numerous studies have been performed in the past, a coherent set of design rules for LCP design for the generation of injection-molded reinforced thermoplastic composites is not yet available, likely due to the complex interplay between LCP and matrix components. In this study, we report on the processing of poly(l-lactide) with two different LCPs, at relatively low processing temperatures. The study focuses on critical parameters for the morphological development and mechanical performance of LCP-reinforced composites. The influence of blend composition and the processing conditions, on the mechanical response of the composites, is investigated using rheology, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, mechanical analysis, and microscopy techniques. The study conclusively demonstrates that both the matrix viscosity and viscosity ratio between the dispersed and matrix phase, determine the deformation and breakup of the dispersed LCP droplets during extrusion. In addition, the thermal dependence of the viscosity ratio appears to be a critical parameter for the composite performance after injection molding. For example, during injection molding, stretching and molecular orientation of the LCP phase into highly oriented fibrils are prevented when the viscosity ratio increases rapidly upon cooling. In contrast, melt drawing proves to be a more effective processing route as the extensional flow field stabilizes elongated droplets, independent of the viscosity ratio. Overall, these findings provide valuable insights in the morphological development of LCP-reinforced blends, highlighting the importance of the development of viscoelastic properties as a function of temperature, and provide guidelines for the design of new LCP polymers and their thermoplastic composites.

SUBMITTER: de Kort GW

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6748672 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Controlling Processing, Morphology, and Mechanical Performance in Blends of Polylactide and Thermotropic Polyesters.

de Kort Gijs W GW Rastogi Sanjay S Wilsens Carolus H R M CHRM

Macromolecules 20190801 15

Thermoplastic composites based on thermotropic liquid crystalline polymer (LCP) materials are interesting candidates for reinforced composite application due to their promising mechanical performance and potential for recyclability. In combination with a societal push toward the more sustainable use of materials, these properties warrant new interest in this class of composites. Though numerous studies have been performed in the past, a coherent set of design rules for LCP design for the generat ...[more]

PMID: 31543551

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Project description:We study the effects of patterned surface chemistry on the microscale and nanoscale morphology of solution-processed donor/acceptor polymer-blend films. Focusing on combinations of interest in polymer solar cells, we demonstrate that patterned surface chemistry can be used to tailor the film morphology of blends of semiconducting polymers such as poly-[2-(3,7-dimethyloctyloxy)-5-methoxy-p-phenylenevinylene] (MDMO-PPV), poly-3-hexylthiophene (P3HT), poly[(9,9-dioctylflorenyl-2,7-diyl)-co-benzothiadiazole)] (F8BT), and poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-bis-N,N'-(4-butylphenyl)-bis-N,N'-phenyl-1,4-phenylendiamine) (PFB) with the fullerene derivative, [6,6]-phenyl-C(61)-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). We present a method for generating patterned, fullerene-terminated monolayers on gold surfaces and use microcontact printing and Dip-Pen Nanolithography (DPN) to pattern alkanethiols with both micro- and nanoscale features. After patterning with fullerenes and other functional groups, we backfill the rest of the surface with a variety of thiols to prepare substrates with periodic variations in surface chemistry. Spin coating polymer:PCBM films onto these substrates, followed by thermal annealing under nitrogen, leads to the formation of structured polymer films. We characterize these films with Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and fluorescence microscopy. The surface patterns are effective in guiding phase separation in all of the polymer:PCBM systems investigated and lead to a rich variety of film morphologies that are inaccessible with unpatterned substrates. We demonstrate our ability to guide pattern formation in films thick enough to be of interest for actual device applications (up to 200 nm in thickness) using feature sizes as small as 100 nm. Finally, we show that the surface chemistry can lead to variations in film morphology on length scales significantly smaller than those used in generating the original surface patterns. The variety of behaviors observed and the wide range of control over polymer morphology achieved at a variety of different length scales have important implications for the development of bulk heterojunction solar cells.

Dataset Information

Controlling Processing, Morphology, and Mechanical Performance in Blends of Polylactide and Thermotropic Polyesters.

Publications

Controlling Processing, Morphology, and Mechanical Performance in Blends of Polylactide and Thermotropic Polyesters.

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