Deformation-induced phase transitions of polyamide 12 in its elastomer segmented copolymers

Comparative Characterization of Hot-Pressed Polyamide 11 and 12: Mechanical, Thermal and Durability Properties

Chemically speaking, polyamide 11 (PA11) and polyamide 12 (PA12) have a similar backbone, differing only in one carbon. From an origin point of view, PA11 is considered a bioplastic polyamide composed from renewable resources, compared to oil-based PA12. Each of them has a number of advantages over the other, which makes their selection a challenging issue. Depending on the target application, diverse assessments and comparisons are needed to fulfill this mission. The current study addresses this research gap to characterize and compare PA11 and PA12 manufactured by the hot press technique in terms of their mechanical, thermal and durability properties for the first time, demonstrating their potential for future works as matrices in composite materials. In this regard, different characterization techniques are applied to the hot-pressed polymer sheets, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical performance of the PA11 and PA12 sheets is compared based on tensile tests and shore hardness measurement. The durability behavior of these two polyamides is evaluated in water and relative humidity conditions at different aging times. The experimental results show the ductile behavior of PA12 with respect to the quasi-brittle PA11. Both have a relatively small water and moisture gain: 1.5 wt% and 0.8 wt%, respectively. The higher crystallinity of PA12 (2.1 times more than PA11) with γ-phase is one of the leading parameters to achieve better mechanical and durability properties. The FTIR spectra displayed slight acid hydrolysis. Accordingly, absorbed water or moisture does not cause plasticization; thus, neither hardness nor dimension changes.

Facile Synthesis of Thermoplastic Polyamide Elastomers Based on Amorphous Polyetheramine with Damping Performance

Novel thermoplastic polyamide elastomers (TPAEs) consisting of long-chain semicrystalline polyamide 1212 (PA1212) and amorphous polyetheramine were synthesized via one-pot melt polycondensation. The method provides accessible routes to prepare TPAEs with a high tolerance of compatibility between polyamide and polyether oligomers compared with the traditional two-step method. These TPAEs with 10 wt % to 76 wt % of soft content were obtained by reaction of dodecanedioic acid, 1,12-dodecanediamine, and poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) diamine. The structure–property relationships of TPAEs were systematically studied. The chemical structure and the morphologic analyses have revealed that microphase separation occurs in the amorphous region. The TPAEs that have long-chain PPG segments consist of a crystalline polyamide domain, amorphous polyamide-rich domain, and amorphous polyetheramine-rich domain, while the ones containing short-chain PPG segments comprise of a crystalline polyamide domain and miscible amorphous polyamide phase and amorphous polyetheramine phase due to the compatibility between short-chain polyetheramine and amorphous polyamide. These novel TPAEs show good damping performance at low temperature, especially the TPAEs that incorporated 76 wt % and 62 wt % of PPG diamine. The TPAEs exhibit high elastic properties and low residual strain at room temperature. They are lightweight with density between 1.01 and 1.03 g/cm³. The long-chain TPAEs have well-balanced properties of low density, high elastic return, and high shock-absorbing ability. This work provides a route to expand TPAEs to damping materials with special application for sports equipment used in extremely cold conditions such as ski boots.

Shear-induced transitions in colloidal and polymeric liquids

This review reflects different aspects of wide current studies of the phenomena related to the shear-induced structure transformation in various complex liquids. Experimental data, being the basis of this discussion, were obtained for polymeric liquids (melts, blends, solutions) and different dispersions (colloidal solutions, suspensions, emulsions). The general initial input of shearing is the creation of inhomogeneities which can continue to remain as separate domains, become the nuclei of new phases, or become diffuse, leading to phase separation. The following effects are discussed: diffusion-induced phase separation, phase transitions occurring mainly due to the deformation-driven orientation of polymer chains and worm-like micelles that results in the formation of a liquid-crystal state, as well as self-assembly effects. It can be stressed that the appearance of regular structures takes place in systems that can coexist in different concentrations or phase states at the same stress or shear rate. This is linked with the existence of two-value points on flow curves (part of a flow curve with negative slope) or transient regimes of deformation that lead to instability of the flow. The described experimental facts are briefly discussed on the basis of the application of different constitutive molecular or phenomenological rheological models.

Superior shape memory properties and microstructure evolution of poly(ether-b-amide12) elastomer enhanced by poly(ε-caprolactone)

While the recovery ratio of PEBA decreases marginally with PCL content, the maximum recovery stresses (σ_max) increase greatly despite of the deformation temperature, indicating an enhancement of the recovery stress.