Polystyrene development

The prodegradant systems for polyolefins and polystyrene developed by EPI Environmental Products Inc. involve additives that also impart sensitivity to heat and/or UV light. The composition and quantity of their TDPA formulations added to conventional polyolefin resins provide performance that features a controlled... 

An important step in tire progress of colloid science was tire development of monodisperse polymer latex suspensions in tire 1950s. These are prepared by emulsion polymerization, which is nowadays also carried out industrially on a large scale for many different polymers. Perhaps tire best-studied colloidal model system is tliat of polystyrene (PS) latex [9]. This is prepared with a hydrophilic group (such as sulphate) at tire end of each molecule. In water tliis produces well defined spheres witli a number of end groups at tire surface, which (partly) ionize to... 

Since the compliance is essentially the inverse of the modulus, it is not surprising that the same four regions of mechanical behavior show up again here. The data for polystyrene is more fully developed, so we shall examine if. 

Materials are being developed to exhibit both photochromic and photographic behaviors one such system is based on a substituted indolinospiro-hen opyrene embedded in a polystyrene matrix (26). This system acts as a photochromic system at low exposure in the uv range and at high exposure it functions as a photographic system. The image can be devisualized by heat and can be restored many times with uv irradiation. 

Styrene—acrylonitrile (SAN) copolymers [9003-54-7] have superior properties to polystyrene in the areas of toughness, rigidity, and chemical and thermal resistance (2), and, consequendy, many commercial appHcations for them have developed. These optically clear materials containing between 15 and 35% AN can be readily processed by extmsion and injection mol ding, but they lack real impact resistance. 

The insulating value and mechanical properties of rigid plastic foams have led to the development of several novel methods of buUding constmction. Polyurethane foam panels may be used as unit stmctural components (220) and expanded polystyrene is employed as a concrete base in thin-sheU constmction (221). 

The combination of stmctural strength and flotation has stimulated the design of pleasure boats using a foamed-in-place polyurethane between thin skins of high tensUe strength (231). Other ceUular polymers that have been used in considerable quantities for buoyancy appHcations are those produced from polyethylene, poly(vinyl chloride), and certain types of mbber. The susceptibUity of polystyrene foams to attack by certain petroleum products that are likely to come in contact with boats led to the development of foams from copolymers of styrene and acrylonitrUe which are resistant to these materials... 

Miscellaneous Applications. CeUular plastics have been used for display and novelty pieces from their eady development. Polystyrene foam combines ease of fabrication with lightweight, attractive appearance, and low cost to make it a favorite in these uses. PhenoHc foam has its principal use in doral displays. Its abiHty to hold large amounts of water for extended periods is used to preserve cut dowers. CeUular poly(vinyl chloride) is used in toys and athletic goods, where its toughness and ease of fabrication into intricate shapes have been valuable. 

Solid Superacids. Most large-scale petrochemical and chemical industrial processes ate preferably done, whenever possible, over soHd catalysts. SoHd acid systems have been developed with considerably higher acidity than those of acidic oxides. Graphite-intercalated AlCl is an effective sohd Friedel-Crafts catalyst but loses catalytic activity because of partial hydrolysis and leaching of the Lewis acid halide from the graphite. Aluminum chloride can also be complexed to sulfonate polystyrene resins but again the stabiUty of the catalyst is limited. 

Foamed plastics (qv) were developed in Europe and the United States in the mid-to-late 1930s. In the mid-1940s, extmded foamed polystyrene (XEPS) was produced commercially, foUowed by polyurethanes and expanded (molded) polystyrene (EPS) which were manufactured from beads (1,2). In response to the requirement for more fire-resistant ceUular plastics, polyisocyanurate foams and modified urethanes containing additives were developed in the late 1960s urea—formaldehyde, phenoHc, and other foams were also used in Europe at this time. 

A method for the polymerization of polysulfones in nondipolar aprotic solvents has been developed and reported (9,10). The method reUes on phase-transfer catalysis. Polysulfone is made in chlorobenzene as solvent with (2.2.2)cryptand as catalyst (9). Less reactive crown ethers require dichlorobenzene as solvent (10). High molecular weight polyphenylsulfone can also be made by this route in dichlorobenzene however, only low molecular weight PES is achievable by this method. Cross-linked polystyrene-bound (2.2.2)cryptand is found to be effective in these polymerizations which allow simple recovery and reuse of the catalyst. 

Other apphcations of sodium bromide iaclude use ia the photographic iadustry both to make light-sensitive silver bromide [7785-23-1] emulsions and to lower the solubiUty of silver bromides during the developing process use as a wood (qv) preservative in conjunction with hydrogen peroxide (14) as a cocatalyst along with cobalt acetate [917-69-1] for the partial oxidation of alkyl side chains on polystyrene polymers (15) and as a sedative, hypnotic, and anticonvulsant. The FDA has, however, indicated that sodium bromide is ineffective as an over-the-counter sleeping aid for which it has been utilized (16). 

Antistatic polystyrenes have been developed in terms of additives or coatings to minimise primarily dust collecting problems in storage (see Antistatic agents). Large Hsts of commercial antistatic additives have been pubhshed (41). For styrene-based polymers, alkyl and/or aryl amines, amides, quaternary ammonium compounds, anionics, etc, are all used. 

The observation in 1949 (4) that isobutyl vinyl ether (IBVE) can be polymerized with stereoregularity ushered in the stereochemical study of polymers, eventually leading to the development of stereoregular polypropylene. In fact, vinyl ethers were key monomers in the early polymer Hterature. Eor example, ethyl vinyl ether (EVE) was first polymerized in the presence of iodine in 1878 and the overall polymerization was systematically studied during the 1920s (5). There has been much academic interest in living cationic polymerization of vinyl ethers and in the unusual compatibiUty of poly(MVE) with polystyrene. 

Practical methods for synthesis and elucidation of the optimum physical forms were developed at Du Pont (13). The violets fill the void in the color gamut when the inorganics are inadequate. The quinacridones may be used in most resins except polymers such as nylon-6,6, polystyrene, and ABS. They are stable up to 275°C and show excellent weatherabiUty. One use is to shade phthalocyanines to match Indanthrone Blue. In carpeting, the quinacridones are recommended for polypropylene, acrylonitrile, polyester, and nylon-6 filaments. Predispersions in plastici2ers ate used in thermoset polyesters, urethanes, and epoxy resins (14). 

Thermoplastic Elastomers. These represent a whole class of synthetic elastomers, developed siace the 1960s, that ate permanently and reversibly thermoplastic, but behave as cross-linked networks at ambient temperature. One of the first was the triblock copolymer of the polystyrene—polybutadiene—polystyrene type (SheU s Kraton) prepared by anionic polymerization with organoHthium initiator. The stmcture and morphology is shown schematically in Figure 3. The incompatibiHty of the polystyrene and polybutadiene blocks leads to a dispersion of the spherical polystyrene domains (ca 20—30 nm) in the mbbery matrix of polybutadiene. Since each polybutadiene chain is anchored at both ends to a polystyrene domain, a network results. However, at elevated temperatures where the polystyrene softens, the elastomer can be molded like any thermoplastic, yet behaves much like a vulcanized mbber on cooling (see Elastomers, synthetic-thermoplastic elastomers). 

The particular type of thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) shown in Figure 3 exhibits excellent tensile strength of 20 MPa (2900 psi) and elongation at break of 800—900%, but high compression set because of distortion of the polystyrene domains under stress. These TPEs are generally transparent because of the small size of the polystyrene domains, but can be colored or pigmented with various fillers. As expected, this type of thermoplastic elastomer is not suitable for use at elevated temperatures (>60° C) or in a solvent environment. Since the advent of these styrenic thermoplastic elastomers, there has been a rapid development of TPEs based on other molecular stmctures, with a view to extending their use to more severe temperature and solvent environments. 

In numerous applications of polymeric materials multilayers of films are used. This practice is found in microelectronic, aeronautical, and biomedical applications to name a few. Developing good adhesion between these layers requires interdiffusion of the molecules at the interfaces between the layers over size scales comparable to the molecular diameter (tens of nm). In addition, these interfaces are buried within the specimen. Aside from this practical aspect, interdififlision over short distances holds the key for critically evaluating current theories of polymer difllision. Theories of polymer interdiffusion predict specific shapes for the concentration profile of segments across the interface as a function of time. Interdiffiision studies on bilayered specimen comprised of a layer of polystyrene (PS) on a layer of perdeuterated (PS) d-PS, can be used as a model system that will capture the fundamental physics of the problem. Initially, the bilayer will have a sharp interface, which upon annealing will broaden with time. 

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