Synthesis and Analysis of Gas/Polymer Solutions for Ultra- Microcellular Plastics Production

PI发明了一种制造新的 他称之为微孔的一类聚合材料 塑料. 该过程包括形成一个 气体/聚合物溶液及其热力学诱导 大量成核（1015个细胞/cm 3）的不稳定性 微泡或细胞的数量级为10- 6微米， 直径. 这些细胞比那些 预先存在于聚合物中，因此不会损害 聚合物的特定机械性能。 这可以在 室温以及更高温度下。 的 技术得到了进一步发展和商业化， 行业 拟议研究的目标是确定 聚合物中超气体浓度的基本机理 并开发一种新的材料，PI是 称为超微孔塑料，其特征在于 直径约为10- 7米， 密度约为1018个细胞/cm 3母体材料。 理解超级气体的物理现象 聚合物中的浓度可用于影响聚合物的聚合度。 性能-结构-性能-加工关系 这些材料，并帮助设计程序， 新的，甚至更密集包装的泡沫，PI正在计划， 美食的备受 超微孔塑料具有潜力 优于母体材料和其它泡沫材料， 如透明度、高冲击强度、增加的强度- 重量比，以及改善的热性能和介电性能。 在更广泛的范围内，理解基本现象 参与这些材料的合成可以用来 发展工业技术，例如 环保发泡技术、滤光片、光学 材料、绝缘材料和基板， 摄影胶片。

The PI has invented and patented a process for making a new class of polymeric materials which he calls microcellular plastics. The process consists of the formation of a gas/polymer solution and the inducement of its thermodynamic instability to nucleate a very large number (1015 cells/cm3) of microbubbles or cells which are on the order of 10-6m in diameter. These cells are smaller than the flaws that preexist within polymers and thus do not compromise the polymer's specific mechanical properties. This can be done at room temperature as well as at higher temperatures. The technology has been further developed and commercialized by industry. The goals of the proposed research are to determine the fundamental mechanisms of super gas concentration in polymers and to develop a new class of materials, which the PI is calling ultra-microcellular plastics, which are characterized by cell sizes on the order of 10-7m in diameter and cell densities of the order of 1018 cells/cm3 of parent material. Understanding the physical phenomena governing super gas concentration in polymers can be used to affect the performance-structure-property-processing relationship of these materials and help design procedures to manufacture the new, even more densely packed foams that the PI is planning to produce. Ultra-microcellular plastics have potential advantages over the parent material and over other foams such as transparency, high-impact strength, increased strength-to- weight ratio, and improved thermal and dielectric properties. On a broader scale, understanding the fundamental phenomena involved in the synthesis of these materials could be used to develop industrial technologies for example for environmentally-safe foaming technologies, filters, optical materials, insulation materials, and substrates for photographic films.