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2012, Physics of the Solid State
The surface structure of polypropylene and polyethylene microporous films prepared by the extrusion of the polymer melt with the subsequent stages of annealing, uniaxial extension, and thermal fixa tion of the samples has been analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. It has been shown that percolation through pores corresponds to the axial texture of the surface with the channel structure described by the frac tal cluster model. The transition from open pores (through flow channels) to closed pores leads to the forma tion of surface regions with a biaxial texture. An increase in the density of the solid phase cluster is accompa nied by the formation of a homogeneous biaxial texture with a period of alternation of the density in two mutually perpendicular directions, one of which coincides with the direction of orientation of the films.
Physics of the Solid State, 2012
Microporous films of polyolefins, namely, polyethylene and polypropylene, have been prepared using the process based on the extrusion of the melt with the subsequent annealing, uniaxial extension, and thermal fixation. The influence of the conditions used for preparation of the films on their morphology, porosity, number and sizes of through flow channels, and mechanical properties has been investigated. It has been found that a significant influence on the characteristics of the porous structure of the films is exerted by the degree of orientation of the melt at extrusion, the annealing temperature, and the degree of uniaxial extension of the films. The threshold values of these parameters, at which through flow channels are formed in the films, have been determined. It has been shown using filtration porosimetry that polyethylene films have a higher permeability to liquids as compared to the polypropylene samples (240 and 180 L/(m 2 h atm), respectively). The porous structure of the polyethylene films is characterized by larger sizes of through pores than those of the polypropylene samples (the average pore sizes are 210 and 160 nm, respectively), whereas the polypropylene films contain a larger number of through flow channels.
Physics of the Solid State, 2012
Spatial correlations on the surface of microporous polyethylene films obtained by extrusion of the polymer melt with the subsequent stages of annealing, uniaxial extension, and thermal fixation have been studied using scanning electron microscopy. It has been shown that, as the degree of orientation of the melt increases, the formation of the periodic superlattice of oriented lamellae occurs in the films as a result of the disorder-order transition. This transition is preceded by the formation of two mutually complementary per colation clusters, which reflect the pores and the solid phase of the polymer.
We report studies of ordered microporous and nanoporous polymer films formed by the evaporation of polymer solutions following exposure to a humid atmosphere. High speed microphotographic (HSMP) studies of the formation process showed that near the surface of the polymer solution, vapour condensation produced near mono-disperse water droplets which form a close-packed monolayer (or 'breath figure'). Following the evaporation of the solvent, characterisation of the solid by Atomic Force Microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed that the surface of the polymer film is characterised by extensive regions of hexagonally close-packed microscopic pores, whose spatial arrangement replicates that of the initial droplet monolayer. Characterisation of sections of the film by Atomic Force Microscopy established that the surficial pores represent open sections of sub-surficial spheroidal cavities formed by encapsulation of the water droplets within the polymer solution. An i...
Polymer, 2009
Cast films of a high molecular weight linear polypropylene (L-PP) were prepared by extrusion followed by stretching using a chill roll. An air knife was employed to supply air to the film surface right at the exit of the die. The effects of air cooling conditions, chill roll temperature, and draw ratio on the crystalline orientation, morphology, mechanical and tear properties of the PP cast films were investigated. The crystallinity and crystal size distribution of the films were studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). It was found that air blowing on the films contributed significantly to the uniformity of the lamellar structure. The orientation of crystalline and amorphous phases was measured using wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). The amount of lamellae formation and long period spacing were obtained via small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The results showed that air cooling and the cast roll temperature have a crucial role on the orientation and amount of lamellae formation of the cast films, which was also confirmed from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the films. Tensile properties and tear resistance of the cast films in machine and transverse directions (MD and TD, respectively) were evaluated. Significant increases of the Young modulus, yield stress, tensile strength, and tensile toughness along MD and drastic decreases of elongation at break along TD were observed for films subjected to air blowing. Morphological pictograms are proposed to represent the molecular structure of the films obtained without and upon applying air cooling for different chill roll temperatures. Finally, microporous membranes were prepared from annealed and stretched films to illustrate the effect of the PP cast film microstructure on the morphology and permeability of membranes. The observations of SEM surface images and water vapor transmission rate of the membranes showed higher pore density, uniform pore size, and superior permeability for the ones obtained from the precursor films prepared under controlled air cooling.
International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2020
It is confirmed experimentally that both the heat conduction along the substrate and its heat capacity affect significantly the self-organized structures on the surface of an evaporated polymer film. The analysis presented is based on a combination of the laboratory experiments and heat transfer modeling. It is shown that only a part of the holes on the film surface can be classified as the breath figures, whereas the others are formed due to the solvent evaporation in the film volume, under the solid surface crust of the film. A combined experimental and computational analysis enables the authors to obtain a convective instability of the boundary layer flow triggered by the fast evaporation of the solvent. Most likely, this effect is responsible for the large-scale surface pattern which looks as vertical strips of Bénard-like cells. The orifices grouped at the boundaries of these convective cells are definitely produced by the volume evaporation of solvent under the surface crust. The suppression of surface patterns with the use of metalcontaining substrates is accompanied by more intense producing the porous structure inside the polymer film.
Materials Letters, 2005
Formation of mesoscopic and submicrometric self-assembled patterns in polystyrene and polycarbonate films produced by a fast dipcoating process was studied. Mixtures of chloroform and dichloromethane were used as a solvent. The mixture's composition plays a decisive role in the patterning. Close-packed honeycomb structures comprised of 200 -2000 nm pores dispersed in polymer matrix were obtained. The mechanism of self-assembling is discussed. D
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2011
Polymeric bicontinuous microemulsions (BμE), found in well-designed ternary blends of two homopolymers and a diblock copolymer, have been extensively studied in the bulk, for example, as versatile templates for the synthesis of nanoporous materials. However, there have been few reports regarding BμE-forming blends as films and the potential impact of confinement on the morphology of such blends. We have investigated the morphology of ternary blends of polyethylene (PE), poly(ethylene-alt-propylene) (PEP), and poly(ethylene-b-ethylenealt-propylene) (PEÀPEP) on a variety of substrates. The films were rendered nanoporous by selective extraction of the PEP component, which also created contrast for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Blends that form BμEs in the bulk were found to undergo an evolution of morphology from a BμE to a macro-phase separated state, induced by the segregation of blend components to the film interfaces. The dynamics of the transformation are accelerated by decreasing film thickness. The results presented indicate that BμEs can be kinetically trapped on arbitrary substrates, which has important implications for the production of bicontinuous, nanoporous films.
Thin Solid Films, 2011
A simple method to create self-organized patterns of microparticles in polymer films is demonstrated. Dye-loaded zeolite crystals are used as model microparticles, allowing convenient imaging of the patterns by fluorescence microscopy. The pattern formation can be interpreted within the general framework of the model of local self-activation and lateral inhibition. Two starting parameters, namely the polymer concentration and the wet film thickness, control the size and shape of the particle aggregates in the patterns, as well as their spacing. The size of the aggregates ranges from 50 to 340 µm.
Journal of Membrane Science, 2008
Surface Science, 2009
Anisotropically microstructured and hierarchically micro/nanostructured surfaces were fabricated on polypropylene by injection moulding. Microstructured mould inserts were obtained by structuring electropolished aluminium foils with a micro-working robot, and hierarchically structured mould inserts by anodizing the microstructured aluminium foils. On both types of inserts, the microstructures were anisotropic, consisting of alternating smooth and microstructured zones. Anisotropy, and other properties of microstructures, can be controlled by adjusting the parameters of the micro-working robot. The mould inserts were used to prepare micro-and hierarchically structured polypropylene discs by injection moulding. Replication accuracy at both structure levels can be controlled through the moulding conditions. The behaviour of water on the structures was characterized by measuring the contact and sliding angles parallel and perpendicular to the microstructured zones. Surfaces with microstructures alone were highly hydrophobic, where water droplets adopted the Wenzel state and had clearly different parallel and perpendicular contact angles. Surfaces with dual structures had contact angles near 170°and sliding angles near 0°, and again the angles in parallel and perpendicular directions differed. Superhydrophobic, anisotropic Cassie-Baxter state was achieved.
RSC Advances
The work contributes to a fundamental understanding of how to regulate the microstructure of porous polymer films fabricated via evaporation induced phase separation (EIPS).
Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 2005
Dewetting and crystallization of thin polyethyleneoxide (PEO) films obtained by dip-coating on microheterogeneous surfaces are investigated. Formation of thin polymer films and crystallization are characterized as sequential processes. Film topography and morphology are influenced by surface pattern geometry and polymer solution properties. Under appropriate experimental conditions in which heterogeneous nucleation is avoided, ultrathin non-crystalline PEO films can be prepared which are stable with respect to crystallization over a long time. The experimental procedure established generates films by dewetting on microheterogenous surfaces in which isolated amorphous micrometresized areas surrounded from non-wetting barriers are formed. Within these amorphous PEO areas, crystallization can be initiated on request with respect to starting time and location. The crystallization in ultrathin PEO films results in highly branched lamella morphology arising from a diffusion limited aggregation processes (DLA). As time and location for onset of diffusion limited crystallization can be chosen, the morphological features characteristic for DLA growth processes such as correlation width and growth direction of branches can be tuned. In addition, influences of limited material reservoirs in confined areas on film morphology are discussed.
Polymer, 2017
Aiming to reveal the effects of mechanical energy and thermal effect on micropore nucleation and growth in oriented high density polyethylene (HDPE) film, stress relaxation after cold stretching was imposed at low and elevated temperature with strain holding constant, respectively, and corresponding structure evolution was tracked by in situ and ex situ small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). It was found that stress-induced density fluctuation during cold stretching could be completely recovered as soon as the stress was unloaded, which was called as micropore embryo. Mechanical energy release at low temperature can promote micropore nucleation after an induction period. However, the growth of micropore nuclei is inhomogeneous, developing as non-uniform micropores with poor interconnectivity during hot stretching. While during temperature elevation, micropore embryos can be converted into evenly distributed micropores together with formation of fibrils, which can supply growth sites for through pores during hot stretching. Consequently, microporous membranes with narrow micropore size distribution and good permeability could be obtained after the subsequent hot stretching.
Journal of Membrane Science, 2009
Polypropylene/high density polyethylene (PP/HDPE) multilayer as well as monolayer films were prepared to develop microporous membranes using cast film extrusion followed by stretching. The effects of draw ratio (DR), cooling air flow rate (AFR), and annealing on the crystalline structure and orientation of the monolayer and components in the multilayer films were investigated using wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR). Annealing and high DR and AFR enhanced the crystal alignments significantly. However, the orientation of the PP and HDPE in the multilayer film was slightly lower compared to the monolayer films. The amount of lamellae formation, long period spacing (L p ), and lamellae thickness (l c ) were obtained via small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). A significant influence of annealing on L p and l c was observed for the PP. The row-nucleated lamellar crystallization and transcrystallization observed in the surface and cross-section of the films, respectively, are discussed. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the membrane surface and cross-section obtained for the cold and hot stretch ratios of 55% and 75%, respectively, showed larger pores and higher porosity for the HDPE layer compared to the PP. As the level of the applied extension during cold stretching increased, the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of the HDPE monolayer improved while the effect was inversed for the PP single layer. In addition, compared to the monolayer membranes, the multilayer ones showed smaller WVTR. Tensile properties of the precursor films and microporous membranes in the machine and transverse directions (MD and TD, respectively) as well as puncture resistance in the normal direction (ND) were evaluated.
The continuous extrusion of micro-textured isotactic polypropylene (i-PP) film and its tribological properties are reported. As analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, a rectangular-semicircular micro-patterned die successfully produced extruded cast-films with hill-like micro-texture. Such films displayed static and kinetic coefficients of friction (COF s and COF k ) values of 0.247 6 0.028 and 0.245 6 0.003, respectively, for a steel fixture sliding along the micro-texture of the film. The equivalent COF s and COF k values for non-textured (NT) films were 0.369 6 0.036 and 0.340 6 0.024, respectively, confirming that textured films displayed a reduction in COF of about 30%. For textured and NT films sliding on textured films, the COF k values were even lower at 0.161 6 0.013 and 0.113 6 0.004, which represents about 20-40% reduction as compared with that for the NT-NT counterparts. Films coated with a silicone lubricant displayed COF s and COF k values of 0.334 6 0.042 and 0.099 6 0.012, respectively, for NT films sliding over lubricated NT films, and 0.426 6 0.031 and 0.063 6 0.006, respectively, for textured films sliding over lubricated textured films. The COF k values for textured/non-lubricated films approach those of NT/lubricated films, indicating that micro-textured polypropylene films may be used in environmentally sensitive applications where lubricants and fluorinated additives may not be used for reducing friction. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 00:000-000, 2013.
Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics
We investigate the spontaneous rolling of polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) thin films and demonstrate the fabrication of capillaries with topographical and chemical patterns on the inner wall. Thin films of polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) are either coated by a layer of hard material or have their surface hardened by plasma oxidation. They are then driven out of equilibrium by selective solvent swelling in vapor phase resulting in a tubular rolled-up system. The inner diameter of those is measured as a function of layer thickness for different solvents and capping types. Those results are shown to be in good agreement with Timoshenko theory. Before rolling, the future inner surface can be characterized and functionnalized. We demonstrate topographical and chemical patterning, respectively by embossing and microcontact printing. These methods are very simple and can easily produce cylindrical capillaries with inner diameter between 20 and some hundreds of microns with fully functionnalized inner surface, overcoming many difficulties encountered in conventional soft lithography techniques.
Express Polymer Letters, 2015
Block copolymers have been recognized as versatile materials to prepare nanoporous polymer films or membranes, but their potential has not been completely explored. This study focuses on the formation and characterization of nanoporous polymer films based on poly(styrene)-block-(methylmethacrylate/methacrylic acid); (PS-b-MMA/MAA) were obtained through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), by using two different protocols: annealing and annealingirradiation; for improving the formation of microporous surface. The composition, crystallinity and structural order of the films were studied by Raman spectroscopy. The film polymer thickness was obtained through very high resolution ellipsometry (VHRE). Finally, atomic force microcopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques were used to detect changes in the porous-structure. These results show that the morphological properties of the block copolymer were affected via the modification of two variables, UV-radiation time and annealing. SEM and AFM micrographs showed that the morphology exhibit a porous ordered structure. Contact angle measurement suggests additional interactions between hydrophilic functional groups that influence the film wettability.
Journal of Membrane Science, 2007
Macromolecular Materials and Engineering, 2010
An amphiphilic LCBC PEO-b-PAz consisting of flexible PEO as a hydrophilic block and poly-(methacrylic acid) containing an azobenzene moiety in side chain as a hydrophobic LC segment was synthesized and used to fabricated microporous films by spin-coating method under a dry environment. With the help of a small amount of water, well-arranged ellipsoidal micropores embedded in a LC matrix were obtained and the pore size is in the range of several tens mm of water. The influence of water content and rotational speed was studied in detail. It was found that regularly patterned microporous films can be prepared with certain water content, and the pore size can be easily tailored through changing the rotational speed. The obtained microporous structures showed good thermal and photo stability.
Polymer, 2014
Cast films, based on polypropylene (PP), were prepared via melt extrusion and, then, annealed below the melting temperature. The effect of annealing conditions on the properties of the films and the microporous membranes formed by stretching was investigated. It is shown that annealing is an effective method to improve the physical properties of semi-crystalline polymers by promoting chain rearrangement and creating secondary lamellae in the amorphous region.
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