Polymer Journal - Vol. 37, No. 12 (December, 2005)

Polymer Journal
Vol. 37, No. 12 (December, 2005)

Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

871-876 Optically Active Polyketones: Synthesis, Structure, and Reactions
K. Nozaki
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Asymmetric alternating copolymerization of α-olefins (mono-substituted ethenes) with CO provides chiral polyketones in their optically pure forms. This review summarizes the catalysts for the synthesis of optically active polyketones. Conformation of the polyketones is elucidated in a solution and in a solid state. Studies on the chemical transformation of the functional group, the ketone moiety, are also described.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

877-886 Effects of Chemical Solutions on the Toughness of Polypropylene
H. Wada, Y. Suzuki, K. Okamoto, and M. Ishikawa
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The mechanism for the degradation of i-PP due to heated chemical solutions was examined by three-point bending tests with U-notched bars. When i-PP was treated with a nitric acid solution, tie molecules that connect lamellar crystals were ruptured near the surface of the specimens, resulting in decrease in molecular weight and craze strength at the surface. Surface crazes thus easily transform into cracks, causing brittle fractures of the material.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

887-893 Oriented Crystallization of Polycarbonate by Vapor Grown Carbon Fiber and its Application
T. Takahashi, A. Higuchi, H. Awano, K. Yonetake, and T. Kikuchi
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The crystallization of polycarbonate (PC) was accelerated around 200 °C by vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF). With in-situ polarized optical microscope observation of PC including magnetically aligned VGCF and other evidences, it was demonstrated (see Figures below) that PC crystallizes from the surface of VGCF and the crystallization (c-axis) was oriented along VGCF axial direction. By applying the finding, a PC sheet having patterned optical retardation property was produced through transferring a pattern of oriented CF with annealing the stacked PC and CF sheets.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

894-899 Flow-Induced Structure and Viscoelastic Properties of Poly(styrene-block-2-vinylpyridine)s Solutions near the Order–Disorder Transition
Y. Takahashi, M. Noda, S. Kitade, K. Matsuoka, Y. Matsushita, and I. Noda
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Flow effects on the structure and related viscoelastic properties of lamellar forming diblock copolymers composed of components having almost the same viscoelasticity, that is, poly(styrene-block-2-vinylpyridine)s are studied by flow-SANS and rheometry near the ODT. When the lamellae are well aligned in the ordered states, reduced steady state compliance J_eR became the same as those of components. In the disordered states, J_eR obtained by oscillatory flow measurements (open symbols) are enhanced by fluctuation effects, while the fluctuations are suppressed under steady shear flow (closed symbols).

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

900-905 Comparison between Flow-Induced Alignment Behaviors of Poly(styrene-block-2-vinylpyridine)s and Poly(styrene-block-isoprene)s Solutions near ODT
Y. Takahashi, M. Naruse, Y. Akazawa, A. Takano, and Y. Matsushita
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Flow-induced structure of lamellar forming poly(styrene-d₈-block-isoprene)s (DI) solutions under steady shear flow are compared with those of poly(styrene-d₈-block-2-vinylpyridine)s (DP) solutions based on the experimentally determined interaction parameters, (χ N)_eff. It is concluded that the degree of perpendicular alignment (ratio of sector averaged intensities) is primarily determined by (χ N)_eff and reduced shear rates. In addition, concentration and shear rate regions in which parallel alignment coexists become narrower for the DP diblock copolymers consist of components with almost the same viscosities.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

906-912 Fabrication of Poly(p-oxybenzoyl) Nanowhisker
K. Kimura, S. Yamazaki, Y. Matsuoka, and Y. Yamashita
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Fabrication of poly(p-oxybenzoyl) nanowhiskers was examined by polymerization of p-acetoxybenzoic acid in liquid paraffin. Width of the whiskers was susceptible to polymerization temperature. The combination of the temperature increase just after the nucleation and the following temperature drop just before the nucleation afforded the nanowhiskers of which the width and the length were 190 nm and 18.6 μm, respectively.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

913-924 Wormlike Micelles of Polyoxyethylene Dodecyl C₁₂E_j and Heptaoxyethylene Alkyl C_iE₇ Ethers. Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Chain Length Dependence of the Micellar Characteristics
S. Shirai and Y. Einaga
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Molar mass M_w dependence of the hydrodynamic radius R_H,app of the heptaoxyethylene dodecyl ether C₁₂E₇ micelles at various temperatures T indicated. It is found that R_H,app at fixed T increases with M_w (or concentration c) due to enhancement of hydrodynamic interactions, deviating from the solid curve which represents the theoretical values for the “isolated” micelles.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

925-931 Pervaporation of Ethanol/Water Mixtures using Novel Hydrophobic Membranes Based on Concentrated Emulsion Polymerization
S. Shi, Z. Du, C. Zhang, and H. Li
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A pervaporation membrane was prepared via the concentrated emulsion polymerization method. The membrane copied the structure of its precursor concentrated emulsion and composed of closely packed latexes which squeezed each other. The morphologies of the concentrated emulsion and membrane were examined via optical and electron microscopies. The pervaporation performance of the membrane in the extraction of ethanol from ethanol/water mixtures simultaneously increased in certain ranges of composition.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

932-938 Nonisothermal Crystallization of Compatible PCL/PVC Blends under Supercritical CO₂
Y.-T. Shieh, H.-S. Yang, H.-L. Chen, and T.-L. Lin
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Nonisothermal crystallizations of compatible PCL/PVC blends under supercritical CO₂ could lead to decreases in thickness of the crystalline layers in the lamellar stacks as compared with those without the presence of supercritical CO₂. A large-scale heterogeneity with the size larger than the crystalline and amorphous layer thickness was found in the CO₂-treated blends. This heterogeneity was attributed to the amorphous domains formed by the PVC chains that were expelled out of the interlamellar regions upon PCL crystallization.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

939-945 Adsorbent for Di-n-butyl Phthalate using Chitosan Beads with Upper- or Lower-Rim Substituted Water-soluble Calixarenes
A. Yanagi, H. Otsuka, and A. Takahara
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p-Sulfonatocalix[6]arene (SCA6) immobilized chitosan beads could include di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and the DBP adsorbability of the beads was approximately five times as large as that for unmodified chitosan beads. SCA8 immobilized chitosan beads could not include DBP in contrast to free SCA8. The adsorbability of the chitosan beads with calix[n]arene-O-propane-3-sulfonate (CAnPS) did not show any correlation with DBP inclusion abilities of CAnPS. These results suggest that the steric complementarity and the intermolecular interaction should be kept on the immobilization of molecular receptor onto support.

[Regular Article] Web Release Date: December 15, 2005

946-953 Room-Temperature Polycondensation of Dicarboxylic Acids and Diols Catalyzed by Water-Stable Lewis Acids
A. Takasu, Y. Iio, T. Mimura, and T. Hirabayashi
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Room-temperature polycondensations of methylsuccinic acid (at 35 °C), bromosuccinic acid (BSA) (at 40 °C), and citraconic acid (CA) (at 60 °C) with diols containing 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD) were performed under reduced pressure (0.3–30 mmHg) using scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate [Sc(OTf)₃], scandium trifluoromethanesulfonimide [Sc(NTf₂)₃], and polymer-supported scandium trifluoromethanesulfonate (PS–Sc) to give poly(butylene succinate)s with M_n=0.67× 10⁴−1.41× 10⁴ (M_w/M_n=1.4–2.1) with quantitative yields.