n-Octadecyltrimethoxysilane (ODS)-modified silica particles were used as sole Pickering stabilizer to prepare water-in-oil Pickering high internal phase emulsions (HIPEs) with an internal phase volume of 80%. After polymerization of the continuous phase of HIPEs, interconnected macroporous polymers were obtained when modified silica was initially dispersed in water to form a micelle-like structure. However, silica particles in oil phase resulted in closed-cell pores. The pore size, the pore wall morphology, and the interconnectivity of polymer foams could be adjusted finely by the grafted amounts of ODS, modified silica concentrations, and the initial location of Pickering stabilizer. The gas permeation of interconnected porous polymers increased dramatically with the increase of the hydrophobicity of silica particles from 3 to 153 mL/min.
Epoxidation of the carbon-carbon double bonds on unsaturated rubber macromolecules can produce novel modified rubber species with special properties, and construct eco-friendly crosslinking pathway via the reaction of epoxide groups to solve the problems brought by conventional sulfur vulcanization system. In this contribution, a novel modified product of isobutylene isoprene rubber (IIR), epoxy-functionalized IIR (EIIR) was successfully prepared by in situ epoxidation technique for the first time, and the crosslinking of EIIR was achieved by the reaction of oxirane groups with maleic anhydride (MAH) without additional additives. The reaction conditions for preparing EIIR were optimized through systematic research on the epoxidation process. Under optimal condition, the degree of epoxidation of the rubber reached around 99% without side reactions. The obtained EIIR/carbon black composites cured by MAH had excellent mechanical properties comparable to those of IIR composites. More importantly, compared with IIR composites, the air-tightness of the EIIR composites was improved by about 50%, and the flexural fatigue life of first-level cracks and sixth-level cracks was increased by several times. The significant improvement of these properties is of great significance for the application safety and energy saving of IIR materials.
Since the synthesis of non-oxidized ceramic and alloy powders requires both high temperature and oxygen insulation conditions, here we demonstrate a cost-efficient molten salt sealing/shielded synthesis method with dynamic gas tightness. Compared to conventional synthesis method, it can prevent the loss of reaction materials at high temperature, cut off the connection between reacting material and outside air, and does not require long-time ball milling mixing treatment or provision of applied pressing before or during heating. Only low-cost salts (e.g., NaCl, KCl), a few minutes of raw material mixing, and regular heating molds are required to obtain high-purity (>96 wt%), micron-sized Ti 3 AlC 2 and Ti 3 SiC 2 powders with narrow size distribution, which significantly decreased the complexity and production costs in the synthesis process. The effect of temperature and raw material content on the products were investigated. The mechanism of diffusion reaction between reactants in molten salt environment was analyzed. The new method developed here was also applicable to Ti 2 AlC, V 2 AlC and Cr 2 AlC MAX phases, as well as provided new ideas for the preparation of other MXenes precursors with certain stoichiometric ratios, air-sensitive materials and nanopowders .