This thesis focuses on the synthesis and characterization of various poly(arylene ether)s to improve the efficiency of gas separation and water desalination membranes. This class of polymers includes polymers such as poly(arylene ether sulfone), poly(arylene ether ketone) and poly(phenylene oxide) which offer excellent thermal and mechanical stability and usually have high enough rigidity to support gas separation and water desalination operations. Besides the plethora of properties offered by the homopolymers, these polymers can also be post-modified to cater to specific needs. For example, the polyphenylene oxides have been brominated to increase the permeability for gas separation applications. Blending is another viable method to impart desirable properties to polymers. Bisphenol A based poly(arylene ether ketone) (BPAPAEK) has been blended with commercially available poly(2,6-dimethylphenylene oxide)s (PPO) of different molecular weights in a fixed ratio (66/34 wt/wt) and in various ratios of a 22000 g/mol PPO. All the blends were UV crosslinked to minimize plasticization by condensable gases and analyzed for gel fractions, whereas, only the 22,000 g/mol blends were tested for transport properties since they yielded the highest gel fractions and exhibited the best mechanical properties. The crosslinking reduced the free volume and improved the selectivity with some drop in permeability. The blends with 90% of the 22000 g/mol PPO by weight was plotted closest to the upperbound. A phosphine oxide based poly(arylene ether ketone) (POPAEK) was blended with the various PPOs in a similar manner. The results were compared to the BPAPAEK based blends in terms of miscibility behavior and transport properties. It was found that the POPAEK based blends had higher permeability due to the higher fractional free volumes of the POPAEK. The POPAEK was more compatible with the PPOs than BPAPAEK as seen by analyzing various blend permeability models, mechanical properties and scanning electron microscope images. Moreover, blends with both the PAEKs displayed only a small drop in mechanical properties, such as the Young's modulus and the yield strength in comparison to the parent polymers. Hydroquinone based poly(arylene ether sulfone) oligomers were synthesized, post-sulfonated and chemically crosslinked to determine the effect of water uptake, fixed charge concentration and block length of oligomers on the salt permeability and the hydrated mechanical properties of the networks. The sulfonic acid groups were placed strategically and quantitatively on the hydroquinone units. The strategic placement of the acid groups may help in maintaining high rejection of monovalent ions in the presence of divalent ions, as shown in unpublished work by our group. It was found that the water uptake and fixed charge density had the opposite effects on the salt permeability. Also, the salt permeability varied differently for 5000g/mol and 10000g/mol block based networks. Another polymer that was investigated in this thesis was poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEtOx). An elaborate account of synthesis of monofunctional, heterobifunctional and telechelic poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline)s using different initiators including methyl triflate, activated alkyl halides (e.g., benzyl halides), and non-activated alkyl halides has been presented in this thesis. Endgroup functionalities and molecular weight distributions were studied by SEC, 1H NMR and titrations. The oligomers initiated with the benzyl or xylyl chloride had a PDI of 1.3-1.4 which is broader than expected for a living cationic ring opened polymer. This was attributed to the participation of covalent species which propagated slowly in the activated halide reactions. These oligomers were quantitatively terminated as proven by NMR and titrations. Due to the molecular weight distributions and quantitative termination these oligomers were deemed to be desirable for drug delivery applications. / PHD / This work pivots around the synthesis and characterization of different classes of polymers which are long molecules made by joining small molecules. The structure-property relationships of different polymers with respect to applications such as gas separation, water desalination and drug delivery were examined. The first two projects were focused of gas separation applications. Gas separation is an essential process used to recover the required gas from a mixture of gases. This process is used in a number of industries such as natural gas, hydrogen recovery and air dehumidification. In these projects, gas separation membranes were used to remove non combustible components of natural gas such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide. Two different types of poly(arylene ether ketone)s (PAEKs) (a kind of polymer) were blended with a commercial polymer called poly(phenylene oxide) (PPO) and crosslinked at the surfaces to improve the gas transport properties of the commercial polymer. PPOs have high gas permeability and a low selectivity. In other words even though the PPO membranes would alow the gasses to pass through easily, the efficiency of gas separation would be low. The blending with the PAEKs improved the selectivity of the PPOs without much loss in throughput. These blends of the two different PAEKs were compared for transport and other relavent properties. It was found that the transport properties of the commercial polymer were improved markedly without much loss in mechanical properties which are usually sacrificed upon blending of two uncomaptible polymers. Water desalination applications were looked into for a polymer class called polysulfones. About 40% of the world’s population lives in water stressed areas. In order to address the water crisis, there is a need to look beyond primitive methods such as distillation which are inefficient. Hence, the polymeric membrane separations which do not involve phase change (eg liquid to gas and then back to liquid in distillation) were examined. The currently used polyamide membranes have a rough surface because of the way they are made, making them prone to deposition of salt and organic matter. This deposition makes them inefficient. They are also prone to degradation by chlorine. The polysulfones membranes have a smoother surface less prone to these depositions. Their resistance to chlorine makes them more viable for water desalination applications. The polysulfones were post modified to introduce charges to make them more suitable for water desalination purposes. The charges repelled the ions of same polarity and made the polymer more hydrophilic. However, as the number of charges increased, the water uptake of the polymer increased which resulted in a decrease in the effectiveness of salt /ion rejection. To increase the charge density of the polymers by (the effectiveness of ion rejection), the polymer chains were crosslinked at the ends. For deleniating the structure property relationships, the amount of charges were varied and two sets of chain lengths were studied. The salt permeability decreased with increase in fixed charge concentration and decrease in water uptake. Poly(2-Oxazolines), were investigated as potential drug delivery vehicles. Polymeric drug delivery vehicles have been used to control the rate of release of drugs in the body to avoid side effects. Another advantage of polymeric drug delivery systems is making the water insoluble drugs more compatible with the fluids in the body. Currently, polyethylene oxides are being used as drug delivery vehicles. However, these polymers have been known to produce antibodies in some people. In this work, poly(2-oxazolines) which are known to be more compatible with human body than PEOs were prepared using different initiators and end cappers to prepare an elaborate repertoire of controlled molecular weight and controlled functionality oligomers for further modification.

Magister Scientiae - MSc (Chemistry) / Blending polymers together offers researchers the ability to create novel materials that have a combination of desired properties of the individual polymers for a variety of functions as well as improving specific properties. The behaviour of the resulting blended polymer or blend is determined by the interactions between the two polymers. The resultant synergy from blending an intrinsically conducting polymer like polyaniline (PANI), is that it possesses the electrical, electronic, magnetic and optical properties of a metal while retaining the poor mechanical properties, solubility and processibility commonly associated with a conventional polymer. Aromatic polyamic acid has outstanding thermal, mechanical, electrical, and solvent resistance properties that can overcome the poor mechanical properties and instability of the conventional conducting polymers, such as polyaniline.

Dans le domaine des plastiques biodégradables, les produits se doivent d’être de plus en plus compétitifs. Ces travaux, menés entre le laboratoire IMP@UJM et la société LCI ont eu pour objectif principal l’augmentation de la part en matières d’origines renouvelables dans le mélange de polymères biodégradable poly(butylène adipate-co-téréphtalate) (PBAT)/TPF (farine thermoplastique), sans diminuer ses propriétés mécaniques. Ce mélange est obtenu par extrusion en une seule étape, comprenant la plastification de la farine et le mélange avec le polyester. L’enjeu scientifique était donc en premier lieu de comprendre les relations entre la mise en oeuvre, l’établissement de la morphologie du mélange, la concentration en chacun des polymères et les propriétés mécaniques. Dans un second temps, ces résultats ont été exploités en vue de l’augmentation des propriétés mécaniques du mélange. L’influence de la concentration en TPF et du rapport de viscosité entre les phases a donc été mise en évidence sur toute la gamme de concentration, mettant en lumière l’importance de contrôler la tension interfaciale du mélange. Des mécanismes d’établissement de la morphologie et des interprétations quant à son effet sur les propriétés mécaniques du mélange sont proposés. L’étude d’une modification par extrusion réactive du PBAT est ensuite présentée. L’évolution de la structure du polyester est caractérisée par chromatographie d’exclusion stérique en fonction de différents paramètres, dont le temps de mélange. Enfin, différentes modifications du mélange PBAT/TPF sont testées. L’influence de la modification du PBAT, de la modification de la phase TPF ou de la modification de l’interface via des agents compatibilisants est étudiée sur les propriétés rhéologiques, morphologiques et mécaniques du mélange / Biodegradable plastics need to be more and more competitive. This work, conducted between IMP@UJM laboratory and LCI company had the main objective of increasing the content of renewable materials in the biodegradable blend of poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT)/ thermoplastic flour (TPF), without decreasing its mechanical properties. The blend was obtained by a single step extrusion, including flour thermoplastification and blending with the polyester. The scientific challenge was to understand the relationship between processing parameters, the morphology establishment, the concentration of each phase of the blend and its mechanical properties. Then, these results were exploited in order to increase the mechanical properties of the mixture. The influence of the concentration of TPF and the viscosity ratio between the phases was highlighted over the entire concentration range. This highlighted the importance of controlling the interfacial tension of the blend. Mechanisms of the morphology establishment were proposed, as well as interpretations about its effect on the mechanical properties of the blend. Then, a study of the PBAT modification by reactive extrusion was proposed. The evolution of the polyester structure was characterized by size exclusion chromatography, according to various parameters including the mixing time. Finally, various modifications of PBAT/TPF mixture were tested. Modifying the PBAT, the TPF phase or the interface via the compatibilizers were studied in order to tailor the rheological, morphological and mechanical properties

Submitted by Johnny Rodrigues (johnnyrodrigues@ufcg.edu.br) on 2018-04-06T20:12:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 TACIANA REGINA DE GOUVEIA - TESE PPG-CEMat 2014..pdf: 4953603 bytes, checksum: ea581c261908041111cd0d411a551545 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-06T20:12:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TACIANA REGINA DE GOUVEIA - TESE PPG-CEMat 2014..pdf: 4953603 bytes, checksum: ea581c261908041111cd0d411a551545 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-08-28 / Capes / Os polímeros derivados do petróleo têm provocado impactos ambientais devido ao descarte inadequado. Uma alternativa para esse problema é a utilização de polímeros biodegradáveis ou a produção de blendas a partir destes polímeros. Neste trabalho, foram preparadas blendas de poli (ácido lático) - PLA, poli (caprolactona) - PCL, com três copolímeros diferentes: EMA, E-GMA e o EMAGMA que são copolímeros de etileno-acrilato de metila, etileno-metacrilato de glicidila e o terpolímero etileno-acrilato de metila-metacrilato de glicidila, respectivamente. As composições utilizadas para as blendas foram as seguintes: PLA/PCL (90/10), PLA/PCL (80/20), PLA/Copolímeros (90/10) e PLA/PCL/Copolímeros (80/10/10). Estas foram preparadas por fusão em uma extrusora de rosca dupla corrotativa e, em seguida, moldadas por injeção sob a forma de corpos de prova de tração, impacto e HDT. Todas as composições foram caracterizadas por: ensaios mecânicos de tração e impacto, temperatura de distorção térmica - HDT, calorimetria exploratória diferencial - DSC, difração de raios X - DRX, análise térmica dinâmica-mecânica - DMTA, espectroscopia na região do infravermelho por transformada de Fourier - FTIR, microscopia eletrônica de varredura - MEV, reometria de torque, ensaio reológico e reometria capilar. As propriedades mecânicas apresentaram redução nos valores do módulo e da resistência à tração e um aumento no alongamento e na resistência ao impacto para todas as composições quando comparadas com o PLA puro, com destaque para as composições que continham o copolímero EMA-GMA. A HDT não apresentou mudanças significativas para as diferentes composições em comparação com o PLA puro. O comportamento térmico e termomecânico foi avaliado por DSC e por DMTA e foi possível observar a transição térmica das blendas. Por DRX foi possível observar as fases cristalinas das blendas de PLA. A morfologia da superfície de fratura observada por MEV ilustrou que ocorreram mudanças significativas em função da composição. Os resultados de reometria de torque não apresentaram mudanças significativas no comportamento do PLA, enquanto que os resultados obtidos no ensaio reológico ilustraram aumento no módulo de armazenamento em todas as composições. A partir do ensaio de reometria capilar foi visto que houve redução da viscosidade aparente e da tensão de cisalhamento sob altas taxas de cisalhamento para todas as composições. / The polymers derived from petroleum have caused environmental impacts due to improper disposal. An alternative to this problem is the use of biodegradable polymers or blends production from these polymers. In this work, blends of poly (lactic acid) - PLA, poly (-caprolactone) - PCL, were prepared with three different copolymers: EMA, E-GMA and EMA-GMA are copolymers the ethylene-methyl acrylate, ethylene-glycidyl methacrylate and terpolymer ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate respectively. The compositions used in the blends were as follows: PLA/PCL (90/10) PLA/PCL (80/20) PLA/ Copolymer (90/10) and PLA/PCL/Copolymer (80/10/10). These were prepared by melting in an extruder twin screw co-rotating and then injection molded in the form of specimens tensile, impact and HDT. All compositions were characterized by: mechanical tensile and impact , heat distortion temperature - HDT, differential scanning calorimetry - DSC, X-ray diffraction - XRD, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis – DMTA, spectroscopy in the infrared region by transform Fourier - FTIR, scanning electron microscopy - SEM, torque rheometer, rheological testing and capillary rheometer. The mechanical properties showed reduced values of modulus and tensile strength and an increase in elongation and impact resistance for all compositions when compared with pure PLA, especially for compositions containing copolymer EMA-GMA. The HDT showed no significant changes for the different compositions compared with pure PLA. The thermal and thermomechanical behavior was evaluated by DSC and DMTA and it was possible to observe the thermal transition of the blends. XRD was possible to observe the crystalline phases of the blends of PLA. The morphology of the fracture surface was observed by SEM illustrated that significant changes as a function of composition. The torque rheometer results showed no significant change in the behavior of PLA, while the rheological test results illustrate the increase in storage modulus in all compositions. From the test capillary rheometer was seen that there was a reduction in the apparent viscosity and shear stress at high shear rates for all compositions.