Abstract To evaluate the hydrophilic capacity, polypropylene and surfactant (polyether siloxane) samples were extruded in the proportions of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0 and 3.0 (wt%) and films were obtained in a heated press. The samples were submitted to measurements of contact angle, surface tension, melt flow index and surface roughness. The results indicated that increasing surfactant content promoted better wettability and consequently higher hydrophilicity. Using water, the increase in the surfactant content reduced the contact angle (92.58° to 68.10°) and increased the surface tension (26.7 to 56.9 mN.m-1). However, with ethylene glycol, increasing the surfactant content promoted a small variation on the contact angle (59.14° to 65.10°) and on the surface tension (5.5 to 5.0 mN.m-1). The surfactant promoted a slight change in the melt flow index but not affected the roughness of the samples.

In this study, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) were synthesized using the one-shot process in solution. To obtain the samples n-phenylaminopropyl polyhedric oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) was added as a chain modifier during the synthesis in four different amounts. The samples were characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and capillary rheometry. FTIR confirm the TPU attainment due the absence of the band at ~2253 cm-1 suggesting a complete conversion of the isocyanate terminations. The TGA showed that incorporation of POSS decreased the rate of mass loss of TPU under isothermal conditions. The flexible phase showed an enhanced stability to temperature, probably due to increased phase separation between the rigid and flexible domains. The DSC showed that incorporation of 0.4 wt. (%) of POSS increased the glass transition temperature of the flexible phase. Moreover, addition of POSS modified the melting behaviour, providing samples with a higher melting enthalpy compared to neat TPU as a consequence of the formation of larger crystals. The capillary rheometry analysis revels that the POSS addition showed a clear tendency toward higher intrinsic viscosities as the amount of POSS was increased.

The effect of grinded glass and sisal fibers (25 vol%) on the cure kinetics of composites of unsaturated polyester resin (UPR) was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The DSC analysis was carried out at four different heating rates (5, 10, 20 and 40 °C/min), and the cure enthalpy and activation energy (Ea) were determined according to the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) method. The results showed that increasing heating rates promoted reduced reaction times. The sisal fiber-containing composites exhibit higher activation energy values for the cure process in comparison with the neat polyester resin and the glass fiber composites. This can be due to the presence of polar groups in the sisal components, which physically interact with the polyester resin and retard the cure reaction. Hence, as sisal fiber retarded the cure reaction of the UPR resin, it is suggested that the use of natural fibers in polymer matrix composites can affect the cure kinetics of the polyester resin.

Elastômeros vulcanizados são materiais comumente empregados em diversas aplicações, como nas indústrias automotiva e calçadista. Neste trabalho, aparas do terpolímero de etileno-propileno-dieno (EPDM-r) provenientes da indústria automotiva foram submetidas a micro-ondas durante diferentes tempos de exposição (2-5 min). Após a desvulcanização, as amostras foram caracterizadas por teor de gel, calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC) e energias de ativação de degradação (Ea) determinadas por análise termogravimétrica (TGA). O comportamento de degradação apresentou composição do EPDM-r condizente com a literatura. A análise de teor de gel demonstrou que o EPDM-r foi desvulcanizado quando exposto às micro-ondas por 5 minutos. As análises de DSC não indicaram modificações significativas nas amostras estudadas, e o estudo de Ea mostrou que os aditivos encontrados na composição do EPDM-r influenciam na eficiência do método de regeneração por micro-ondas.

Vulcanized elastomers are materials commonly used in several applications, such as automotive and footwear industries. In this study, scraps of ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymer (EPDM-r) from the automotive industry were exposed to microwaves during different periods (2-5 min). After devulcanization, the samples were characterized by gel content, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and activation energy of degradation (Ea) determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The degradation behavior of EPDM-r was consistent with the literature. The gel content analysis showed that the EPDM-r was devulcanized only at 5 minutes of exposure to the microwaves. DSC analysis demonstrated no significant changes in the samples, and the Ea results confirmed that the additives found in the composition of the EPDM-r affect the efficiency of the regeneration method.

Neste trabalho, foram preparados três diferentes elastômeros microcelulares de poliuretano (EMPU) baseados em 4,4'- diisocianato de difenilmetano (MDI), com diferentes concentrações de fase rígida (Formulações 1, 2 e 3, com 32, 35 e 42% de fase rígida, respectivamente). As amostras foram preparadas através do método de duas etapas, pelo sistema de pré-polímero. As amostras dos EMPU foram caracterizadas através de ensaios físico-mecânicos, químicos e morfológicos. Os resultados dos ensaios mecânicos mostraram que o aumento no percentual da fase rígida levou a um aumento na resistência à tração e na resistência ao rasgo. O alongamento na ruptura não apresentou variação significativa com a modificação do percentual da fase rígida. O ensaio de resistência química demonstrou que os EMPU formulados apresentaram baixos índices de inchamento para solventes industriais comumente utilizados. Entretanto, em acetona, um elevado índice de inchamento foi observado. As análises morfológicas indicaram que o aumento no percentual da fase rígida promoveu a formação de células menores distribuídas de forma mais homogênea no EMPU.

In this study, three different microcellular polyurethane elastomers (MPUE) based on 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) with different rigid segment contents were prepared (Formulations 1, 2 and 3 with 32, 35 and 42% of rigid segment content, respectively). The MPUE were obtained through a two-step method using the prepolymer system. The samples were analyzed to determine their physical, mechanical, morphological and chemical properties. The results showed that a greater rigid segment content gave higher tensile, compressive and tear strength values. The deformation at break did not show significant changes with a variation in the rigid segment content. The MPUE had a low swelling index in common industrial solvents. However, in acetone a high swelling index was observed. The SEM micrographs indicated a large number of closed cells, and that a higher rigid segment content gave a better cell homogeneity of the samples.