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Homework2-NguyenNhatKha-BEBEIU19071

The document discusses the polymerization of vinyl chloride to create poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) and includes calculations for molecular weights and polydispersity index based on given molecular weights. It also explores the properties and applications of a composite polymer biomaterial, specifically PLA and PMMA, highlighting their miscibility, mechanical properties, and advantages in various applications. The blend of PLA and PMMA demonstrates improved shape memory capabilities and thermal strength, making it suitable for advanced materials in injection molding and other uses.

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namcunglang2001
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9 views4 pages

Homework2-NguyenNhatKha-BEBEIU19071

The document discusses the polymerization of vinyl chloride to create poly-vinyl chloride (PVC) and includes calculations for molecular weights and polydispersity index based on given molecular weights. It also explores the properties and applications of a composite polymer biomaterial, specifically PLA and PMMA, highlighting their miscibility, mechanical properties, and advantages in various applications. The blend of PLA and PMMA demonstrates improved shape memory capabilities and thermal strength, making it suitable for advanced materials in injection molding and other uses.

Uploaded by

namcunglang2001
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Name: Nguyen Nhat Kha

ID: BEBEIU19071

HOMEWORK 2

Read the lecture notes and respond to the following questions:

You are conducting a polymerization of vinyl chloride to make poly-vinyl chloride (PVC)

1. Write the polymerization reaction.

2. Calculate the number-average molecular weight (Mn), the weight-average molecular weight
(Mw) and the polydispersity index (PDI) for this polymerization, given a sample having a 1:2:1
ratio of the number of moles of polymer chains of exact molecular weights 482, 2768 and 5308
g/mol, respectively.
3. Choose another (one) composite polymer biomaterial. Explain the properties of the constituent
components and how these differ or are similar to the properties of the composite material.
What is this composite polymer used for?

PLA is a thermoplastic, high-strength, high-modulus polymer that may be manufactured from annually
renewable resources to produce a variety of components for use in industrial packaging and
biocompatible/bioabsorbable medical devices. PLA is a more environmentally friendly material with
greater properties for usage in the human body (nontoxicity). [1] On the other hand, PLA has some
disadvantages such as poor impact strength and low heat distortion temperature.
As a result, it requires features like as high thermal stability, long-term durability, high impact strength,
superior electrical conductivity, or fire retardancy to improve and be utilized more widely. With its
inherent excellent mechanical qualities, high transparency, UV resistance, and long-term stability, poly
(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) is a serious candidate to create a blend with PLA. [2]

Under specific process circumstances, PLA and PMMA are totally miscible, which effectively broadens the
glass transition temperature of PLA/PMMA blends, allowing the blends to display diverse shape memory
effects.[3]

PMMA is an optically clear (transparent) thermoplastic that is commonly used as a substitute for inorganic
glass due to its high impact strength, low weight, shatter resistance, and easy manufacturing. Weather
resistance and scratch resistance are two of the best features. It was discovered that PMMA is an
amorphous thermoplastic.[4]

The PLA blends with a greater PMMA component are better at storing energy during deformation rather
than dissipating heat generated by viscous flow. As a result, the blend has more flexibility and a lower
viscosity. The PMMA can improve the PLA matrix's melt strength, preventing cell coalescence and
collapse, and therefore facilitating the generation of fine foams with small cells, high number density, and
large expansion ratios.

When heated to 80 ℃, both the bent and compressed PLA/PMMA foams spontaneously revert to their
original shapes. Furthermore, even when a high deformation is performed, the PLA/PMMA foam
maintains its shape fixity and recovery ratios. This demonstrates that the PLA/PMMA blend has better
thermal strength, transparency than PLA, and that this property is inherited from PMMA.

Moreover, for the PLA/PMMA foams, high PMMA contents lead to high crystal density and low degree of
crystallinity, which contributes to the better shape memory capability of foams than that of solid. This
shows the inheritance of characteristics from PMMA, PMMA is an amorphous thermoplastic, and the
difference from PLA.

The c-PLA/hv-PMMA 50/50 blend was utilized to manufacture injection molded parts with a dwell time
between the melt-mixing and injection steps since inter-diffusion of the polymer chains appeared to be
an essential characteristic (i.e. in the plasticizing unit of the injection molding machine).[6]. Advanced
shape memory materials could benefit from the use of miscible PLLA/PMMA blends.[7]

Reference:

[1] S. Farah, et al., Physical and mechanical properties of PLA, and their functions in widespread
applications — A comprehensive review, Adv. Drug Deliv. Rev. (2016),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.addr.2016.06.012

[2] Samuel, C., Raquez, J.-M., & Dubois, P. (2013). PLLA/PMMA blends: A shear-induced miscibility with
tunable morphologies and properties? Polymer, 54(15), 3931–3939. doi:10.1016/j.polymer.2013.05.021

[3] Chai, J., Wang, G., Zhao, J., Zhang, A., Shi, Z., Wei, C., & Zhao, G. (2021). Microcellular PLA/PMMA foam
fabricated by CO2 foaming with outstanding shape-memory performance. Journal of CO2 Utilization, 49,
101553. doi:10.1016/j.jcou.2021.101553
[4] Ali, U., Karim, K. J. B. A., & Buang, N. A. (2015). A Review of the Properties and Applications of Poly
(Methyl Methacrylate) (PMMA). Polymer Reviews, 55(4), 678–705. doi:10.1080/15583724.2015.1031377

[5] Chai, J., Wang, G., Zhao, J., Zhang, A., Shi, Z., Wei, C., & Zhao, G. (2021). Microcellular PLA/PMMA
foam fabricated by CO2 foaming with outstanding shape-memory performance. Journal of CO2
Utilization, 49, 101553. doi:10.1016/j.jcou.2021.101553

[6] Gonzalez-Garzon, M., Shahbikian, S., & Huneault, M. A. (2018). Properties and phase structure of
melt-processed PLA/PMMA blends. Journal of Polymer Research, 25(2). doi:10.1007/s10965-018-1438-1

[7] AIP Conference Proceedings 1664, 030005 (2015); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4918395 Published


Online: 22 May 2015

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