A study to investigate matrix properties and their interaction with loaded nanoclay was designed under controlled clay dispersion. Metallocene polyethylene grafted vinyltriethoxy silane (mPE-g-silane) was served as the matrix, with or without silane crosslinking (grafting and post crosslinking with catalyst versus only grafting without catalyst), to assess the strength of commercial organoclay (20A)-filled nanocomposites prepared via a melt mixing. According to X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy analyses, all nanocomposites achieved similar dispersion degrees at specific clay contents mainly due to the silane interaction with the dispersed clay via hydrogen bonding and/or chemical bonding. Chemical bonding of grafted silane with clay was inferred based on the slightly higher crosslinking degree with increasing clay content for crosslinked cases. For uncrosslinked cases, the crosslinking degree was virtually zero regardless of clay content. The dynamic mechanical properties revealed enhanced interaction between mPE-g-silane and clay with increasing clay content based on the increased glass transition temperatures. Young's modulus of nanocomposites with crosslinked cases showed higher values in comparison with uncrosslinked cases at a specific clay content, indicating the significance of matrix crosslinking effect and the effective interfacial interaction between silane and clay especially at higher clay content. To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first study which generally maintains similar clay dispersions through the effect of uncrosslinking (only grafting) and crosslinking (grafting and post crosslinking), and then probes the effect of matrix properties and interfacial interactions at the large deformation state (tensile test) and small deformation state (cutting test).

The IR waterfall plots when the temperature of connection tube of the TG-IR-GC-MS is 300 °C (a) or 50 °C (b). This clearly shows that ammonia gas is produced during the 4-APN cross-linking reaction.

： Theeffectofcarbonmonoxideadditiononsootformationinanacetylene/airpremixedflamewas investigatedbydetailednumericalsimulation.Thisworkfocusedonboththetemperatureeffectandchemicaleffectof carbonmonoxideadditiononsootformationbycomparingtheresultsofflameswithdifferentCOcontents.Wefind thattheadditionofcarbonmonoxideconsistentlyreducestheformationofsoot.Thesootvolumefractionand nucleationrateincreaseuntilathresholdtemperatureisreachedandthendecreaseasthetemperatureincreases. ConsideringthatsootformationtookplaceattheactivesitebyH鄄abstractionmechanism,theadditionofCOpromotes theformationofsoot.TheconcentrationofHradicalsincreasesandtheconcentrationofOHradicalsdecreases becauseoftheincreasedforwardrateofthereactionOH+CO=CO 2 +H.ForsootformationtooccurbytheC 鄄 addition mechanism,thedegradationratesofC 2 H 2 tendstodecreaseandthispromotestheformationofsootalongwithCO addition.Ontheotherhand,theadditionofCOmaygreatlyreducethevolumefractionofC 2 H 2 infuelresultingina lowersurfacegrowthrate. KeyWords： Soot; Acetylene;Carbonmonoxide; Fuelenrichment; Modeling Acetyleneisoneofthemostabundantintermediatesinhydrocarboncombustionaswellasinthecombustionofhalogenated hydrocarbonssuchasCH 3 BrandCH 2 Cl 2 .Acetyleneisalso knowntoplayaveryimportantroleintheformationofsoot [1-2]. Sootemissionsresultingfromcombustionhavelongbeenrecog-nizedasasignificantproblem.Sootitselfisintrinsicallytoxic andsootparticlesarestronglyassociatedwithdetrimentalhealth effects.Intheearthatmospheresootcontributestotheentrapmentofthesolarradiationthatisbelievedtoleadtoglobal warming.Besides,sootispresentinhydrocarbon/airflames,

Although it is well known to employ compatibilizer to assist clay dispersion in thermoplastic/clay systems, the properties of compatibilizers have often been neglected. Metallocene polyethylene (mPE)/clay nanocomposites were prepared via a melt-blending approach to further investigate this compatibilization effect. Maleated mPE (mPE-g-MA) was also prepared as a compatibilizer to improve the dispersion of commercial organoclay. The mPE/mPE-g-MA/clay compatibilized systems showed good dispersion of clay or swollen tactoids through X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) assessments. The compatibilized cases showed slightly higher crystallization temperatures at higher clay contents than their counterparts without any compatibilizer. The mechanical properties of the investigated systems were rather complex and unusual. The Young's modulus of compatibilized nanocomposites showed slightly higher values in all investigated cases, stemming from the more effective interfacial interaction. The tensile strength of mPE/clay systems increased with increasing clay content; however, that of mPE/mPE-g-MA/clay systems decreased with increasing clay content due to possible heterogeneous microgel (bound polymer) formation in the compatibilized clay. Lower tear strength for compatibilized cases was found, which was attributed to the low tear strength of the compatibilizer and microgel formation, along with the clay moiety serving as inorganic crosslinks to give less energy dissipation during deformation. The results indicated that high dispersion of clay did not guarantee high strength, and the mechanical properties should be carefully evaluated to exploit the reinforcement of nanocomposites.