The effects of particle size of titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) on mechanical, thermal, and morphological properties of pure polyoxymethylene (POM) and POM/TiO 2 nanocomposites were investigated and compared with the results for nanoparticle ZnO in the same matrix, reported in a previous paper. POM/TiO 2 nanocomposites with varying concentration of TiO 2 were prepared by the melt mixing technique in a twin screw extruder, the same method that used for blending the homogeneous ZnO nanocomposites. The dispersion of TiO 2 particles in POM nanocomposites was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The agglomeration, as observed by the mechanical properties of TiO 2 particles in the polymer matrix, increased with increasing TiO 2 content, a result not found for ZnO even at lower particle sizes. Increasing the filler content of POM/TD32.4 and POM/TD130 (130 nm) nanocomposites resulted in a decrease in tensile strength. The Young modulus, stress at break and impact strength of TiO 2 nanocomposite did not improve with increasing filler contents, in opposition to the better agglomeration conditions of ZnO nanocomposite even at lower particle sizes. Because of agglomeration, the POM/ TD32.4 nanocomposites had lower mechanical properties and lower degradation temperature than the POM/TD130 ones. The sizes of nanoparticles determined the agglomeration, but however, the agglomeration also depended on the type of nanoparticles, even when using the same matrix (POM) and the same mixing method. TiO 2 nanoparticles were more difficult to mix and were more agglomerated in the POM matrix as compared to ZnO nanoparticles, regardless of the size of the nanoparticles.
The synthesis of novel polyimide (PI) films containing chirals in side chain was investigated for utilizing in twist nematic (TN) liquid crystal display (LCD). The polyimide with amine side groups (PI4 a.m.) was prepared by two steps copolymerization of 4,4 0 -hexafluoroisopropylidene diphthalic anhydride (6FDA), 4,4 0 -oxydianiline (ODA), and 3,3 0 -diaminobezidine (4 a.m.) in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP). In the first step, the oligomer of 6FDA and ODA with mole ratio 4 : 3 was synthesized. In the second step, the oligomer was reacted with 4 a.m. by gradually dropping the oligomer into 4 a.m. solution with the mole ratio 4 : 5. By reacting chiral compounds, mandelic acid, menthyl chloroformate, and menthyl glyoxylate hydrate using condensation reaction with amine groups along polyimide molecules, the novel polyimides can be synthesized. Their chemical structures were confirmed by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H-NMR). The coated glass slides pairs were coated with PI4 a.m. and with each Polyimide/chiral. The liquid crystals (LCs) were inserted between two coated glass slides at above the nematic temperature under the polarized light microscope to observe the alignment of LCs. The results showed the alignment of LCs in some certain direction under Polyimide/chiral pair, regardless of the type of the chiral molecule.
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