Epoxy resins are widely used for different commercial applications, particularly in the aerospace industry as matrix carbon fibre reinforced polymers composite. This is due to their excellent properties, i.e., ease of processing, low cost, superior mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. However, a pure epoxy system possesses some inherent shortcomings, such as brittleness and low elongation after cure, limiting performance of the composite. Several approaches to toughen epoxy systems have been explored, of which formation of the interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) has gained increasing attention. This methodology usually results in better mechanical properties (e.g., fracture toughness) of the modified epoxy system. Ideally, IPNs result in a synergistic combination of desirable properties of two different polymers, i.e., improved toughness comes from the toughener while thermosets are responsible for high service temperature. Three main parameters influence the mechanical response of IPN toughened systems: (i) the chemical structure of the constituents, (ii) the toughener content and finally and (iii) the type and scale of the resulting morphology. Various synthesis routes exist for the creation of IPN giving different means of control of the IPN structure and also offering different processing routes for making composites. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the current state-of-the-art on toughening of epoxy matrix system through formation of IPN structure, either by using thermoplastics or thermosets. Moreover, the potential of IPN based epoxy systems is explored for the formation of composites particularly for aerospace applications.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are liquid salts at ambient or lower temperatures and consist of ions and short-lived ion pairs. They are potential alternatives to toxic, hazardous, highly flammable, and volatile solvents for preparing solutions, dispersions, gels, composites, and polymeric melts. ILs have some very interesting and unique characteristics like good chemical and thermal stability and very low vapor pressures. They have good solvation interactions with a wide range of organic, inorganic, and polymeric compounds. They can enhance colloidal stability and the elasticity range of polymers. ILs are environmental friendly, easily recyclable, and structurally similar to the conventional solvents. For optimal performance, it is necessary to fully understand the rheological properties of ILs and their different systems for academic interests such as understanding the ability of ILs as processing aids particularly in film casting, fiber spinning and spraying, comprehension of thermodynamics and dynamics of polymer chains in ILs, analyzing the hydrodynamic volume of dispersed polymer, polymer–ILs interactions, characterizing the viscoelastic properties and nanophase–ILs interactions in nanocomposite systems, analyzing the plasticization efficiency, and the final properties of the composite system. The rheological analysis is also important for industrial purposes particularly for designing processing techniques and suitable operating conditions for IL based systems. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the rheological properties of pure ionic liquids and solutions, dispersions, gels, composites, and melts based on ionic liquids.

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Bigels are interesting semisolid formulations with better properties for different applications like cosmetics and pharmaceutical systems. Due to the mixing of two phases of different nature (polar and apolar), bigels possess some interesting features like ability to deliver hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs, better spreadability and water washability, improved permeability of drugs, enhanced hydration of stratum corneum and ability to manipulate the drug release rate.The main objective of this review article is to provide a thorough insight into the important characteristics of bigels together with the discussion on modelling of bigel systems to relate their properties with individual constituents and different parameters. Moreover, some important applications of bigels are also discussed by considering some examples from the literature.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC) are considered a well-known class of engineering thermoplastics due to their efficient use in automotive, 3D printing, and electronics. However, improvement in toughness, processability, and thermal stability is achieved by mixing together ABS and PC. The present study focuses on the understanding of surface mechanical characterization of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and polycarbonate (PC) blends using nano-indentation. Polymer blends sheets with three different proportions of ABS/PC (75:25, 50:50, and 25:75) were fabricated via melt-processing and thermal press. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was performed to analyze the intermolecular interactions between the blends’ components. To understand the surface mechanical properties of ABS and PC blends, a sufficient number of nano-indentation tests were performed at a constant loading rate to a maximum load of 100 mN. Creeping effects were observed at the end of loading and start of unloading section. Elastic modulus, indentation hardness, and creep values were measured as a function of penetration displacement in the quasi-continuous stiffness mode (QCSM) indentation. Load-displacement curves indicated an increase in the displacement with the increase in ABS contents while a decreasing trend was observed in the hardness and elastic modulus values as the ABS content was increased. We believe this study would provide an effective pathway for developing new polymer blends with enhanced mechanical performance.