Ewa Olewnik-Kruszkowska

The effect of primers on adhesive properties and strength of adhesive joints made with polyurethane adhesives

Abstract The paper presents selected aspects of the effect of primers on adhesive properties and strength of aluminium sheet adhesive joints, made using polyurethane adhesives. The strength of adhesive joints was determined based on two cure time variants: 15 and 64 h. It was found that the longer cure time at a humidity of 33% is more desired, as it leads to a substantial increase in strength of the tested adhesive joints. In addition, two variants of surface preparation were applied: degreasing and degreasing followed by the application of a primer (a pro-adhesive agent). It was observed that the primer application prior to the application of an adhesive leads to a significant increase in strength compared to the variant where the adhesive application is preceded only by degreasing. Moreover, the aluminium sheet surface that was subjected to cataphoretic painting and priming exhibits better adhesive properties. It has a higher value of both surface free energy and its dispersion and polar components compared to the surface that was only subjected to degreasing.

EMULSION POLYMERIZATION OF THIOPHENE – THE NEW WAY OF CONDUCTING POLYMERS SYNTHESIS

The aim of this study was to investigate the new method of polythiophene polymerization. It was made an attempt of the chemical oxidation of thiophene in aqueous medium without the addition of any surfactant. The oxidative compound applied in the synthesis was gaseous ozone. Resulting polymer was obtained in the form of nanospheres dispersed in water. The method developed in this study allow to obtain the polythiophene nanoparticles. Further study is required to fully identify the resulting product properties in comparison with polymer obtained in other methods.

Structural and Thermal Properties of Nanocomposites Based on Polyolefins and Montmorillonite Modified with Ethyl 2-Aminobenzoate

Our efforts were focused on improving thermal stability of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) through incorporation of new organically modified montmorillonite.The reactive organofilic montmorillonite (MMT-EA) was prepared by exchanging the interlayer inorganic cations in montmorillonite by a large excess of ethyl 2-aminobenzoate (EA). Organic modification can affect not only microstructures, but also the properties of the polymer montmorillonite nanocomposites. In the next step, novel polyolefins/ organoclay nanocomposites were prepared by melt intercalation process. In order to obtain this new family of materials and enhance their properties very low filler level, from 1.5 to 5 wt.% was used.The dispersion of the montmorillonite layers in the polymers was characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD). The thermal properties and structure changes were studied by different scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Further studies indicated that the exfoliated clay modified with EA improved thermal stability of the PE and PP/ MMT-EA nanocomposites.