The field of polymer nanocomposites has become essential for engineering and military industries over the last few decades as it applies to computing, sensors, biomedical microelectronics, hard coating, and many other domains. Due to their outstanding mechanical and thermal features, polymer nanocomposite materials have recently been developed and now have a wide range of applications. Polymer Nanocomposites for Advanced Engineering and Military Applications provides emerging research on recent advances in the fabrication methods, properties, and applications of various nano-fillers including surface-modification methods and chemical functionalization. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as barrier properties, biomedical microelectronics, and matrix processing, this book is ideally designed for engineers, industrialists, chemists, government officials, military professionals, practitioners, academicians, researchers, and students.

The widespread use of large scale units for manufacturing blown film, blow-molded articles, flat film, and extruded pipes necessitates troubleshooting on site. This book provides practical computational tools which can be applied easily on the shop floor to obtain quick solutions in these and many other areas of polymer extrusion.

Plastic has become a ubiquitous part of modern life. A cheap, lightweight material, it is used in everything from food packaging to consumer electronics and microbeads in cosmetic products. However, we are becoming increasingly aware of the problems our reliance on plastic is causing in the environment. For example, recent campaigns have highlighted the build-up of microbeads in the marine environment and the damage this is doing to wildlife, and the problem of marine litter, often in very remote locations. There are also concerns over exposure to plasticisers and their possible consequences for health. The plastics industry is under increasing pressure, not only from the government and environmental groups, but also from consumers, to improve the environmental impact of their products. This book presents an introduction to the uses of plastics and an overview of how they interact with the environment. It is a valuable resource for students studying environmental science as well as researchers working in the plastics industry, and policy makers and regulators concerned with waste disposal and environmental planning and conservation.

Biodegradable thermogels are a promising class of stimuli-responsive polymers. This book summarizes recent developments in thermogel research with a focus on synthesis and self-assembly mechanisms, gel biodegradability, and applications for drug delivery, cell encapsulation and tissue engineering. A closing chapter on commercialisation shows the challenges faced bringing this new material to market. Edited by leading authorities on the subject, this book offers a comprehensive overview for academics and professionals across polymer science, materials science and biomedical and chemical engineering.

Processors and users of plastics often need to determine the chemical nature of a plastics specimen. This highly practical and useful manual, now in a fifth revised and supplemented edition, will enable you to determine the class of plastic of a particular specimen. No extensive knowledge of chemistry is required and yet it is more complex than a simple tabular compilation. This manual is a handy and highly effective tool for many practical situations. An additional supplement is a chapter that shows strategies for identifying historical plastic objects; this is of particular interest for assemblers and collectors, and conservators.

Innovative textile materials are used for numerous applications. Understanding the properties of such materials is imperative to ensure proper utilization. Emergent Research on Polymeric and Composite Materials is an essential reference work featuring the latest scholarly research on the synthesis, characterizations, and physico-chemical properties of textile materials. Including coverage on a range of topics such as nanomaterials, ceramics, and clays, this book is ideally designed for researchers, academicians, industries, and students seeking current research on emerging developments and applications of polymeric and composite materials.

Electrospinning is a technique used to produce nanofibres from a polymer solution using an electrostatic force. The technology is now being used to create materials for a wide variety of uses from tissue engineering and 3D printing to packaging materials and electronic sensors. This new book focusses on the recent developments in their design, process parameters and polymers-selection to enable the commercial applications of electrospinning. The initial chapters introduce the technique and then specific chapters focus on the different application areas showing the various approaches for successful implementation of this fabrication process towards commercialization from basic research and development. The book will be suitable for graduate students, academics and industrial entrepreneurs in materials science, polymer science and chemical engineering as well as those interested in the energy and health applications of the materials.

Modern power systems have undergone tremendous progress due to the implementation of new technologies. With these advancements, the standards for insulation materials must be enhanced and revitalized. Accelerating the Discovery of New Dielectric Properties in Polymer Insulation is a pivotal source of academic research on emerging trends in the properties, applications, and developments of polymer dielectrics. Highlighting a range of relevant perspectives on topics such as high thermal conductivity, power storage, and wind energy, this book is ideally designed for students, professionals, academics, and practitioners interested in the optimization of power system infrastructures.

Polyurethane Polymers: Blends and Interpenetrating Networks deals with almost all aspects of blends and IPNs formed by polyurethane, including the thermal, mechanical, morphological, and viscoelastic properties of each blend presented in the book. In addition, major applications related to these blends and IPNs are mentioned.

Micro and Nano Fibrillar Composites (MFCs and NFCs) from Polymer Blends is a comprehensive reference for researchers, students and scientists working in the field of plastics recycling and composites. The book aims to determine the influence of micro and nanofibrillar morphology on the properties of immiscible blend systems. Chapters cover micro and nanofibrillar composites based on polyolefin, liquid crystal polymer, biodegradable polymers, polyester and polyamide blends in various industrial application fields. The book brings together panels of highly-accomplished experts in the field of plastics recycling, blends and composites systems. For several decades, plastic technology has played an important role in many industrial applications, such as packaging, automobiles, aerospace and construction. However the increasing use of plastics creates a lot of waste. This has led to restrictions on the use of some plastics for certain applications and a drive towards recycling of plastics. More recently, microfibrillar in-situ composites have been prepared from waste plastics such as PET/PP, PET/PE and Nylon/PP as a way of formulating new high performance polymer systems. This book tackles these issues and more, and is an ideal resource for anyone interested in polymer blends.

With contributions from leading international experts, this essential book gives comprehensive coverage of all areas of metallocene catalysts and metallocene-based polyolefins including details of the very latest developments.
The manufacture of polyolefins by metallocene catalysts represents a revolution in the polymer industry. The last five years in particular have seen a dramatic increase in the volume of research into metallocenes and the maturing of metallocene technology.
The following areas are covered in this comprehensive book: catalyst structure, comonomer incorporation, polymerization mechanisms and conditions, reactor configurations, special properties, comparison with conventional polyolefins, rheological and processing behavior and fields of application.
This is an invaluable book for plastics engineers, polymer chemists, physicists, materials scientists, and all those working in the plastics manufacturing and processing industries.

Hybrid Polymer Composite Materials: Properties and Characterisation presents the latest on these composite materials that can best be described as materials that are comprised of synthetic polymers and biological/inorganic/organic derived constituents. The combination of unique properties that emerge as a consequence of the particular arrangement and interactions between the different constituents provides immense opportunities for advanced material technologies. This series of four volumes brings an interdisciplinary effort to accomplish a more detailed understanding of the interplay between synthesis, structure, characterization, processing, applications, and performance of these advanced materials, with this volume focusing on their properties and characterization.

Polypropylene (PP) is a typical polymorphic polymer with -form, -form, -form, and mesomorphic smectic form modifications, and crystallises into diverse morphologies. In this book, Chapter One comprehensively reviews the kinds of self-assembly -nucleating agents and the manipulation strategies in the practical processing to control the crystal structure and prepare high-performance PP products. Chapter Two discusses the molecular structure at the cross-linking point of stereoregular isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and syndiotactic polypropylene (sPP) gels in comparison with the crystal formed in the solid state such as film. Chapter Three investigates the thermal insulation performance of polypropylene as thermal insulator for a solar air collector in comparison with coconut fibre. Chapter Four reviews the mechanical properties, crystallisation and degradation of polypropylene due to nucleating agents, fillers and additives. Chapter Five examines polypropylene biodegradation. Chapter Six addresses the potential utilisation of different lignocellulosic biomasses for the development of green materials based on polypropylene, with the objective to elucidate the possibility of using the bio based materials for various industrial applications.

Despite the growing interest in this new generation of water soluble carbon-chain polymers, there are few books available covering their physicochemical properties. Professor Kirsh has addressed this by writing a book which brings together data on their synthesis, properties and applications. The best known of the group is poly-N-vinylpyrrolidone (PVP), discovered in Germany in 1939, hence this book concentrates on PVP and the correlation of its properties with other poly-N-vinylamides. Poly-N-vinylamides are widely used in the creation of many synthetic polymeric materials and recent discoveries have increased their use in medicine and biotechnology. This book will therefore appeal to a wide readership from polymer and materials scientists, through to biotechnologists and those working in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries.

Significant research has been done in polymeric nanocomposites and progress has been made in understanding nanofiller-polymer interface and interphase and their relation to nanocomposite properties. However, the information is scattered in many different publication media. This is the first book that consolidates the current knowledge on understanding, characterization and tailoring interfacial interactions between nanofillers and polymers by bringing together leading researchers and experts in this field to present their cutting edge research. Eleven chapters authored by senior subject specialists cover topics including: Thermodynamic mechanisms governing nanofiller dispersion, engineering of interphase with nanofillers Role of interphase in governing the mechanical, electrical, thermal and other functional properties of nanocomposites, characterization and modelling of the interphase Effects of crystallization on the interface, chemical and physical techniques for surface modification of nanocellulose reinforcements Electro-micromechanical and nanoindentation techniques for interface evaluation, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to quantify filler-matrix adhesion and nanocomposite mechanical properties.

This book discusses the processes, properties and applications of plastic deformation. The first chapter provides short notes on the grains modification induced by local plastic deformation. Chapter Two examines energy accumulation and mechanisms of plastic deformation in organic glassy polymers. Chapter Three investigates the microstructure and texture of the pure magnesium foils obtained by room temperature reverse extrusion followed by cold rolling. The final chapter discusses utilization of severe plastic deformation (SPD) to produce ultrafine grained structures using top-down approach in novel metal forming processes.

Structure and Properties of High-Performance Fibers explores the relationship between the structure and properties of a wide range of high-performance fibers. Part I covers high-performance inorganic fibers, including glasses and ceramics, plus carbon fibers of various types. In Part II, high-performance synthetic polymer fibers are discussed, while Part III reviews those natural fibers that can be used to create advanced textiles. The high-performance properties of these fibers are related to their chemistry and morphology, as well as the ways in which they are synthesized and spun. High-performance fibers form the basis of textile materials with applications in protection, medicine, and composite reinforcement. Fibers are selected for these technical applications due to their advanced physical, mechanical, and chemical properties.

Permeability Properties of Plastics and Elastomers, Fourth Edition provides a comprehensive collection of graphical multipoint and tabular data covering the permeation of liquids, vapors, and gases through plastic or polymeric materials, such as films, membranes, and containers. This updated edition includes an entirely new chapter on sustainable and biodegradable polymers and an extensive introductory section covering fatigue, what it is, how it is measured, and the fundamentals of permeation and permeability properties. Foundational information is also provided on the production of films, containers, membranes, and the markets and applications for these materials.

Biosynthetic Polymers for Medical Applications provides the latest information on biopolymers, the polymers that have been produced from living organisms and are biodegradable in nature. These advanced materials are becoming increasingly important for medical applications due to their favorable properties, such as degradability and biocompatibility. This important book provides readers with a thorough review of the fundamentals of biosynthetic polymers and their applications. Part One covers the fundamentals of biosynthetic polymers for medical applications, while Part Two explores biosynthetic polymer coatings and surface modification. Subsequent sections discuss biosynthetic polymers for tissue engineering applications and how to conduct polymers for medical applications.

Thoroughly revised edition of the classic text on polymer processing

The Second Edition brings the classic text on polymer processing thoroughly up to date with the latest fundamental developments in polymer processing, while retaining the critically acclaimed approach of the First Edition. Readers are provided with the complete panorama of polymer processing, starting with fundamental concepts through the latest current industry practices and future directions. All the chapters have been revised and updated, and four new chapters have been added to introduce the latest developments.
Readers familiar with the First Edition will discover a host of new material, including:
* Blend and alloy microstructuring
* Twin screw-based melting and chaotic mixing mechanisms
* Reactive processing
* Devolatilization--theory, mechanisms, and industrial practice
* Compounding--theory and industrial practice
* The increasingly important role of computational fluid mechanics
* A systematic approach to machine configuration design
The Second Edition expands on the unique approach that distinguishes it from comparative texts. Rather than focus on specific processing methods, the authors assert that polymers have a similar experience in any processing machine and that these experiences can be described by a set of elementary processing steps that prepare the polymer for any of the shaping methods. On the other hand, the authors do emphasize the unique features of particular polymer processing methods and machines, including the particular elementary step and shaping mechanisms and geometrical solutions.
Replete with problem sets and a solutions manual for instructors, this textbook is recommended for undergraduate and graduate students in chemical engineering and polymer and materials engineering and science. It will also prove invaluable for industry professionals as a fundamental polymer processing analysis and synthesis reference.

Polylactic acid (PLA) is a synthetic and biodegradable polymer. PLA can have important applications in tissue engineering as three-dimensional porous structures. Biodegradable polymers are used in medicine to replace and increase the volume of tissues, as tissue supports and also for controlled drug release. One of the most widely used biodegradable polymers is polylactic acid (PLA), as it is easily biodegraded. This material is used as microspheres or microcapsules to host a broad diversity of drugs, such as antiinflamatory, anticonceptives, narcotics antagonists, local anesthetics and vaccines. This book discusses new developments in the research of polylactic acid.

"Polymer Green Flame Retardants" covers key issues regarding the response of polymers during fire, the mechanisms of their flame retardation, the regulations imposed on their use, and the health hazards arising from their combustion. Presenting the latest research developments, the book focuses in particular on nanocomposites, believed to be the most promising approach for producing physically superior materials with low flammability and ecological impact. The fire properties of nanocomposites of various matrixes and fillers are discussed, the toxicological characteristics of these materials are analyzed, addressing also their environmental sustainability.

Edited by distinguished scientists, including an array of international industry and academia experts, this book will appeal to chemical, mechanical, environmental, material and process engineers, upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in these disciplines, and generally to researchers developing commercially attractive and environmentally friendly fire-proof products.
Provides recent findings on the manufacture of environmentally sustainable flame retardant polymeric materialsCovers legislation and regulations concerning flame retarded polymeric material useIncludes tables containing the fire properties of the most common polymeric materials

Providing guidelines for implementing sustainable practices for traditional petroleum based plastics, biobased plastics, and recycled plastics, "Sustainable Plastics and the Environment" explains what sustainable plastics are, why sustainable plastics are needed, which sustainable plastics to use, and how manufacturing companies can integrate them into their manufacturing operations. A vital resource for practitioners, scientists, researchers, and students, the text includes impacts of plastics including Life Cycle Assessments (LCA) and sustainability strategies related to biobased plastics and petroleum based plastics as well as end-of-life options for petroleum and biobased plastics.

Conducting polymers (CPs) such as polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPY), poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT), and poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT), have been recognized as promising organic semiconductors due to their controllable chemical/electrochemical properties, light weight, low cost, good biocompatibility, facile processability, and adjustable electrical conductivities. This book presents current research in the field of polymers. Topics discussed include resonance raman of polyanilines nanofibers; conducting polymer micro-/nano- structures via template-free method; charge transfer and electrochemical reactions at electrodes modified with pristine and metal-containing films of conducting polymers; and conducting polymer-functionalized carbon nanotubes hybrid nanostructures based bioanalytical sensors.