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The purpose of this paper is to prepare poly(sodium‐p‐styrenesulphonate) (PSSNa) and investigate the effects of polymerisation conditions on the polymerisation rate of sodium styrenesulphonate (SSNa) and molecular weight of PSSNa.

SSNa polymers were prepared in both solution state and solid state by the γ‐ray radiation‐induced polymerisation. The molecular weight of polymer was measured with Ubbelohde viscosimeter and the molecular structure was characterised with IR and UV spectrophotometers.

In the radiation‐induced polymerisation of SSNa, factors such as irradiation dose rate, total dose, irradiation temperature, additives, etc. have impacts on the polymerisation rate, polymer yield and molecular weight of polymer. In aqueous solution, the reacted monomer number of SSNa and the total activation energy (Ea) of polymerisation were found to be 1.28×10⁴mol/100 eV and 12.98 kJ/mol, respectively. In the solid state, the SSNa was polymerised too, although the irradiation dose needed for the polymerisation was much higher comparing with that in the liquid state.

There are few reports on polymerisation process for the preparation of PSSNa via radiation techniques.

PSSNa has been widely used in many fields. Polymers prepared by radiation‐induced polymerisation could be used in special aspects such as biomedical application which requires products of higher purity.

The paper provides a way for the preparation of higher purity PSSNa without the use of polymerisation initiator.

Printing toners are polymer composites accountable for transmission of digital images onto target substrates. Bearing in mind the ever increasing demand for high quality digital printing, modification and/or integration of existing techniques for manufacturing toners with favourable morphological and colour characteristics appears of vital importance. The present study aims to uncover the significance of in-situ polymerisation method, i.e. suspension, emulsion and mini-emulsion to control the microstructure of toner particles (particle size, particle size distribution and sphereness) while keeping the energy required for polymerisation along with reaction conversion at a reasonable level.

Assessment of particle size, particle size distribution and reaction conversion visualised the potential of suspension, emulsion and mini-emulsion polymerisation techniques to control microstructure, and colour characteristics of synthesized toners as well.

The results provided support for the fact that either the emulsion or mini-emulsion polymerisation routes will result in toners having an acceptable particle size and particle size distribution in the presence of a redox precursor. The higher monomer conversion at low temperature, as compared to the suspension polymerisation, was noticeable.

Analysing the glass transition temperature and colour characteristics of the resulting toners elucidated the superiority of mini-emulsion with respect to the other two cases which ranks this method on account of application.

For the first time, mini-emulsion route was put into practice and toners with acceptable colour and microstructure features were synthesised. In spite of lower polymerisation temperature and higher conversion of mini-emulsion compared to suspension and emulsion polymerisation techniques, further investigations are required to fine-tuning the properties of toners produced through this method.

The paper describes the plasma polymerisation process for depositing ultrathin films. Such films, deposited from monomers containing hydrophobic elements such as hexafluorobenzene and hexamethyldisiloxane, showed excellent water vapour barrier properties, due to dense, highly crosslinked and rigid structures of the films. The composition and structure of the plasma polymerised films have been elucidated by ESCA and infra‐red spectroscopy.

The aim of the paper is to develop a method of synthesising polyaniline (PANI) with excellent electrical conductivity.

The preparation of PANI was carried out by vibration of emulsifier (SDBS), oxidant (APS) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) solution concentration. The changes of temperature and time of reaction had also been observed and researched.

Changing of reaction conditions was found to have a great influence on polyaniline's conductivity. The optimum condition for preparing polyaniline salt is as follows: the molar ratio of n(An)/n(SDBS)/n(APS) is 10/10/9, the concentration of HCl is 0.9 M, stirred constantly at 0°C for a period of 3 h. By using this emulsion polymerisation pathway the maximum of conductivity of polyaniline is 4.35 s/cm.

The method can be widely applicable to coatings, preparation of exfoliated clay composites and solution blending with other commodity polymers.

The method could be adapted for use on an industrial scale.

Plasma polymerization is a very promising technique to produce functional textile materials for any textile end uses as well as for high performance clothing. It can be possible to obtain highly cross‐linked, pinhole free and very thin polymer films up to 1 μm thickness with unique physical and chemical properties. These films can be used as very effective barriers. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influences of plasma polymerization of hexamethyldisilane (HMDS) and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) on the surface properties of cotton and polyamide fabrics.

The methodology is based on the surface modification of the cotton and polyamide fabrics by plasma polymerization of HMDS and HMDSO. The fabrics are modified by low pressure low temperature RF (radio frequency −13.56 MHz) plasma polymerization system under different power and time conditions. The changes in surface structure and morphology of the fabrics are investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy‐attenuated total reflectance (FTIR‐ATR) analysis and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Water repellency of polyamide fabrics is strongly enhanced after plasma polymerization of both HMDS and HMDSO monomers. In addition to this, the treatments are found to slow down the vertical flame spread in cotton fabrics.

Increased water repellency and decreased vertical flame spread are achieved using plasma polymerization technique in a very short time with very little amount of chemical and without water and auxiliary agent.

An investigation has been carried out of the catalytic action of iron dipalmitate on the polymerisation of styrene, and of lauryl mercaptan and oleic acid, and polystyrene having good particle size distribution has been obtained by the polymerisation of styrene in the presence of stearic acid, which can also act as a catalyst in the bulk polymerisation of this monomer, optionally used along with styrene oxide. The fatty acid has also been employed along with diphenylamine and hydroxyacetophenone, to give catalysts systems for the polymerisation of styrene monomer, the acid ensuring brilliance in the moulded polymer. Stearoyl peroxide functions as a catalyst in the bulk polymerisation of styrene, whilst zinc stearate can work as a catalyst to the thermal degradation of polystyrene.

Toner is a crucial dry colorant composite used in printing based on the electrophotographic process. The quality of printed images is greatly influenced by the toner production method and material formulation. Chemically in situ polymerization methods are currently preferred. This paper aims to optimize the characteristics of a composite produced through emulsion polymerization using common raw materials for electrophotographic toner production.

Emulsion polymerization provides the possibility to optimize the physical and color properties of the final products. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize variables affecting particle size (PS), PS distribution (PSD), glass transition temperature (T_g°C), color properties (ΔE) and monomer conversion. Box–Behnken experimental design with three levels of styrene and butyl acrylate monomer ratios, carbon black pigment and sodium dodecyl sulfate surfactant was used for RSM optimization. Additionally, thermogravimetric analysis and surface morphology of composite particles were examined.

The results indicated that colorants with small PS, narrow PSDs, spherical shape morphology, acceptable thermal and color properties and a high percentage of conversion could be easily prepared by optimization of material parameters in this method. The anticipated outcome of the present inquiry holds promise as a guiding beacon toward the realization of electrographic toner of superior quality and exceptional efficacy, a vital factor for streamlined mass production.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, for the first time, material parameters were evaluated to determine their impact on the characteristics of emulsion polymerized toner composites.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the anti‐sedimentation of the acrylic resin containing long afterglow phosphors (SrMgAl₄O₈:Eu²⁺, Dy³⁺).

The phosphors were first modified by the vinylsilane coupling agent MPS (3‐(methacryloxypropyl)‐trimethoxysilane). Then, the acrylic resin containing modified phosphors was synthesised by in situ polymerisation. Meanwhile, the compared blend sample was prepared by pure acylic resin with no modified phosphors in the same content. When the two resins were coated on glass, the films were characterised by ATR‐FTIR, SEM and TGA. The sedimentation performances of liquid resins were also observed.

Results showed that anti‐sedimentation of acrylic resin with phosphors by in situ polymerisation was enhanced greatly, because the phosphors have been connected with the macromolecule chain, and dispersed homogeneously with no aggregation, so preventing its sedimentation.

Researchers are encouraged to test the proposed method and enhance the anti‐sedimentation further.

This method provides an idea to solve the problem of anti‐sedimentation in luminescent paint containing long afterglow phosphors in practical production and application.

This paper introduced the in situ polymerisation to enhance the anti‐sedimentation of acrylic resin containing long afterglow phosphors and it can be applied also to other inorganic powders.

Over the past few years, the number of related research to additive manufacturing (AM) has risen. The selective composite formation (SCF) can also be found among the new technologies that were developed. This technology was first introduced in 2013, and because of its innovative character, there are still many challenges to be overcome. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to present a finite element method which allows to investigate the processing of the material during the selective formation of a composite material based on cellulose and acrylic.

In the beginning, we introduced a brand new finite element method approach which is based on light transmittance network and photopolymerisation in transient state. This method is mainly characterised by internal light absorption, transversal reflectance, light transmittance coefficient and photopolymerisation kinetics. The authors defined experimentally the main model coefficients besides investigating the formation of composite material in six case studies. The main variables evaluated in those studies were the number of layers and the number of lines. By the end, the degree of polymer conversion and the preliminary evaluation of adherence between layers were identified in addition to the formation profile of composite material.

The presented method evidence that the SCF resulted in a profile of polymerisation which is different from profiles found in vat polymerisation processes. It was shown that the light diffraction increases polymerisation area to outside of laser limits and reduces the penetration depth. It was also exposed that the selective formation of composite material on the top layer interferes with the polymerisation of previous layers and might increase the polymerised area in about 25 per cent per layer. By the end, adherence between layers was evidenced because of a high-pass filter that limited polymer conversion to over 60 per cent. In this case, the adherence between the top layers was provided by the interface between layers, while the deeper layers resulted in a solid formed by composite.

This paper presents research results related to a very new AM technology and also proposes a new method to characterise this concept. Because of this new analytic approach, the process planning can be simulated and optimised, in addition to being a useful tool for other researches related to photocurable polymers and AM technologies.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate microwave reflection, transmission, and complex permittivity of p‐toluene‐2‐sulfonic acid doped conducting polypyrrole coated nylon‐lycra textiles in the 1‐18 GHz frequency with a view to potential applications in the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with such coated fabrics.

The chemical polymerization of pyrrole is achieved by an oxidant, ferric chloride and doped with p‐toluene sulfonic acid (pTSA) to enhance the conductivity and improve stability. Permittivity of the conducting textile substrates is performed using a free space transmission method accompanied by a mathematical diffraction reduction method.

The real part of permittivity increases with polymerization time and dopant concentration, reaching a plateau at certain dopant concentration and polymerization time. The imaginary part of permittivity shows a frequency dependent change throughout the test range. All the samples have higher values of absorption than reflection. The total electromagnetic shielding effectiveness exceeds 80 percent for the highly pTSA doped samples coated for 3 h.

A non‐contact, non‐destructive free space method thin flexible specimens to be tested with high accuracy across large frequency range. The non‐destructive nature of the experiments enables investigation of the stability of the microwave transmission, reflection, absorption and complex permittivity values. Moreover, mathematical removal of the diffraction enables higher accuracy.