• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.52-60
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• 2005

In this study, low density polyethylene/organo-clay nanocomposites were prepared by melt blending. Thermal property, structure, and morphology of the LDPE/organo-clay nanocomposites were investigated. When the composition ratios of the compounds of LDPE/PE-g-MA/organo-clay were 90/10/1~10 (w/w/w), X-ray diffractograms of LDPE/organo-clay nanocomposites revealed that the intercalation of polymer chains lead to increase the spacing between clay layers. TEM microphotographs showed that LDPE was intercalated into organo-clay. TGA performed under air atmosphere demonstrated a great increase in thermal stability of the LDPE/organo-clay nanocomposties. The maximum decomposition temperature of LDPE/organo-clay nanocomposite was increased about $80^{\circ}C$ compared with pure LDPE. When the organo-clay contents were 1.0~5.0 wt%, the LOI values were increased with increasing the organo-clay content, but in the case of the contents more than 5.0 wt%, the LOI values were not increased any more.

• Analytical Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.24-35
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• 2010

To learn more about the calibration properties of reduced sulfur compounds (RSCs) by the combination of gas chromatography(GC)-pulsed flame photometric detector (PFPD) and thermal desorption method, a series of calibration experiments were conducted on the basis of both internal and external calibration approaches. For these experiments, gaseous standards of 4 RSCs ($H_2S$, $CH_3SH$, DMS, and DMDS) were prepared at two different concentration levels of both low (10, 20, 50,and 100 ppb) and high ranges (100, 200, 500, and 1000 ppb) along with $CS_2$ as an internal standard. First, the external calibration results were compared between fixed standard volume (FSV) and fixed standard concentration (FSC) method. Secondly, FSV-based calibration results were compared between external and internal calibration results. As FSV method suffers from sensitivity variations less significantly than FSC, the former is recommended to maintain the consistency in GC-TD sensitivity for RSC analysis. In addition, when the calibration data were examined in terms of RSE between external and internal calibration data, the results were not consistent enough to show improvements in internal method. Hence, diverse efforts are desirable to optimize the reproducibility in terms of GC-TD sensitivity for RSC analysis.

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.164-170
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• 2011

In this study, silicone rubber filled with environmentally-friendly perlite was prepared by mechanical mixing in order to improve thermal properties, such as heat and fire resistances. We found that the properties of silicone rubber composites depended on perlite concentration by various characterization methods. Thermogravimetric analysis(TGA) indicated that the initial degradation temperature of silicone/perlite composite was higher than that of pristine silicone rubber. The gas torch test showed that the opposite side temperature of composite materials was remarkably low as compared to that of pristine silicone rubber. In addition, the composites containing 5 wt% and 10 wt% of perlite showed remarkable thermal stability at elevated temperatures according to the results of both fireproof furnace tests under the RABT condition and carbonization furnace tests. The images from a scanning electron microscope(SEM) showed the degree of dispersion of perlite in silicone rubber. Finally, it was confirmed that limited oxygen index(LOI) was increased with perlite concentration.

• KSCE Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.26 no.4A
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• pp.761-766
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• 2006

Polymer composite are increasingly considered as structural components for use in civil engineering, on account of their enhanced strength-to-weight ratios. Unsaturated polyester (UP) resin have been widely used for the matrix of composites such as FRP and polymer composite, due to its excellent adhesive. Polymer nanocomposites are new class of composites derived from the nano scale inorganic particles with dimensions typically in the range of 1 to 1000 nm that are dispersed in the polymer matrix homogeneously. Owing to the high aspect ratio of the fillers, mechanical, thermal, flame, retardant and barrier properties are enhanced without significant loss of clarity, toughness or impact strength. To prepare the MMT (Montmorillonite)-UP exfoliated nanocomposites, UP was mixed with MMT at $60^{\circ}C$ for 3 hours by using pan mixer. XRD (X-ray diffraction) pattern of the composites and TEM (Transmission Electron Micrographs) showed that the interlayer spacing of the modified MMT were exfoliated in polymer matrix. The mechanical properties also supported these findings, since in general, tensile strength, modulus with modified MMT were higher than those of the composites with unmodified MMT. The thermal stability of MMT-UP nanocomposite is better than that of pure UP, and its glass transition temperature is higher than that of pure UP. The polymer concrete made with MMT-UP nanocomposite has better mechanical properties than of pure UP. Therefore, it is suggested that strength and elastic modulus of polymer concrete was found to be positively tensile strength and tensile modulus of the MMT-UP nanocomposites.