Prediction of Surface Segregation of Fluorinated Additives from Measurement of Wettability Properties of Polymer-Based Blends.

The aim of this work is to describe the segregation phenomenon of random perfluorinated copolymers toward the surface of a polystyrene (PS) matrix. Three random perfluorinated copolymers, named POISE-a (Polymer prOcessing Interface StabilizEr), synthesized with different amounts of chemically bound fluorine, were mixed with a commercial PS matrix by a solvent casting process. Their effect on the wettability properties of PS as a function of their concentration was measured first under static conditions with different liquids (water, formamide, diethylene glycol) and then under dynamic conditions with water.

Complementary Approaches for Enhancing Polystyrene Hydrophobicity: Additives Development and Replication of Micro/Nanotextures.

This work aims at developing polymer surfaces with enhanced hydrophobicity by controlling both the surface chemistry and the surface structure. As a first step, a chemical surface modification is achieved by the incorporation of a synthetized tailored fluorinated copolymer, named POISE-a (Polymer prOcessing Interface StabilizEr), in a commercial polystyrene matrix. Then, a complementary physical approach based on micro-structuration of a polymer surface is used.

Reinforcing mechanisms of starch nanocrystals in a nonvulcanized natural rubber matrix.

A phenomenological modeling approach was developed to try to understand the reinforcing mechanism of starch nanocrystals in a nonvulcanized natural rubber matrix. Natural rubber was not cross-linked to maintain the biodegradability of the biosourced materials. Nonlinear dynamic mechanical experiments highlighted the significant reinforcing effect of starch nanocrystals and the presence of the Mullins and Payne effects.