Department of Polymer Materials
Head: Ivan
Fortelny, PhD
(phone +420-222518692, e-mail fortelny@imc.cas.cz)
Research
The Department pursues basic research in polymer materials,
their preparation and properties. Main attention is paid to: (i)
study of polymer miscibility and interfacial tension in polymer
systems, (ii) microrheological description and experimental
investigation of the phase structure formation and evolution in
immiscible polymer blends, (iii) study of the effect of reactive
and copolymer-based compatibilization on structure and properties
of polymer blends, (iv) development of rules for prediction of
properties of polymer blends from the knowledge of their phase
structure and properties of components, (v) study of the course
of polymer crystallization, and (vi) investigation of degradation
and stabilization of polymer materials. The results are utilized
in studies of recycling commingled plastic waste and in
development of new materials based on polymer blends.
During the year 2000, the research was focused mainly on the
following problems:
- Elucidation of differences between compatibilization
efficiency of styrene-butadiene block copolymers in
polystyrene/polybutadiene, polystyrene/polyethylene and
polystyrene/polypropylene blends.
- Study of creep in polypropylene/elastomer/poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile)
blends and its description by the model based on
combination of the equivalent blocks model and modified
equations of the percolation theory.
- Effect of composition of the combined compatibilizer,
developed in the department, on its compatibilization
efficiency in real municipal plastics waste.
- Analysis of the effect of breakup frequency of droplets
in polymer blends on their average size in steady flow.
- Effect of the g -ray dose on
selected properties of ultra-high-molecular-weight
polyethylene. Theory of the open association suitable for
description of reversible physical gels. Description of
the shear-flow-induced coalescence in immiscible polymer
blends.
Organisation Structure:
Send your comments to:
fortelny
(@imc.cas.cz)
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