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A technique for improving dispersion within polymer-glass composites using polymer precipitation.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Oosterbeek, Reece N 
Zhang, Xiang C 
Best, Serena M 
Cameron, Ruth E 

Abstract

Particulate reinforcement of polymeric matrices is a powerful technique for tailoring the mechanical and degradation properties of bioresorbable implant materials. Dispersion of inorganic particles is critical to achieving optimal properties, however established techniques such as twin-screw extrusion or solvent casting can have significant drawbacks including excessive thermal degradation or particle agglomeration. We present a facile method for production of polymer-inorganic composites that reduces the time at elevated temperature and the time available for particle agglomeration. Glass slurry was added to a dissolved PLLA solution, and ethanol was added to precipitate polymer onto the glass particles. Characterisation of parts formed by subsequent micro-injection moulding of composite precipitate revealed a significant reduction in agglomeration, with d0.9 reduced from 170 to 43 μm. This drastically improved the ductility (ɛB) from 7% to 120%, without loss of strength or stiffness. The method is versatile and applicable to a wide range of polymer and filler materials.

Description

Keywords

Mechanical properties, Particle dispersion, Particle-reinforced composites, Poly-L-lactide, Polymer precipitation, Polymer–matrix composites, Glass, Polyesters, Polymers, Tensile Strength

Journal Title

J Mech Behav Biomed Mater

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1751-6161
1878-0180

Volume Title

123

Publisher

Elsevier BV

Rights

All rights reserved
Sponsorship
The authors thank Lucideon Ltd. (Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom) for providing materials and financial support of the project.
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