Solid State Shear Milling Research Articles

Partial exfoliation and layer expansion of vermiculite layer in solid state by solid state shear milling (S3M) method

AbstractA new method, solid state shear milling (S3M), was reported for realizing the exfoliation and layer expansion of vermiculite layer in solid state by using pan‐mill equipment, which can exert fairly strong squeezing force and shearing force on milled materials. The mechanism was discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 1806–1809, 2006

The cutting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes and their strong interfacial interaction with polyamide 6 in the solid state

The cutting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using solid state shear milling (S 3M) method and their strong interfacial interaction with polyamide 6 (PA6) in the solid state were studied. Transmission electron microscopy showed that after milling, the CNTs were greatly reduced in length, and disentangled, being straighter with open ends. Fourier transform infrared spectra and differential scanning calorimeter analysis indicated the existence of strong interfacial interactions between MWCNTs and PA6 of the pan-milled PA6/CNTs powder. It was further quantified by thermogravimetric analysis that about 30 wt.% of PA6 formed a strong combining force with CNTs after pan-milling. The mechanism of cutting CNTs and the reason for their strong interfacial interactions with PA6 in the solid state were discussed. A fine and homogeneous dispersion of CNTs throughout PA6 matrix was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The tensile properties of the composites prepared by the S 3M method were significantly improved compared to those of pure PA6 and composites prepared by conventional melt mixing. Upon incorporation of only 1.5 wt.% MWCNTs, the tensile modulus of PA6 was enhanced from 2448 MPa to 4439 MPa, by about 80%, and the tensile strength was increased by about 23%.