Natural rubber/tetra-needle-like zinc oxide whisker composites: their preparation and characterization

Tetra-needle-like zinc oxide whiskers (T-ZnOw) were modified by Si69, and natural rubber (NR)/Si69-T-ZnOw composites were developed by latex-compounding techniques. The mechanical properties, morphology, cross-link density, and thermogravimetry of the composites were investigated. The results show that the tetra-needles of T-ZnOw tightly insert into the rubber matrix. T-ZnOw, which have a special four-dimensional structure, act as a skeleton in the rubber matrix. In comparison with the host NR, the mechanical properties, cross-link density, and thermostability of the resulting composites were significantly improved at Si69-T-ZnOw loadings of 4 wt%. During the thermal decomposition, various characteristic temperatures of the NR/Si69-T-ZnOw composites increase 5–9°C over those of the pure NR. The NR/Si69-T-ZnOw composites have great potential to manufacture medical protective products with high performances.

The Preparation and Characterization of Magnesium Oxide Whisker

Due to the special topography in length and diameter, magnesium oxide (MgO) whisker has good mechanical properties to improve the mechanical and biological properties of biodegradable polymer materials, while the morphology of MgO whisker is significantly related to the morphology of its precursor whisker. In this work the precursor whisker is prepared through the mild solution approach and the effects of three producing factors on the growth of precursor whisker are systematically investigated by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It reveals that the morphology and composition of MgO predominantly dependent on precursor is prominently influenced by the preparing parameters, especially in solution concentration, aging time and aging temperature. The suitable preparing conditions in present experiment are with 0.6mol/L solution concentration, under 10h aging time and at room temperature, through which the radial dimension of whisker reaches to the nanolevel and the optimal aspect ratio is 80:1.

Development of high performance dental resin composites with outstanding antibacterial activity, high mechanical properties and low polymerization shrinkage based on a SiO2 hybridized tetrapod-like zinc oxide whisker with CC bonds

Novel dental resin composites with outstanding antibacterial activity, high mechanical properties and low polymerization shrinkage were fabricated with SiO2 hybridized tetrapod-like zinc oxide whiskers, and the origin behind was revealed.