High Impact Resistance Fibers from Poly-Dicyclopentadiene
Location
Nessmith-Lane Atrium
Session Format
Poster Presentation
Research Area Topic:
Engineering and Material Science - Functional Polymers & Coatings
Abstract
The main goal of this project is to create a high impact resistant polymer from a chemical called DCPD (Dicyclopentadiene) at a fast rate by using a fast reacting catalyst.
The theoretical framework this project is based on the reaction of DCPD when it is mixed with a ROMP catalyst. The product of this reaction, PDCPD (Poly-DCPD), looks like a structure that seems to have bonds on the top and bottom of the molecule which suggests this polymer can create long, strong chains capable of withstanding huge impacts to it and disperse the energy amongst itself.
The Methodology and data needed to support our framework is by doing this reaction in a controlled environment (glove box) so that there may not be any contamination and keeping the reaction under equilibrium. The polymer then can be made by dissolving DCPD in a solvent THF (Tetrahydrofuran) and adding a specific amount of catalyst and mix it. After mixing it for a certain amount of time, we split the solution into two and kill them separately with two different chemicals. One is an inhibitor called Triphenylphosphine and the other is a reaction killer called ethyl vinyl ether. The solution killed with ethyl vinyl ether will be tested by NMR to see the conversion rate of the polymer at some specific time range. Once both of these are killed, they are precipitated in methanol and filtered to get the solid polymer. The solid is then used for different tests such as DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) and GPC (Gel Phase Chromatography). These tests can give us more insight as to what kind of properties does our polymer have and the spectra can be used to support our theoretical framework.
The significance of this project is that the catalyst we are using is Ruthenium based which hasn‰Ûªt been used before in other published papers. The Ruthenium based catalyst is also fast reacting and can give us a polymers or conversion ratios of >75% under an hour, which is an impressive feat compared to other projects that use different catalysts and have reaction times of over an hour. The amount of catalyst needed to make the reaction is minimal as you increase the amount of monomer units in the polymer which makes it even more amazing. The polymer itself is interesting because the mass is very light even though the molecular weight of the polymer can vary from 132,000 g/mol to 1,322,000 g/mol.
The outcome/proposed significance of this project is to be able to create a high impact resistant fiber and mix it with other fibers such as HMWPE (High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) to create a stronger fiber and implement it in armor for military use.
Presentation Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Start Date
4-16-2016 2:45 PM
End Date
4-16-2016 4:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Barvaliya, Dhruv, "High Impact Resistance Fibers from Poly-Dicyclopentadiene" (2016). GS4 Georgia Southern Student Scholars Symposium. 84.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/research_symposium/2016/2016/84
High Impact Resistance Fibers from Poly-Dicyclopentadiene
Nessmith-Lane Atrium
The main goal of this project is to create a high impact resistant polymer from a chemical called DCPD (Dicyclopentadiene) at a fast rate by using a fast reacting catalyst.
The theoretical framework this project is based on the reaction of DCPD when it is mixed with a ROMP catalyst. The product of this reaction, PDCPD (Poly-DCPD), looks like a structure that seems to have bonds on the top and bottom of the molecule which suggests this polymer can create long, strong chains capable of withstanding huge impacts to it and disperse the energy amongst itself.
The Methodology and data needed to support our framework is by doing this reaction in a controlled environment (glove box) so that there may not be any contamination and keeping the reaction under equilibrium. The polymer then can be made by dissolving DCPD in a solvent THF (Tetrahydrofuran) and adding a specific amount of catalyst and mix it. After mixing it for a certain amount of time, we split the solution into two and kill them separately with two different chemicals. One is an inhibitor called Triphenylphosphine and the other is a reaction killer called ethyl vinyl ether. The solution killed with ethyl vinyl ether will be tested by NMR to see the conversion rate of the polymer at some specific time range. Once both of these are killed, they are precipitated in methanol and filtered to get the solid polymer. The solid is then used for different tests such as DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) and GPC (Gel Phase Chromatography). These tests can give us more insight as to what kind of properties does our polymer have and the spectra can be used to support our theoretical framework.
The significance of this project is that the catalyst we are using is Ruthenium based which hasn‰Ûªt been used before in other published papers. The Ruthenium based catalyst is also fast reacting and can give us a polymers or conversion ratios of >75% under an hour, which is an impressive feat compared to other projects that use different catalysts and have reaction times of over an hour. The amount of catalyst needed to make the reaction is minimal as you increase the amount of monomer units in the polymer which makes it even more amazing. The polymer itself is interesting because the mass is very light even though the molecular weight of the polymer can vary from 132,000 g/mol to 1,322,000 g/mol.
The outcome/proposed significance of this project is to be able to create a high impact resistant fiber and mix it with other fibers such as HMWPE (High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) to create a stronger fiber and implement it in armor for military use.
