Abstract: A method for binder jetting additive manufacturing of an object, the method comprising: (i) separately feeding a powder from which said object is to be manufactured and a solution comprising an adhesive polymer dissolved in a solvent into an additive manufacturing device, wherein said adhesive polymer is an amine-containing polymer having a molecular weight of at least 200 g/mole and is present in said solution in a concentration of 1-30 wt % to result in said solution having a viscosity of 2-25 mPa·s and a surface tension of 25-45 mN/m at room temperature; and (ii) dispensing selectively positioned droplets of said adhesive polymer, from a printhead of said additive manufacturing device, into a bed of said powder to bind particles of said powder with said adhesive polymer to produce a preform having a shape of the object to be manufactured.

Abstract: A solid electrolyte (SE) composition comprising: (i) a crosslinked organic polymer containing at least one of oxygen and nitrogen atoms; (ii) an inorganic component having a metal oxide or metal sulfide composition and which is distributed throughout the crosslinked organic polymer and interacts by hydrogen bonding with the crosslinked organic polymer; and (iii) metal ions selected from the group consisting of lithium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, zinc, and aluminum. Also described herein are solid-state batteries comprising: a) an anode; (b) a cathode; and (c) the solid electrolyte composition described above.

Abstract: To provide a filament for obtaining a palatable beverage extracting filter having excellent formability, which is less expensive, and having excellent extractability. A core-sheath type composite multifilament for a palatable beverage extracting filter, including a core component and a sheath component, the core component being a homopolyester having a melting point of 220° C. or more, the sheath component being a copolyester containing terephthalic acid and a diol as major components and having a melting point at least 40° C. lower than that of the core component, and a number of filaments is 2 to 5.

Abstract: A self-healing adhesive composition comprising a homogeneous mixture of: (i) a self-healing polymer containing hydrogen bonding groups or long-chain alkyl groups, wherein said hydrogen bonding groups comprise hydrogen bond donating groups and hydrogen bond accepting groups, and wherein said long-chain alkyl groups contain at least four carbon atoms; and (ii) an extrudable adhesive polymer base having a curable property and no self-healable property; wherein component (i) is present in the self-healing adhesive composition in an amount of at least 10 wt % and up to 70 wt % of the total of components (i) and (ii). Also described herein is a method of sealing a space (e.g., crack, gap, or pores) in a substrate material by at least partially filling the space with the self-healing adhesive composition described above and permitting the self-healing adhesive composition to harden over time without applying an external stimulus to induce hardening.

Abstract: A method of forming a polymeric vacuum insulation board is provided, the polymeric vacuum insulation board including a plurality of evacuated, closed-cell pores therein. In one embodiment, the method includes intermixing a polymer with zeolite particles that contain water and extruding the resulting composition under high pressure. During extrusion, water in the zeolite particles evaporates and creates a porous, closed-cell microstructure within a polymer matrix. As the polymer matrix cools and solidifies, water vapor is reabsorbed by the zeolite, which at least partially evacuates the closed-cell pores. In another embodiment, the method includes intermixing a polymer with expandable graphite particles and extruding the resulting composition under high pressure. During extrusion, the expandable graphite particles define evacuated voids. The polymer binder can be selected to include low gas permeance, for example ethylene vinyl alcohol (EvOH) or polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC).

Abstract: An elastic composition comprising the following structure: wherein: PDMS is polydimethylsiloxane having at least 5 dimethylsiloxane units; L is a bond or hydrocarbon linker; the asterisk (*) in A units denotes a connection point with an asterisk in B units, and at least one of the following linkages connect between connection points: r is an integer of at least 3; R is a hydrocarbon or siloxane-containing linking moiety; the composition includes a multiplicity of A units and multiplicity of B units; and a portion of the connection points are necessarily terminated by endcapping groups, wherein at least a portion of the endcapping groups are selected from the following structures: The invention also includes methods for making and using the above-described elastic composition.

Abstract: A graft copolymer composition comprising the following structure: wherein: Ax represents a polymer backbone having a number of polymerized monomer units x; [By] represents a multiplicity of a graft polymer side chain having a number of polymerized monomer units y, and at least a portion of the monomer units in By contains a group —C(O)OM, with M independently selected from H and alkali metals; [C] represents a multiplicity of positions on the polymer backbone Ax where the graft polymer side chain B or any other graft polymer side chain is not attached; the subscript w represents a grafting density of the group By, wherein w is an integer within a range of 10-50%; and the subscript z represents a density of the group C, wherein z=(100?w) %. The invention is also directed to lithium-ion batteries in which the above-described composition is incorporated in an anode of the battery.

Abstract: A crosslinked polymer composition comprising: (i) a base polymer containing a multiplicity of at least one type of functional group selected from amino, amido, thiol, carboxylic acid, carboxylic acid ester, and epoxy groups; (ii) a multiplicity of hydroxylated benzene rings covalently linked to the base polymer, wherein each hydroxylated benzene ring contains at least two hydroxy groups, and with at least two of the hydroxy groups on said hydroxylated benzene rings being free as OH groups; and (iii) a multiplicity of crosslinking groups that crosslink at least two of said functional groups in the base polymer. The invention is also directed to lithium-ion batteries in which the above-described composition is incorporated in an electrode of the battery, and also directed to methods of operating a lithium-ion battery in which the above-described crosslinked polymer composition is incorporated in an electrode thereof.

Abstract: An improved method for manufacturing a continuous self-healing barrier film is provided. The method includes slot-die coating opposing sides of a separator substrate with a curing agent slurry and a curable resin slurry using a single-sided coating line or a tandem coating line. The method also includes sequentially interleaving inner and outer protective layers via a continuous roll-to-roll process to create a multi-layered barrier film. The barrier film can optionally be formed into a barrier envelope, and an insulating core material can be inserted into the barrier envelope to define an enclosure. Evacuating and sealing the enclosure along a perimeter of the barrier envelop forms a self-healing vacuum insulation panel with excellent properties for use as a building material and in refrigeration systems, for example. The barrier film can alternatively be used in the manufacture of tires, roofing, cargo containers, food packaging, and pharmaceutical packaging, for example.

Abstract: Provided is a curable composition which forms a cured product that has excellent fireproof performance, while having excellent shape retainability even in cases where the expansion ratio of the cured product after firing is set to a high value. This curable composition includes a shape retention agent, while having fluidity when applied; and if a cured product that is obtained by curing this curable composition is fired in 600° C. air atmosphere for 30 minutes, the cured product after firing has shape retainability.

Abstract: A self-healing vacuum insulation panel and a method of manufacture are provided. The vacuum insulation panel includes a self-healing, multi-layer barrier film including a separator between a curing agent and a curable resin. Upon damage to the separator, the curing agent penetrates the separator due to a pressure differential across the barrier film and reacts with the curable resin to seal any cuts or punctures. The curing agent and the curable resin can be selected to have long term stability and a short reaction time with no need for external stimuli. As a result, the multi-layer barrier film can retain the internal vacuum and maintain a desirably low thermal conductivity using low-cost, commercially available epoxies and curing agents.

Abstract: A method for binder jetting additive manufacturing of an object, the method comprising: (i) separately feeding a powder from which said object is to be manufactured and a solution comprising an adhesive polymer dissolved in a solvent into an additive manufacturing device, wherein said adhesive polymer is an amine-containing polymer having a molecular weight of at least 200 g/mole and is present in said solution in a concentration of 1-30 wt % to result in said solution having a viscosity of 2-25 mPa·s and a surface tension of 25-45 mN/m at room temperature; and (ii) dispensing selectively positioned droplets of said adhesive polymer, from a printhead of said additive manufacturing device, into a bed of said powder to bind particles of said powder with said adhesive polymer to produce a preform having a shape of the object to be manufactured.

Abstract: A core-sheath type conjugate filament, and a woven fabric obtained therefrom, for a palatable beverage extracting filter, have improved environmental safety and formability, and maintain fabric strength. A core component of the filament is a homopolyester having a melting point of 220° C. or more. A sheath component of the filament is a copolyester containing terephthalic acid and a diol as major components and having a melting point is at least 40° C. lower than that of the core component. A mass change after boiling in an aqueous ethanol solution in a concentration of 10 mass % for 1 hour is 4% or less, and an eluted amount of heavy metals is less than 0.1 ppm.

Abstract: An elastic composition comprising the following structure: wherein: PDMS is polydimethylsiloxane having at least 5 dimethylsiloxane units; L is a bond or hydrocarbon linker; the asterisk (*) in A units denotes a connection point with an asterisk in B units, and at least one of the following linkages connect between connection points: r is an integer of at least 3; R is a hydrocarbon or siloxane-containing linking moiety; the composition includes a multiplicity of A units and multiplicity of B units; and a portion of the connection points are necessarily terminated by endcapping groups, wherein at least a portion of the endcapping groups are selected from the following structures: The invention also includes methods for making and using the above-described elastic composition.

Abstract: Provided is a one-part water-based adhesive composition which suffers no yellowing and is excellent in adhesiveness and durability. The one-part water-based adhesive composition includes (A) an aqueous dispersion of a polyurethane resin and (B) a silane compound obtained by reacting a specific epoxysilane compound with an aminosilane compound represented by the following Formula (2), the amount of the epoxysilane compound being in the range of 1.5 to 10 mol per 1 mol of the aminosilane compound, at a reaction temperature of 40 to 100° C. (In Formula (2), R7 to R12 are each a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, R13 is a monovalent hydrocarbon group, R14 is an alkyl group, and b is 0 or 1.

Abstract: A crosslinked polymer composition comprising: (i) a base polymer containing a multiplicity of at least one type of functional group selected from amino, amido, thiol, carboxylic acid, carboxylic acid ester, and epoxy groups; (ii) a multiplicity of hydroxylated benzene rings covalently linked to the base polymer, wherein each hydroxylated benzene ring contains at least two hydroxy groups, and with at least two of the hydroxy groups on said hydroxylated benzene rings being free as OH groups; and (iii) a multiplicity of crosslinking groups that crosslink at least two of said functional groups in the base polymer. The invention is also directed to lithium-ion batteries in which the above-described composition is incorporated in an electrode of the battery, and also directed to methods of operating a lithium-ion battery in which the above-described crosslinked polymer composition is incorporated in an electrode thereof.

Abstract: A fiber useful in the absorption of metal ions from aqueous solutions, the fiber comprising a polyolefin backbone having a diameter of at least 1 micron and having covalently appended on its surface halogen atoms and vinyl-addition polymeric grafts functionalized with metal-binding groups, such as at least one functional group selected from carboxylate, keto, aldo, amino, imino, nitrile, amido, oxime, amidoxime, imide dioxime, and hydroxamate groups. The vinyl-addition polymeric grafts may also be further functionalized with hydrophilic groups different from the metal-binding groups, wherein the hydrophilic groups may be selected from carboxylate, sulfone, sulfonate, phosphonate, alkylammonium, iminium, amide, pyrrolidone, and polyalkyleneglycol groups. Also described are methods for producing the functionalized fibers, and methods for using the functionalized fiber, particularly in extracting metal ions from metal-containing solutions.

Abstract: A graft copolymer composition comprising the following structure: wherein: Ax represents a polymer backbone having a number of polymerized monomer units x; [By] represents a multiplicity of a graft polymer side chain having a number of polymerized monomer units y, and at least a portion of the monomer units in By contains a group —C(O)OM, with M independently selected from H and alkali metals; [C] represents a multiplicity of positions on the polymer backbone Ax where the graft polymer side chain B or any other graft polymer side chain is not attached; the subscript w represents a grafting density of the group By, wherein w is an integer within a range of 10-50%; and the subscript z represents a density of the group C, wherein z=(100?w) %. The invention is also directed to lithium-ion batteries in which the above-described composition is incorporated in an anode of the battery.

Abstract: A method for indirect additive manufacturing of an object, the method comprising: (i) separately feeding a powder from which said object is to be manufactured and either a difunctional curable monomer according to Formula (I) or an adhesive polymer binder into an additive manufacturing device; (ii) dispensing selectively positioned droplets of said difunctional curable monomer or adhesive polymer binder, from a printhead of said additive manufacturing device, into a bed of said powder to bind particles of said powder with said difunctional curable monomer or adhesive polymer binder to produce a curable preform having a shape of the object to be manufactured; and, in the case of the difunctional curable monomer, (iii) curing said curable preform to form a crosslinked object.

Abstract: A method of making a rubber hose includes the steps of providing an inner rubber layer including a hollow part, and forming a first braided layer on the inner rubber layer by braiding a plurality of first yarn materials including a vinylon fiber made by a dry process such that the braided first yarn materials includes a braid formed in a three-over, three-under pattern. Next, a middle rubber layer is formed on the first braided layer. A second braided layer is then formed on the middle rubber layer by braiding a plurality of second yarn materials including a vinylon fiber made by a wet process such that the braided second yarn materials includes a braid formed in a two-over, two-under pattern. Finally, an outer rubber layer is formed on the second braided layer.