The invention refers to a method for producing expanded polymer pellets, which comprises the following steps: melting a polymer comprising a polyamide; adding at least one blowing agent; expanding the melt through at least one die for producing an expanded polymer; and pelletizing the expanded polymer. The invention further concerns polymer pellets produced with the method as well as their use, e.g. for the production of cushioning elements for sports apparel, such as for producing soles or parts of soles of sports shoes. A further aspect of the invention concerns a method for the manufacture of molded components, comprising loading pellets of an expanded polymer material into a mold, and connecting the pellets by providing heat energy, wherein the expanded polymer material of the pellets or beads comprises a chain extender. The molded components may be used in broad ranges of application.

A flexible piezoelectric thin film, and method of manufacture, has a polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-glycine-PVA sandwich heterostructure. The thin film is manufactured by evaporating the solvent from a glycine-PVA mixture solution. The film automatically assembles into the PVA-glycine-PVA sandwich heterostructure as it is salted out. Strong hydrogen bonding between the oxygen atoms in glycine and hydroxyl groups on PVA chains are responsible for the nucleation and growth of the piezoelectric γ-glycine and alignment of the domain orientation.

The present invention relates to methods for the welding of foam particles, by electromagnetic waves, wherein foam particles with a surface modification are welded in a molding tool by electromagnetic waves, wherein the surface modification is produced by contacting the foam particles with a solution containing polymers which are capable of forming intra- or inter-molecular covalent bonds, under the conditions required for this purpose.

The invention refers to a method for producing expanded polymer pellets, which comprises the following steps: melting a polymer comprising a polyamide; adding at least one blowing agent; expanding the melt through at least one die for producing an expanded polymer; and pelletizing the expanded polymer. The invention further concerns polymer pellets produced with the method as well as their use, e.g. for the production of cushioning elements for sports apparel, such as for producing soles or parts of soles of sports shoes. A further aspect of the invention concerns a method for the manufacture of molded components, comprising loading pellets of an expanded to polymer material into a mold, and connecting the pellets by providing heat energy, wherein the expanded polymer material of the pellets or beads comprises a chain extender. The molded components may be used in broad ranges of application.

To provide an opened carbon fibre bundle having a good fibre-opening state and excellent resin impregnation properties. An opened carbon fibre bundle comprising a carbon fibre bundle comprising a plurality of carbon fibres and coated particles arranged between the carbon fibres, wherein the coated particles comprise core particles and a synthetic resin coating that covers at least a part of the surface of the core particles, and the core particles are integrally bonded to the carbon fibre surface via the synthetic resin coating.

A method for forming a carbon fiber-reinforced polymer matrix composite by distributing carbon fibers or nanotubes into a molten polymer phase comprising one or more molten polymers; and applying a succession of shear strain events to the molten polymer phase so that the molten polymer phase breaks the carbon fibers successively with each event, producing reactive edges on the broken carbon fibers that react with and cross-link the one or more polymers. The composite shows improvements in mechanical properties, such as stiffness, strength and impact energy absorption.

An object of the invention is to provide a thermoplastic resin prepreg that gives a fiber-reinforced composite material with excellent mechanical strength even through molding at a low temperature within a short period of time. The thermoplastic resin prepreg of the invention is a thermoplastic resin prepreg including at least a reinforcing fiber substrate and a thermoplastic resin composition partially or completely impregnated in the reinforcing fiber substrate. The thermoplastic resin prepreg is configured such that the thermoplastic resin composition contains 50 mass % or more of polyetherketoneketone (PEKK) based on the total thermoplastic resin composition, and is a thermoplastic resin composition having a crystallization enthalpy of 22 J/g or more as measured by a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) at a cooling rate of 50° C./min from 400° C.

This resin composition contains a first resin and a second resin, and exhibits curability by thermal crosslinking, wherein the first resin is at least one selected from among a bifunctional epoxy resin having a weight average molecular weight of 4,000 or more, and a phenoxy resin, and the second resin is a polycarbonate resin. The content ratio, by weight, of the first resin to the second resin (the first resin:the second resin) is preferably in the range of 9:1 to 2:8. Both the first resin and the second resin preferably have a bisphenol skeleton in a molecule.

Disclosed is a polymer-metal junction including a polymer composition in contact with a metal substrate, where the polymer composition comprises a polymer component including a PEEK-PEDEK copolymer having a PEEK/PEDEK mole ratio ranging from about 60/40 to about 30/70 and a melting point (Tm) greater than 320° C., and where the polymer composition includes less than 10 wt. % of a sulfur-or-carbonyl-containing solvent, based on the total weight of the polymer composition. Also disclosed are methods of making the polymer-metal junction and articles including the polymer-metal junction.

Provided herein is a polymer composition comprising a polyhydroxyamino ether (e.g., a crosslinked polyhydroxyamino ether) and printed circuit boards comprising the same.