The invention aims to provide a shoe sole member capable of achieving comfort when using shoes and exhibiting excellent shape-recovering properties after using the shoes. Provided is a shoe sole member formed using a polymer foam, and the polymer foam contains fibers dispersed therein.

A free-standing solid composite intumescent structure has at least one bendable metal mesh, preferably at least two, secured on or in a bendable intumescent sheet material. The structure is bendable by a bending force into a shape at a temperature above 10 C. while retaining the bended shape when the bending force is removed. The intumescent sheet material has 10 wt % or more, based on total weight of the sheet material, of a polymeric resin; inorganic filler; and, an intumescent component. Fire protection barriers can be made from the free-standing solid composite intumescent structure, which can be used in fire protection systems where the fire protection barrier is installed on a substrate, for example steel building elements.

The invention relates to a flame-retardant thermoplastic material, comprising thermoplastic base resin, a flame retardant, and an optional antioxidant, wherein the flame retardant comprises a complex of phosphine oxide and a transition metal salt. The invention also relates to flame-retardant thermoplastic expanded beads. A foam molding prepared from the flame-retardant thermoplastic expanded beads has good flame-retardant and antistatic properties, has excellent mechanical properties and is widely used.

New shape memory polymer compositions, methods for synthesizing new shape memory polymers, and apparatus comprising an actuator and a shape memory polymer wherein the shape memory polymer comprises at least a portion of the actuator. A shape memory polymer comprising a polymer composition which physically forms a network structure wherein the polymer composition has shape-memory behavior and can be formed into a permanent primary shape, re-formed into a stable secondary shape, and controllably actuated to recover the permanent primary shape. Polymers have optimal aliphatic network structures due to minimization of dangling chains by using monomers that are symmetrical and that have matching amine and hydroxl groups providing polymers and polymer foams with clarity, tight (narrow temperature range) single transitions, and high shape recovery and recovery force that are especially useful for implanting in the human body.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rubber composition from which a vulcanized rubber having excellent wear resistance and a high breaking elongation and a high breaking stress can be obtained. Further, another object of the present invention is to provide a vulcanized rubber obtained by vulcanizing the rubber composition, and a rubber product and a tire comprising the rubber composition or the vulcanized rubber.

The rubber composition of the present invention includes a rubber component (A), a foaming agent (B), and a polyhydric alcohol (C) having 3 or more hydroxyl groups per molecule, wherein the rubber component (A) comprises 30% by mass or more of natural rubber based on the entire rubber component, and a content of the polyhydric alcohol (C) is 1 to 6 parts by mass per 100 parts by mass of the rubber component (A).

Disclosed are porous elements that include sintered polymeric particles. The polymeric particles can be formed of a thermoplastic composition that includes a polyarylene sulfide. The polymeric particles sintered to form the porous elements have a very narrow size distribution. The porous elements can maintain their functionality and morphology even when utilized in high temperature applications.

Fiber-reinforced organic polymer aerogels, articles of manufacture and uses thereof are described. The reinforced aerogels include a fiber-reinforced organic polymer matrix having an at least bimodal pore size distribution with a first mode of pores having an average pore size of less than or equal to 50 nanometers (nm) and a second mode of pores having an average pore size of greater than 50 nm and a thermal conductivity of less than or equal to 30 mW/m.Math.K at a temperature of 20 C.

The rubber composition of the present invention contains a rubber component and a short fibrous resin D1 having a ratio A/B of larger than 1, wherein A is a length of a cross section perpendicular to a long axis direction in a long diameter direction thereof and B is a length of the cross section perpendicular to the long axis direction in a short diameter direction thereof. A vulcanized rubber having a large water absorbing force can be obtained from the rubber composition. In addition, the present invention provides a vulcanized rubber having a water absorbing force, a tire having excellent on-ice performance, and a studless having excellent on-ice performance.

Methods and materials are described for preparing organic-inorganic hybrid gel compositions where a sulfur-containing cross-linking agent covalently links the organic and inorganic components. The gel compositions are further dried to provide porous gel compositions and aerogels. The mechanical and thermal properties of the dried gel compositions are also disclosed.

Biodegradable pellet compositions comprising: a starch at about 30% to about 80% by weight of the composition, a plasticizer at about 2% to about 30% by weight of the composition; a flexibility agent at about 10% to about 40% by weight; a binder at about 3% to about 13% by weight of the composition; a hydrophobic agent at about 0.1% to about 5% by weight of the composition; and an emulsifier at about 0.1% to about 5% by weight of the composition. The compositions further comprise a defoaming agent where a biodegradable foam pellet is the end product. The compositions may optionally include a plant fiber.