The present disclosure provides thermally expandable microspheres at least partially prepared from bio-based monomers and a process of their manufacture. The microspheres include a thermoplastic polymer shell encapsulating a blowing agent. The thermoplastic polymer shell includes a copolymer of an itaconate dialkylester and at least one aliphatic or aromatic mono-ethylenically unsaturated comonomer. The itaconate dialkylester has the formula (1): ##STR00001## where each of R.sub.1 and R.sub.2, separately from one another, is an alkyl group having 1-4 carbon atoms, and the copolymer includes 0-50 wt. % of vinyl aromatic comonomers, based on the total weight of the comonomers. The present disclosure further provides expanded microspheres usable in a variety of applications.

A filler-containing film has a structure in which fillers are held in a binder resin layer. The average particle diameter of the fillers is 1 to 50 μm, the total thickness of the resin layer is 0.5 times or more and 2 times or less the average particle diameter of the fillers, and the ratio Lq/Lp of, relative to the minimum inter-filler distance Lp at one end of the filler-containing film in a long-side direction, a minimum inter-filler distance Lq at the other end at least 5 m away from the one end in the film long-side direction is 1.2 or less. The fillers are preferably arranged in a lattice form.

The presently disclosed subject matter is directed to a method of making a foam, specifically, the development of isocyanate-free foams using at least one unsaturated polyester. The at least one unsaturated polyester is a reaction product of at least one unsaturated cyclic anhydride, dicyclopentadiene, and at least one polyol. The disclosed formulation further comprises at least one reactive diluent and at least one initiator. The disclosed formulations are cured by a free radical mechanism.

A water emulsion and film are provided comprising a polyacrylate random copolymer synthesized from acrylic acid (AA), butyl acrylate (BA), methyl methacrylate (MMA), and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate (EHA). The emulsion may be applied to a surface in liquid form, quickly drying to yield a peelable protective barrier film.

A method of making a bijel includes dispersing surface-active nanoparticles in a ternary liquid mixture. The ternary liquid mixture includes a hydrophilic liquid, a hydrophobic liquid, and a solvent. The ternary liquid mixture is contacted with water. A bijel includes a stable mixture of two immiscible liquids separated by an interfacial layer of colloidal particles. The bijel has temperature-independent stability, and the domain sizes are below one micrometer.

Disclosed is a nanosilica-containing thermoplastic hot-melt film having excellent bonding strength, which may be inserted between fabrics to adhere them to each other and may be distributed uniformly on the surfaces of both the fabrics without excessively penetrating into one of the fabrics after melting by heat and pressure during no-sew pressing even if the yarn density of the fabrics is high or low or even if the hole diameter of the fabrics is large or small, thereby increasing the bonding strength between the fabrics.

A high quantum dot dispersion composition, an optical film, and a backlight module are provided. The high quantum dot dispersion composition includes 1 to 5 wt % of photoinitiator, 3 to 20 wt % of scattering particles, 15 to 50 wt % of thiol compound, 5 to 30 wt % of monofunctional acrylic monomer, 20 to 40 wt % of multifunctional acrylic monomer, 1 to 5 wt % of organosilicon grafted oligomer and 500 to 1500 ppm of inhibitor.

An optical film, a backlight module and a manufacturing method of the optical film are provided. The optical film is composed of a quantum dot gel layer. The quantum dot gel layer includes a first polymer and a plurality of quantum dots dispersed in the first polymer. The first polymer includes 1 to 5 wt % of photoinitiator, 3 to 20 wt % of scattering particles, 20 to 40 wt % of thiol compound, 5 to 30 wt % of monofunctional acrylic monomer, 20 to 40 wt % of multifunctional acrylic monomer, 1 to 5 wt % of organosilicon grafted oligomer, and 500 to 1500 ppm of inhibitor.

A phase difference plate includes a phase difference plate P1 and a phase difference plate P2. An in-plane slow axis of the phase difference plate P1 is orthogonal to an in-plane slow axis of the phase difference plate P2. The phase difference plate P2 includes a layer of a liquid crystal material oriented in an in-plane direction. An in-plane retardation ReP2(λ) at a wavelength λ nm of the phase difference plate P2 satisfies the following formulae (e1) and (e2): {Re2(400)−Re2(550)}/{Re2(550)−Re2(700)}<2.90 (e1), and Re2(400)/Re2(700)>1.13 (e2). An in-plane retardation ReP1(λ) of the phase difference plate P1 at a wavelength λ nm and the in-plane retardation ReP2(λ) of the phase difference plate P2 at the wavelength λ nm satisfy the following formulae (e4) and (e5): ReP1(550)>ReP2(550) (e4), and ReP1(400)/ReP1(700)<ReP2(400)/ReP2(700) (e5).

A liquid composition set is provided. The liquid composition set comprises: a liquid composition X comprising a polymerizable compound X and a solvent X; and a liquid composition Y comprising a solvent Y. The liquid composition X is to form a porous resin, and has a smaller surface tension than the liquid composition Y.