Polyurethane material for indicating pH at a locus, preferably as indication of presence of microbes, comprising a polyurethane network having immobilised therein one or more hydrophilic copolymers, the or each said copolymer comprising:

hydrophilic monomer; and
indicating monomer, which provides an indication in response to a change in hydrophilic state of said hydrophilic monomer and/or copolymer;
characterised in that the or each copolymer further comprises one or a plurality of ionisable groups or moieties or polymerisable monomers having one or more characteristic pKa values in the range 5 to 10 and which are responsive to pH at the locus in the range pH 5 to pH 10
and in that hydrophilic state of hydrophilic copolymer is dependent on ionisation of said ionisable groups, moieties or monomers; kit and device comprising the material and process for preparation thereof; and use in detecting or sensing microbes or pH.

A fire-stopping material in a panel for an interior building wall is provided. The fire-stopping material includes a resilient, porous material at least partially impregnated with an intumescent agent.

A foamable composition including a polypropylene-based copolymer and a polyolefin is disclosed. The composition can be used to make a stiff foam with a high closed-cell content. Methods for producing the composition and the foam are provided.

The invention relates to a process for producing a foam film laminate having at least one compact outer layer and at least one layer composed of extruded foamed polymer bound to the outer layer, wherein the production of the layer of foamed polymer is effected in such a way that a polymer material is admixed with a chemical blowing agent which is solid at room temperature and, during or after the extrusion, is heated up to or above the activation temperature of the blowing agent, in order to obtain the layer of foamed polymer, wherein the processes is characterized in that the polymer material contains 5% to 60% by weight of at least one HMS polyolefin having a in accordance with ISO 20965 (as at 15 Feb. 2005, measurement apparatus type A) of 10.sup.4 to 10.sup.7 Pa s measured at 190° C. within a range of Hencky strain rate of 0.01 s.sup.−1 to 1 s.sup.−1 at a Hencky strain of 3.0. The invention further relates to a polymer composition for the foam layer for performance of the process and to a multilayer polymer film produced by the process and to the use thereof.

Closed cell chitin foam is provided. The closed-cell chitin foam composition does not absorb water, is biodegradable, and is mechanically characterized by a density range of 16 to 800 kg/m3, closed-cell pore sizes ranging from 50 microns to 1 mm, an elastic modulus of 3 to 175 MPa, and a tensile strength of 0.15 to 6.5 MPa. The chitin is at least 70% acetylated. In one aspect, the foam is enclosed in a shell e.g. in the form of a surfboard. Chitin foam according to this invention is fully biodegradable. The chitin foam overcomes the current problems with foams that contain polyurethane and polystyrene, and which are manufactured from petroleum-based sources. Petroleum based foams are not renewable, have an adverse impact on our environment, and pose significant health hazards to those who manufacture them. The chitin foam with its water-based manufacturing process and naturally sourced chitin, solves these problems.

A variety of forms and form components are provided, including form components for articles of footwear and athletic equipment. The articles include a composition having a form structure, wherein the composition includes a thermoplastic copolyester elastomer comprising: (a) a plurality of first segments, each first segment derived from a dihydroxy-terminated polydiol; (b) a plurality of second segments, each second segment derived from a diol; and (c) a plurality of third segments, each third segment derived from an aromatic dicarboxylic acid. Methods of making the compositions and forms are provided, as well as methods of making an article of footwear including at least one of the form components. In some aspects, the forms and form components can be made by extrusion or injection molding to form the polymeric composition, or extrusion or injection molding to form the polymeric composition followed by compression molding of the form.

A polyolefin composition is foamed by a process in which a nucleator is used, and the nucleator comprises 80% or more of unagglomerated fluororesin particles and/or agglomerates of fluororesin particles in which both the unagglomerated particles and the agglomerates are less than 1 μm in size.

A polyolefin composition is foamed by a process in which a nucleator is used, and the nucleator comprises 80% or more of unagglomerated fluororesin particles and/or agglomerates of fluororesin particles in which both the unagglomerated particles and the agglomerates are less than 1 μm in size.

A composition composed of at least a first ethylene/α-olefin/nonconjugated polyene interpolymer, which can be used to produce low compression set, foamed rubber materials, articles made from the composition, and methods of producing the composition and articles.

A polymer is disclosed, represented by Chemical Formula 1 or Chemical Formula 2: ##STR00001## wherein, in Chemical Formula 1 and Chemical Formula 2, Ar.sup.1, Ar.sup.2, R.sup.3, s, x, and y are defined in the detailed description.