The invention relates to the use of i) geopolymer and ii) non-brominated, phosphorus- and/or nitrogen-based flame retardants for improving the self-extinguishing properties of a composition comprising polymer. The polymer may be a vinyl aromatic polymer, and may be in a granulate or foam.

The present disclosure provides an adhesive tape, a backlight module, a display device, and a method for manufacturing a backlight module. The adhesive tape includes: an adhesive body layer; an expandable structure layer on a side of the adhesive body layer and configured to fill a gap between the adhesive tape and a light guide plate of a backlight module through an expansion of the expandable structure layer.

A device (e.g., an article of athletic gear) comprising a post-molded expandable component, which is a part of the device that is configured to be expanded or has been expanded after being molded. This may allow the post-molded expandable component to have enhanced characteristics (e.g., be more shock-absorbent, lighter, etc.), to be cost-effectively manufactured (e.g., by using less material and/or making it in various sizes), and/or to be customized for a user (e.g., by custom-fitting it to the user).

A silicone rubber sponge composition, including: (A) 100 parts by mass of an addition-crosslinkable silicone rubber composition containing a reinforcing silica and being liquid at 25° C.; (B) 1.0 to 20 parts by mass of expanded resin fine particles having a specific gravity of 0.01 to 0.3, having an average particle diameter of 10 to 200 μm, and having an organic resin shell; and (C) 0.1 to 10 parts by mass of spherical particles having average particle diameter being 0.001 to 0.5 times larger than average particle diameter of the component (B) expanded resin fine particles, and having an average circularity of 0.8 to 1. This improves flowability of silicone rubber sponge composition containing the expanded resin fine particles, reduces contractive deformation due to pressure of the expanded resin fine particles during casting or injection-molding. Thus, provided are a silicone rubber sponge composition that can reduce density of a sponge rubber.

A device (e.g., an article of athletic gear) comprising a post-molded expandable component, which is a part of the device that is configured to be expanded or has been expanded after being molded. This may allow the post-molded expandable component to have enhanced characteristics (e.g., be more shock-absorbent, lighter, etc.), to be cost-effectively manufactured (e.g., by using less material and/or making it in various sizes), and/or to be customized for a user (e.g., by custom-fitting it to the user).

The present invention aims to provide a masterbatch for foam molding which can be suitably used in molding involving high shear force or molding requiring low molding temperature and which can provide a foam molded article having a high expansion ratio and good appearance quality. The present invention also aims to provide a foam molded article formed from the masterbatch for foam molding. Provided is a masterbatch for foam molding, containing: a base resin; and a thermally expandable microcapsule, the masterbatch having a true specific gravity of 0.80 g/cm.sup.3 or more and a Mooney viscosity ML 1+4 (100° C.) of 20 to 90, the base resin containing an EPDM resin, the masterbatch containing the thermally expandable microcapsule in an amount of 40 to 300 parts by weight relative to 100 parts by weight of the base resin.

Provided is a method of preparing a superabsorbent polymer. More particularly, provided is a method of preparing a superabsorbent polymer, the method capable of preparing the superabsorbent polymer maintaining excellent basic absorption performances such as centrifugal retention capacity, absorbency under load, etc. while also exhibiting an improved absorption rate.

The resin composition according to one aspect is a resin composition containing a polyamic acid and a solvent, wherein the polyamic acid has a repeating unit represented by the following general formula (1) in a molecular chain, and the molecular chain has a structure represented by the following general formula (2) at one end or both ends. The proportion of the structure represented by the following general formula (2) relative to 1 mol of the repeating unit represented by the following general formula (1) is 0.001 mol or more and 0.1 mol or less. In the following general formulas, R.sup.1 is a tetravalent organic group; R.sup.2 is a divalent organic group; and R.sup.3 is an organic group having 15 or less carbon atoms.

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The present disclosure relates to thermally expandable microspheres comprising a polymeric shell surrounding a hollow core, wherein the hollow core comprises a blowing agent, and the polymeric shell comprises a carboxylate-functionalised cellulose, wherein the thermally expandable microspheres have a temperature at which expansion starts, T.sub.Start, of from 80° C. to less than 135° C. The present disclosure further relates to a process for preparing expandable microspheres as well as to thermally expandable microspheres obtained by such process, the process comprising mixing a carboxylate-functionalised cellulose, an organic solvent, a blowing agent and, optionally, a polymer shell enhancer and then spraying the thus obtained mixture into a drying equipment to produce the thermally expandable microspheres having a polymeric shell surrounding a hollow core, in which the polymeric shell comprises the carboxylate-functionalised cellulose, and the hollow core comprises the blowing agent.

An example method of forming a biodegradable component includes extruding a mixture of biodegradable material and water through a die. The method further includes dividing the extruded mixture to form a plurality of biodegradable pellets. The method further includes forming the plurality of biodegradable pellets into a component. The water acts as a binding agent to bind the plurality of biodegradable pellets to one another.