Green environmental crazing of polymers in oil-in-water emulsions with high water content

This work addresses green environmental crazing of polymers in biphase oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions with high water content (above 95 vol %), which can serve as an ecologically safe alternative to pure organic solvents (hydrocarbons and aliphatic alcohols as oils) with respect to their effect on the mechanical behavior of polymers and stress-induced development of porosity via environmental crazing. This approach is shown to be universal for both modes of environmental crazing as intercrystallite crazing for semicrystalline (high-density polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene) and classical crazing for amorphous glassy polymers (PET). The mechanism behind the action of the O/W emulsions on polymers is discussed. The applied advantages of the use of the O/W emulsions with high water content for the preparation of mesopomus and nanocomposite polymer materials are highlighted.