Two-dimensional distribution of surface functional groups of micropatterned organosilane monolayer immobilized on Si-wafer substrate was investigated by scanning force microscopy with chemically modified cantilever tips. Differences in the magnitudes of lateral force between two components of micropatterned monolayers strongly depended on the combination of terminal functional groups at the surface of cantilevers and samples due to the differences in interactive force between chemicaly modified cantilever tips and sample surfaces.

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Phase structures, damping properties and adhesive properties of carboxyl-terminated butadiene acrylonitrile rubber (CTBN) /epoxy polymer blends were evaluated in relation to the pre-reaction time between CTBN (60wt%) and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA). When the pre-reaction of CTBN/DGEBA was insufficient, the blend resin showed micro-phase separation with rubber-rich continuous phase including epoxy-rich dispersed phases. The composite loss factor （η） for a steel laminate, which consisted of two steel plates with the CTBN/epoxy alloy resin layer in between, highly depended on the environmental temperature and the resonant frequencies. On the other hand, as the pre-reaction of CTBN/DGEBA proceeded, the compatibility among components was enhanced and the phase size became small up to nano-scale. Also, the compatibilized CTBN/DGEBA cured resin had broad glass transition temperature range, and resulted in the high loss factor for the steel laminate in broad temperature range as well as at several resonant frequencies. The internal nano-structures with versatile relaxation mechanisms of the compatibilized CTBN/DGEBA resin would be the source of the viscoelastic behaviors and high damping properties. Both shear adhesive strength and peel adhesive strength of the resin to aluminum substrates were also increased with the progress of the pre-reaction of CTBN/DGEBA. Rubber-rich continuous phase with epoxy and curing agent made the cross-linked structures together. This accounted for high modulus, high strength and high fracture energy of the pre-reacted CTBN/DGEBA bulk resin, led to the high adhesive strengths.

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Effects of pre-mixing method and saponification degree of poly(vinyl alcohol) on the morphology of poly(vinyl chloride) / poly(vinyl alcohol) blend was investigated. Two different pre-mixing methods were employed: powder method and aqueous solution method. In the powder method, the powders of both components were blended before melt kneading by a mixing roll. In the aqueous solution method, the poly(vinyl chloride) powder was added to as-prepared poly(vinyl alcohol) aqueous solution, followed by drying and then clashing before melt kneading. In the case of poly(vinyl alcohol) with saponification degree of 98mol%, the poly(vinyl alcohol) domains with sizes of several hundred μm were dispersed in the poly(vinyl chloride) matrix in the powder method system. Whereas the finer domains with sizes ranging from sub μm to several μm were observed in the aqueous solution method system. In the case of poly(vinyl alcohol) with saponification degree of 88mo1% and below, the domain size was about several ten μm for both powder and solution methods, which indicates that there was no influence of pre-mixing method on the domain size. When poly(methyl methacrylate) was added into the poly(vinyl chloride) / poly(vinyl alcohol) blend as the third component, smaller poly(vinyl alcohol) domains with sizes ranging from about 5 to 10 μm were observed in both powder and solution method systems. The viscoelastic properties showed the formation of specific interaction in poly(vinyl chloride) / poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(methyl methacrylate) / poly(vinyl alcohol) blends.

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