Postdoctoral position : Relationships between morphology, cross-linking heterogeneities and mechanical behaviour of elastomer blends – UMET, Villeneuve d’Ascq (15/09/2024)

The main work of the post-doctoral position will be to characterize the structural evolution of NR/BR blends upon uniaxial stretching at room temperature by means of in situ Small- and Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS & WAXS, respectively) analyses. Indeed, it is well-known that neat NR is able to crystallize at room temperature as soon as chains are uniaxially stretched above a critical strain. This is the so-called strain-induced crystallization (SIC). In the present context of NR/BR blends, an important question to address concerns the influence of the BR component on the SIC of the NR phase within the rubber blends. In particular, the effect of different parameters such as blends compositions, loading conditions on the nature of the crystalline phase induced, the degree of crystallinity as well as the crystal size will be determined. In addition, the morphology of the blends will also be investigated by Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy experiments. Depending on the candidate’s profile, this characterization would be completed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) analyses. In parallel the mechanical and viscoelastic behavior of the materials will be examined in order to determine the structure-mechanical properties relationships of these materials.

Publié le 15/09/2024