In September 2024 V.A. Kargin Polymer Research Institute celebrates its 75th anniversary. A brief history of the institute in persons is outlined. Brief results of the work obtained in recent years are presented. 

This paper considers the possibility of joining layers of polymer composite materials (PCM) with adhesives based on chemically modified polyethylene. The adhesive strength between epoxy fiberglass and adhesives (various ethylene copolymers) was investigated. The influence of temperature and pressure on the adhesion between materials has been studied.

It is shown that during the copolymerization of methyl methacrylate with the surfactant comonomer α,ω-dipropylmethacrylatep olidimethylsiloxane with the number of repeating dimethylsiloxane units n = 20 (DPMPDMS), strong interfacial adsorption layers are formed on the surface of polymer–monomer particles formed from microdrops, ensuring the stability of particles to various types of influences. 

Low-temperature polycondensation was used to obtain aromatic polyamides containing triarylmethane fragments in the main chain. It was shown that the synthesized aromatic polyamides are highly soluble in organic solvents. Transparent films were obtained from solutions of polyamides in dimethylformamide by casting. It was found that the resulting aromatic polyamides exhibit increased heat resistance, and films based on them have high mechanical properties. 

A series of nanocomposite polyurethane-polyisocyanurate foams were obtained using chemically modified Cloisite 30B nanoclays. The influence of small additives of Cloisite 30B nanoclay on the morphology of the cellular structure and changes in the physical, mechanical and thermal characteristics of the synthesized materials was analyzed. It has been proven that the introduction of this filler into the composition in small quantities contributes to the ordering of the cellular structure and the improvement of the basic functional foams’ properties. 

This paper presents the design of a new installation and a universal measuring cell that allows determining the dielectric properties of materials in various states of aggregation.

The data of dielectric permittivity studies for the initial components of the oligomeric binder, ED-20 epoxy oligomer and aminetype hardener triethylenetetramine (TETA), as well as the kinetics of its curing process, established by the change in dielectric permittivity, were obtained for the first time. It is also shown that the maximum temperature of the curing reaction of the ED20+TETA system can be determined from dielectric permittivity data.

Rheological, physical-mechanical and thermomechanical properties of binders based on ED-20 epoxy resin with Ethal-45M amine hardener and additives of Cardura E10P glycidyl ether from 5 to 50 wt.% as a diluent have been studied. As the Cardura E10P content increases, the dynamic viscosity of the binder decreases significantly and the gel time increases. The tensile strength of cured samples decreases from 49 MPa to 12 MPa with an increase in the Cardura E10P content from 5 to 30 weight parts, the deformability increases from 14 to 38%, and the glass transition temperature decreases from 67°C to 49°C. 

The paper presents the results of studies of technological properties (bulk and true density, particle size of the general fraction, particle size distribution, packing coefficient and maximum packing degree of filler particles, etc.) of shungite particles of different batches produced by LLC Nadvoitsky TDM Plant LLC (Karelia, RF).

For the first time for shungite particles of different sizes the values of packing density (kуп) and maximum content of dispersed phase (φm) in DFPCM were determined, which allows to calculate generalized and reduced structure parameters, to carry out classification by structural principle and to design compositions of high-tech polymer composites with given properties.

Practically all possible compositions of DFPCM with shungite particles of different sizes and different types of disperse structure are presented.

Criteria for assessing the quality of activated water for the production of cement concrete and polymer concrete have been established, including redox potential and refraction. It is shown that the more significantly the values of these indicators differ from the initial ones, the higher the activity of the treated water in relation to the materials used and the higher the performance properties of the final polymer building materials. 

To create polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tent materials with high adhesive strength between layers, formulations of plastisols using adhesive additives – ED-20 epoxy resin and polyethylene polyamine (PEPA) crosslinking agent, diisocyanate and perchlorovinyl resin – have been developed. Rheological properties of plastisols containing adhesion additives of different nature have been studied. The effect of adhesion additives on the bond strength between polyester fabric and PVC coating have been investigated. 

The article presents the results of a study of alcoholysis of fiberglass reinforced epoxy resin composites obtained by vacuum infusion. To intensify alcoholysis, chlorides, nitrates and sulfates of cobalt (II) and copper (II) were introduced into the reaction medium in an amount of 5% of the mass of ethyl alcohol for each system. The efficiency of the system was assessed based on data from the analysis of mass change of composite samples during alcoholysis, thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the presence of metal chlorides contributes to 5 times increase of the alcoholysis velocity. The residual strength of the recovered fiber samples obtained is at least 95%. 

A comparative analysis of the effect of new complex fillers of natural origin on the process of thermal aging of high-pressure polyethylene is carried out. During the research, it was found that the studied fillers have a stabilizing effect, inhibiting the processes of thermal oxidation of high-pressure polyethylene. The stabilizing effect of fillers is due to the presence in their composition of metal oxides capable of chemical interaction with oxygen-containing groups in oxidized polyethylene. It has been established that the carbon-mineral filler has a higher thermostabilizing effect than the carbon-silicon filler from carbonized rice husk.