In recent years, nanocomposites based on various nano-scale carbon fillers, such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), are increasingly being thought of as a realistic alternative to conventional smart materials, largely due to their superior electrical properties. Great interest has been generated in building highly sensitive strain sensors with these new nanocomposites. This article reviews the recent ...

PMMA/Na-MMT nanocomposites were synthesized through a soap-free emulsion polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) using 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS). A conventional anionic surfactant, dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (DBS-Na), was also used to compare with AMPS in the interaction with pristine Na-MMT. Both surfactants were intercalated into the layers of the pr...

Sulfonated styrene-(ethylene-butylene)-styrene triblock copolymer (SSEBS) was synthesized by reaction of acetyl sulfate with SEBS. SSESB-clay nanocomposites were then prepared from hydrophilic Na-montmorillonite (MT) and organically (quaternary amine) modified hydrophobic nanoclay (OMT) at very low loading. SEBS did not show improvement in properties with MT-based nanocomposites. On sulfonation...

Self-assembled nanocomposites with a high interface-to-volume ratio offer an opportunity to overcome limitations in current technology, where intriguing transport behaviors can be tailored by the choice of proper interactions of constituents. Here we integrated metallic perovskite oxide SrRuO3-wurzite semiconductor ZnO nanocomposites to investigate the room-temperature metal-insulator transitio...

Y2O3/Y2O2S:Eu3+ nanocomposites were successfully prepared by reducing Y2O3:Eu3+ nanocrystals. The obtained Y2O3/Y2O2S:Eu3+ nanocomposites not only can emit enhanced red luminescence excited at 338 nm, but also can be used to improve the efficiency of the dye sensitized solar cells, resulting an efficiency of 8.38%, which is a noticeable enhancement of 12% compared to the cell without Y2O3/Y2O2S...

Biodegradable poly(L-lactide) (PLLA)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) nanocomposites were prepared via solution blending using two kinds of MWNTs, i.e., pristine multiwalled carbon nanotubes (p-MWNTs) and carboxyl-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (f-MWNTs). Various techniques were used to investigate the functionalization of MWNTs on the morphology, crystallization, and hydrolyti...

Well dispersion or intercalation/exfoliation of nanoscale fillers (such as nano-CaCO3 and nano-clay) in polymer matrix is currently not easy to be achieved. Supercritical carbon dioxide (ScCO2) has been reported to have great potential for facilitating the dispersion or intercalation/exfoliation of the nanoscale fillers in polymer matrix. So, in this paper, the effects of dissolved ScCO2 on the...

Polymer nanocomposites show unique properties combining the advantages of the inorganic nanofillers and the organic polymers. The mesoporous silica nanofillers have received much attention due to their ordered structure, high surface area and ease for functionalization of the nanopores. To accommodate macromolecules, the nanopores lead to unusually intimate interactions between the polymer and ...

Nanocomposites were synthesized from reactive thermally stable montmorillonite and aromatic-aliphatic polyamide obtained from 4-aminophenyl sulfone and sebacoyl chloride. Carbonyl chloride terminal chain ends were generated using 1% extra sebacoyl chloride that could interact chemically with the organoclay. The distribution of clay in the nanocomposites was investigated by XRD, SEM, and TEM. Me...

The design of magnetic nanoparticles by incorporation of iron oxide colloids within gelatine/silica hybrid nanoparticles has been performed for the first time through a nanoemulsion route using the encapsulation of pre-formed magnetite nanocrystals and the in situ precipitation of ferrous/ferric ions. The first method leads to bi-continuous hybrid nanocomposites containing a limited amount of w...