metallic structures with a height of 100 lm have been microfabricated and characterized. Photoactive nanocomposites have been formed using nanoparticles with covalently attached photoreducing dye molecules. These nanocomposites are active to both photon and electron-beam stimuli and yield continuous metallic structures. We believe that optical or electron-beam induced growth of nanoparticles pr...

....................................................................................................................................... ix Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1 1.1 General Introduction ........................................................................................... 1 1.2 Moti...

In this regard,polymeric supports play a very important role for several reasons including, the ease of their preparation in the most appropriate physical forms (e.g., granulated, fi‐ brous, membranes, etc.), the possibility to produce the macroporous matrices with highly developed surface area and some others. However, the immobilization of NPs on the appro‐ priate polymeric support represents...

Interface issues are common and crucial in nanocomposites or nanohybrid systems since the interface area is enormous on the nanoscale. In the 0-3 polymer nanocomposites, in which nano-inclusions (0-dimension) are embedded in 3-dimensionally connected polymer matrix, enhanced dielectric permittivity could be induced by the interfacial polarization at the interfaces between the nano-inclusions an...

A methodology for simple multiscale modeling of mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites has been developed. This methodology consists of three steps: (1) obtaining from molecular dynamics simulations the viscoelastic properties of the bulklike polymer and approximating the position-dependent shear modulus of the interfacial polymer on the basis of the polymer-bead mean-square displaceme...

Dynamics of attachment/detachment processes of chains to/from spherical fillers in a polymer nanocomposite is investigated by means of numerical simulations using a chemistry-specific model for the polymer. The effects of polymer-particle interaction, chain length, chain-to-filler distance, and filler radius on the attachment/ detachment processes are studied. It is found that the time a chain ...

The free-radical polymerization of acrylamide in aqueous clay dispersions and the structure of the resulting polymer-clay nanocomposite hydrogels have been investigated by rheometry using oscillatory deformation tests. Laponite was used as clay particles in the hydrogel preparation. The reactions were carried out with and without the presence of the chemical cross-linker N,N′-methylenebis(acryl...

This study is focused on forming a fibrous-zinc oxide/ polyvinylidine fluoride (ZnO/PVDF) nanocomposite and characterizing its dielectric behavior. The nanocomposite is prepared in two steps. First, a network of nanoscale diameter ZnO fibers is produced by sintering electrospun PVA/Zinc Acetate fibers. Second, the ZnO fibrous nonwoven mat is sandwiched between two PVDF thermoplastic polymer fil...

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are considered to be one of the most promising candidates for portable and stationary applications in the view of their advantages such as high energy density, easy manipulation, high efficiency and they operate with liquid fuel which could be used without requiring any fuel-processing units. Electrolyte membrane of DMFC plays a key role as a proton conductor ...

It is known that carbon nanotubes have impressive mechanical properties and it is thought that one of the best ways to realize them is to incorporate nanotubes into composites. The highest levels of stiffness and strength are obtained for composites with the reinforcing fibers aligned in one direction. It has also been recognized that for any nanocomposite to realize its full potential in terms...