Vorbeck Materials, Inc., Jessup, Md. (301) 497-9000 Nano-fillers for enhancing thermoplastics and thermosets continue to make headway in commercial applications, although at a slower pace than had been anticipated. A rethinking of how best to utilize them is resulting in easier-to-process second-generation products with improved surface modification, as well as some brand-new entrants in this e...

Elizabeth A. Wilder,† Michael B. Braunfeld,§ Hiroshi Jinnai,| Carol K. Hall,† David A. Agard,§ and Richard J. Spontak*,†,‡ Departments of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering, North Carolina State UniVersity, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, Departments of Biochemistry & Biophysics and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UniVersity of California, San Francisco, California 941...

The thermal degradation behaviour of polyacrylate and its zinc oxide composites were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetry (TG) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Reaction mechanisms of polymer degradation with and without ZnO particles were obtained. Filler-free polyacrylate exhibited one DSC peak, indicating that the polymer was degraded wi...

In this paper, intercalation of nanoclay in the miscible polymer blend of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and acrylic rubber(ACM) was studied. X-ray diffraction was used to investigate the formation of nanoscale polymer blend/clay hybrid. Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray analysis revealed the coexistence of β and γ crystalline forms in PVDF/Clay nanocomposite while α crystalline form was found ...

The effects of chaotic advection on the in situ assembly of a hierarchal nanocomposite of Poly Amide 6, (nylon 6 or PA6) and platelet shape nanoparticles (NPs) were studied. The assemblies were formed by chaotic advection, where melts of pristine PA6 and a mixture of PA6 with NPs were segregated into discrete layers and extruded into film in a continuous process. The process assembles the nanoc...

A high flux thin-film nanocomposite membrane epoxy/ zeolite NaA nanocomposite films prepared by using ultrasonic mixing and spin coating. The synthesized nanocomposites film was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravity analysis (TGA), and FTIR spectroscopy. Water softener and water flux characteristics of the epoxy/ zeolite NaA nanocomposite ...