A novel one-step synthetic route, the double in situ approach, is used to produce both TiO(2) nanoparticles and polymer (PET), and simultaneously forming a nanocomposite with multi-functionality. The method uses the release of water during esterification to hydrolyze titanium (IV) butoxide (Ti(OBu)(4)) forming nano-TiO(2) in the polymerization vessel. This new approach is of general significanc...

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...

The first major success of polymer nanocomposites, where the filler has at least one dimension in the nanoscale, was reported by Kojima, Usuki et al. [1] from the Toyota Central R&D group. They demonstrated that nylon6/clay nanocomposites showed significant improvement in the mechanical and the thermal properties. Since then, works on the polymer nanocomposites have been conducted on a wide var...

We report the formation of high aspect ratio nanoscale tree-shape silver networks in epoxy, at low temperatures (<150 °C) and atmospheric pressures, that are correlated to a ∼200 fold enhancement of thermal conductivity (κ) of the nanocomposite compared to the polymer matrix. The networks form through a three-step process comprising of self-assembly by diffusion limited aggregation of polyvinyl...

Polymer-layered silicate nanocomposites belong to a new class of hybrid materials consisting of organic-synthetic polymer matrix and inorganic filler-layered structure clay minerals. The paper presents the results of FTIR, NMR, and SAXS studies of poly(ε-caprolactone)/sodium montmorillonite nanocomposites. We observed a correlation between the concentration of poly(ε-caprolactone) in nanocompos...

Citation: Nardi T, Hammerquist C, Nairn JA, Karimi A, Månson J-AE and Leterrier Y (2015) Nanoindentation of functionally graded polymer nanocomposites: assessment of the strengthening parameters through experiments and modeling. Front. Mater. 2:57. doi: 10.3389/fmats.2015.00057 Nanoindentation of functionally graded polymer nanocomposites: assessment of the strengthening parameters through expe...

The demand for a new generation of high-temperature dielectric materials toward capacitive energy storage has been driven by the rise of high-power applications such as electric vehicles, aircraft, and pulsed power systems where the power electronics are exposed to elevated temperatures. Polymer dielectrics are characterized by being lightweight, and their scalability, mechanical flexibility, h...

Submitted for the MAR14 Meeting of The American Physical Society Dynamics at the Polymer/Nanoparticle Interface in Poly(2vinylpyridine) Nanocomposites ADAM HOLT, Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville, VERA BOCHAROVA, Oak Ridge National Lab, PHILIP GRIFFIN, ALEXANDER AGAPROV, ADAM IMEL, MARK DADMUN, JOSHUA SANGORO, ALEXEI SOKOLOV, Univ of Tennessee, Knoxville — The intriguing thermodynamic properties of ...

In the current scenario, natural fiber reinforced polymer nanocomposites are widely used in the areas of aerospace, automobile, sports and military sectors due to its multi-functional features like high specific strength, high corrosion resistance, flame resistance, improved mechanical properties and low cost when compared with artificial fiber reinforced composites. These polymer based nanocom...

Packaging of semiconductor electronic device is a challenge due to the progressive increase in the power level of operating devices which is associated with the increasing device performance. As semiconductor device feature sizes continue to be reduced, ensuring reliable operation has become a growing challenge. The effective transfer of heat from an integrated circuit (IC) and its heat spreade...