Structure properties of heterophase hairy-nanoparticles: organic vs. inorganic, 2015
Person, Vernecia
2010-2019
Substances that consist of nano-scale fillers dispersed in a polymer matrix are known as polymer-nanocomposites (PNCs). These materials are appealing since they have high potentials for applications, due to their mechanical, electrical, and thermo electrical properties. A common problem associated with PNCs is that the nano-fillers have a tendency to aggregate into clusters and form phase separated domains, which cause the desired properties of the system to either diminish or vanish all together. Hairy nanoparticles (HNPs) can avoid the issue of agglomeration that is commonly encountered by conventional PNCs. When polymer chains are grafted to a nanoparticle, and the coverage is high, the nanoparticles have decreased inter-particle interactions which allows for enhanced dispersion and mixing into a polymer matrix. By tailoring the architecture (functionalization of polymer chains, degree of polymerization, grafting density) of HNPs, it is possible to control the final properties of the system. An in depth study was carried out to investigate the effects of hairy-nanoparticle architecture on the resulting properties of the material itself. Atom transfer radical polymerization and living anionic polymerization were used to synthesize the polymer chains, of the HNP systems, while various instrumental methods including differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to study the physical ageing affects and self-assembly of these systems. #88ABW-2015-4971 KEY TERMS: polymer-nanocomposite, hairy-nanoparticle, atom transfer radical, Chemistry
text
application/pdf
2015-07-24
dissertation
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Clark Atlanta University
Chemistry
Khan, Ishrat Berry, Rajiv Gaines, Michelle
Georgia--Atlanta
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:2015_person_vernecia
