The field of polymer nanocomposites has been at the forefront of research in the polymer community for the past few decades. Foundational work published in Macromolecules during this time has emphasized the physics and chemistry of the inclusion of nanofillers; remarkable early developments suggested that these materials would create a revolution in the plastics industry. After 25 years of innovative and groundbreaking research, PNCs have enabled many niche solutions. To complement the extensive literature currently available, we focus this Perspective on four case studies of PNCs applications: (i) filled rubbers, (ii) continuous fiber reinforced thermoset composites, (iii) membranes for gas separations, and (iv) dielectrics for capacitors and insulation. After presenting synthetic developments we discuss the application of polymer nanocomposites to each of these topic areas; successes will be noted, and we will finish each section by highlighting the various technological bottlenecks that need to be over...

50th Anniversary Perspective: Are Polymer Nanocomposites Practical for Applications?

https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10178865

Dynamics of polymer segments, polymer chains, and nanoparticles in polymer nanocomposite melts: A review

Electrical properties of polymer nanocomposites containing rod-like nanofillers

Advanced dielectric polymers for energy storage

Polymer/inorganic particle nanocomposites (or nanodielectrics) have attracted pronounced attention for electric energy storage applications, based on a hypothesis that polymer nanodielectrics could combine the high permittivity of nanoparticles and the high electrical breakdown strength of the polymer matrix for enhanced dielectric performance. Although higher discharged energy densities have been reported for numerous polymer nanodielectrics, the dielectric loss mechanisms, which are extremely important for ultimate applications, are rarely discussed. In this work, we intend to address the intrinsic dielectric loss mechanisms associated with polymer nanodielectrics using a model system comprised of 70 nm BaTiO3 nanoparticles (BT NPs) in an isotactic polypropylene (PP) matrix. The effect of space charge-induced interfacial polarization on dielectric losses was investigated using bipolar and unipolar electric displacement–electric field (D-E) loop tests. Since the bipolar D-E loops always exhibited greater...

Interfacial Polarization-Induced Loss Mechanisms in Polypropylene/BaTiO3 Nanocomposite Dielectrics

Macromolecular motion is reduced in crowded polymer nanocomposites. Tracer diffusion is measured for deuterated polystyrene (dPS) into a polystyrene (PS):silica nanoparticle (NP) matrix using elastic recoil detection. This nanocomposite is ideal for studying diffusion in a crowded system because the interparticle distance (ID) that defines confinement can be varied from much greater than to much less than the size of the dPS chain, which is described by 2Rg, the radius of gyration, and varies from 10 to 40 nm in this study. Diffusion is observed to be significantly slower than that predicted by the Maxwell model. The tracer diffusion coefficient of dPS in the nanocomposite relative to the pure PS matrix (D/D0) plotted against the NP separation relative to probe size (i.e., ID/2Rg) falls on a master curve, indicating that crowding is a property of both the dPS size and confinement in the nanocomposite. Moreover, the normalized diffusion coefficient decreases more rapidly when ID/2Rg is less than ∼1, sugges...

Macromolecular Diffusion in a Crowded Polymer Nanocomposite

The ultimate energy storage performance of an electrostatic capacitor is determined by the dielectric characteristics of the material separating its conductive electrodes. Polymers are commonly employed due to their processability and high breakdown strength; however, demands for higher energy storage have encouraged investigations of ceramic–polymer composites. Maintaining dielectric strength, and thus minimizing flaw size and heterogeneities, has focused development toward nanocomposite (NC) films; but results lack consistency, potentially due to variations in polymer purity, nanoparticle surface treatments, nanoparticle size, and film morphology. To experimentally establish the dominant factors in broad structure–performance relationships, we compare the dielectric properties for four high-purity amorphous polymer films (polymethyl methacrylate, polystyrene, polyimide, and poly-4-vinylpyridine) incorporating uniformly dispersed silica colloids (up to 45% v/v). Factors known to contribute to premature b...

Dielectric breakdown in silica-amorphous polymer nanocomposite films: the role of the polymer matrix.

The tracer diffusion of deuterated polystyrene (dPS) is measured in a polystyrene nanocomposite containing silica nanoparticles (NPs), with number average diameters dn of 28.8 nm and 12.8 nm, using elastic recoil detection. The volume fractions of the large and small NPs (ϕNP) range from 0 to 0.5, and 0 to 0.1, respectively. At the same volume fraction of NPs, the tracer diffusion of dPS is reduced as NP size decreases because the interparticle distance between NPs (ID) decreases. The reduced diffusion coefficient, defined as the tracer diffusion coefficient in the nanocomposite relative to pure PS (D/D0), plotted against the confinement parameter, namely ID(dn) relative to tracer size, ID(dn)/2Rg, nearly collapses onto a master curve, although D/D0 is slightly greater for the more polydisperse, smaller NPs. Using a log normal distribution of NP size from SAXS, the average ID of the smaller NPs is shown to increase by 25% at ϕNP = 0.1 as polydispersity (σ) increases from 1 to 1.39. By accounting for polydispersity, the confinement parameter better represents the effect of NP spacing on polymer diffusion. These experiments demonstrate that polymer tracer diffusion in polymer nanocomposites is empirically captured by the confinement parameter and that an increase in the average ID due to NP polydispersity has a secondary effect on model NP systems with a narrow distribution of sizes. However, for commercial systems, where polydispersity can be quite large, the effect of size distribution can significantly increase ID which in turn will influence polymer dynamics.

Polymer diffusion in a polymer nanocomposite: effect of nanoparticle size and polydispersity

The invention is directed to a process of combining an aqueous solution of a fluoride with an aqueous solution of a host multi-valent metal salt and an aqueous solution of a salt forming a reactant mixture resulting in a precipitate of aqueously insoluble rare-earth doped multi-valent metal fluoride nanoparticles.

Method for preparing rare-earth doped fluoride nanoparticles

The present invention relates to syntheses of nano-sized iron particles formed by mixing a source of ferrous iron with a combination of reducing agent and base, and the particles formed therefrom.

Syntheses and applications of nano-sized iron particles

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