Application of Non-Layered Nanoparticles in Polymer Modification

Key Laboratory for Polymeric Composite and Functional Materials of Ministry of Education, Zhongshan University, Guangzhou, P. R. China 

Institutfur Verbundwerkstoffe GmbH (Institute for Composite Materials), Kaiserslautern University of Technology, Kaiserslautern, Germany 

Currently, numerous procedures for the preparation of polymer nanocomposites have been proposed, using the following approaches (i) direct incorporation of nanoscale building blocks into a polymer melt or solution, (ii) in situ generation of nanoscale building blocks in a polymer matrix e.g., vacuum evaporation of metals, thermal decomposition of precursors, reduction of metal ions through an electrochemical procediffe, (iii) polymerization of monomers in the 

From the engineering point of view, large-scale and low-cost production routes, as well as a broad applicability of thermoplastic nanocomposites as stmctural materials should be considered. This can be achieved in the best way by the employment of commercially available, non-layered nanoparticles, and by the use of blending techniques already widely applied in the plastics industry. In fact, the authors have concentrated recently their major efforts on the latter approach. 

---

Zhang M Q, Rong M Z and Friedrich K (2005) Application of non-layered nanoparticles in polymer modification, in Polymer composites from nano- to macro-scale (Eds. Friedrich K, Fakirov S and Zhang Z) Springer, New York, pp. 25-44. 

The importance of promoting better knowledge in the field of polymer composites is demonstrated by the contents of this volume, which contains 18 Independent chapters. The first part of this volume deals with the topic of structure and properties of polymer nanocomposites. In Chapter 1, Schulte et al. review the state of the art of carbon nanotube-reinforced polymers. The opportunity to apply carbon nanotubes as a filler for polymers and the improvement of the mechanical and functional properties are discussed. The application of non-layered nanoparticles in polymer modification is described by M. Q. Zhang et al. in Chapter 2. A grafting polymerization technique is applied to inorganic nanoparticles, which helps to provide the composites with balanced performance. Chapter 3, authored... 

---