Nano-size polymer materials

Nanostructured and Nano-size Polymer Materials How to Generate Them and Do We Need Them ... 

To obtain polymer nano-size objects [11, 12], direct synthesis is a possible way. One could perform polymerization at very high dilution, which however is difficult because of contaminations, or use micro- or nanoemulsions with small compartments to perform polymerization. In this way nano-sized polymer materials can be produced, which are either composed out of small polymer nanoparticles or contain nano-size holes. One chapter of the book describes procedures and properties. 

In addition to electrospinning, bulk polymers can be converted into nano-size materials by the recently developed concept of micro- or nanofibrilar composites starting from polymer blends. Nano-size polymers can also be obtained directly during synthesis. In the pharmaceutical industry, nano-size polymers are prepared using their solution. Many more applications also exist. 

Therefore, the SPCs may challenge the respective glass fiber-reinforced polymers from the viewpoint of the mechanical property profile. It is also worth mentioning that the final nanocomposite is prepared using nano-size starting material only, a case which seems to be very rare if not unique. 

Polymer-clay nanocomposites (PCN) are a class of hybrid materials composed of organic polymer matrices and organophilic clay fillers, introduced in late 1980s by the researchers of Toyota (Kawasumi, 2004). They observed an increase in mechanical and thermal properties of nylons with the addition of a small amount of nano-sized clays. This new and emerging class of pol miers has found several applications in the food and non-food sectors, such as in constmction, automobiles, aerospace, military, electronics, food packaging and coatings, because of its superior mechanical strength, heat and flame resistance and improved barrier properties (Ray et al., 2006). 

In this special volume on polymer particles, recent trends and developments in the synthesis of nano- to micron-sized polymer particles by radical polymerization of vinyl monomers in environmentally friendly heterogeneous aqueous and supercritical carbon dioxide fluid media are reviewed by prominent worldwide researchers. Polymer particles are prepared extensively as synthetic emulsions and latexes, which are applied as binders in the industrial fields of paint, paper and inks, and films such as adhesives and coating materials. Considerable attention has recently been directed towards aqueous dispersed systems due to the increased awareness of environmental issues. Moreover, such polymer particles have already been applied to more advanced fields such as bio-, information, and electronic technologies. In addition to the obvious commercial importance of these techniques, it is of fundamental scientific interest to completely elucidate the mechanistic details of macromolecule synthesis in the microreactors that the polymer particles in these heterogeneous systems constitute. 

At the University of Freiburg in Germany, scientists have made a polymer with nano-sized particles which can act as an antimicrobial agent. The nano-material contains silver nano-particles within modified polyethylene imide derivatives in solution Fnll details of the development are given in this article. 

The photocrosslinking of polymer materials continues to be attractive in many applications for electronic, electrical, insulation and property enhancements. N-Isopropylacrylamide with di-methylmaleinimidoacrylamide has been crosslinked to produce thermally sensitive nano-gels. These gels made in micellar media exhibited major changes in hydrodynamic diameter in the vicinity of the phase transition temperature of the polymer, with increasing temperature, micellar concentration and chromophore content all decreasing particle size. Similar... 

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