Polymer-metal oxide hybrid nanocomposites

Synthesis of Polymer/Metal Oxide Hybrid Nanocomposites. 252... 

Fig. 1 Three general methods for the preparation of polymer/metal oxide hybrid nanocomposites...

The applications of polymer/metal oxide nanocomposites have been growing at a rapid rate. The advantages of incorporating metal oxide NPs into polymer matrices can lead to potential applications. These areas include photocatalysts, membranes for gas separation, sensors, and environmental and biomedical applications. Hence, nanocomposites are emerging as new materials that can provide opportunities and rewards, creating a new world of interest. The potential applications of polymer/ metal oxide hybrid nanocomposites are given in Table 2. 

K.R. Reddy, K.P. Lee, Y. Lee, and A.I. Gopalan, Facile synthesis of conducting polymer-metal hybrid nanocomposite by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization with negatively charged metal nanoparticles. Mat. Letters, 62, 1815-1818 (2008). 

The hybrid materials such as oxide/polymer nanocomposites can be prepared by this method. For example, the nanoscale heterogeneity can be of controlled size in metal/ceramic nanocomposites. The reduction of metal-oxides with hydrogen gives nanocomposite powders such as Fe core in the silicon oxide or Fe203 [147] and NiFc204 shell [148]. Metal particles of several nanometers size with narrow size distribution are statistically distributed in the oxide matrix without any agglomerates, as a result of binding the metal complex to oxide matrix. The narrow particle size distribution cannot be obtained if complexion of ions appears (Table 5.6). 

In the last decade, considerable progress was observed in the field of PO/compatibil-izer (predominantly on the base of PO-g-MA)/organo-surface-modified clay nanocomposites. Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and ethylene-propylene (EP) rubber are one of the most widely used POs as matrix polymers in the preparation of nanocomposites [3,4,6,30-52]. The PO silicate/silica (other clay minerals, metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, or other nanoparticles) nanocomposite and nanohybrid materials, prepared using intercalation/exfoliation of functionalized polymers in situ processing and reactive extrusion systems, have attracted the interest of many academic and industrial researchers because they frequently exhibit unexpected hybrid properties synergisti-cally derived from the two components [9,12,38-43]. One of most promising composite systems are nanocomposites based on organic polymers (thermoplastics and thermosets). 

Fabrication of Metal Oxide-Polymer Hybrid Nanocomposites... 

Soft nanohybrid materials with novel organic-inorganic network structures, such as nanohydrogels, soft nanocomposites (solid), and their derivatives are described in the chapter Soft Nanohybrid Materials Consisting of Polymer-Clay Networks. Synthesis of polymer hybrids based on metal-oxide nanoparticles are discussed in Fabrication of Metal Oxide-Polymer Hybrid Nanocomposites. Some properties and applications of these hybrid nanocomposites are also discussed in this chapter. 

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