Polymer nanocomposites analysis techniques

CNT nanocomposites morphological and structural analysis is often done by TEM but an extensive imaging is required then to ensure a representative view of the material. Moreover, carbon based fillers have very low TEM contrast when embedded in a polymer matrix. The application of microscopy techniques is very useful to control the status of CNTs at any time during the preparation process of CNT/polymer nanocomposites, and moreover, to gain insights on parameters important for a better understanding the performance of the final nanocomposite material based on CNTs. 

Thermal properties Thermal properties are the properties of materials that change with temperature. They are studied by thermal analysis techniques, which include DSC, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermomechanical analysis (TMA), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA)/dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), dielectric thermal analysis, etc. As is well known, TGA/DTA and DSC are the two most widely used methods to determine the thermal properties of polymer nanocomposites. TGA can demonstrate the thermal stability, the onset of degradation, and the percentage of silica incorporated in the polymer matrix. DSC can be... 

On a final note, neutron scattering has been used successfully to investigate the features of organoclays by themselves in various solvents,which does help illuminate some basic features of organoclay dispersion in organic matrices. No scattering on polymeric materials has been collected at this time, but the technique may prove useful in polymer-clay nanocomposite analysis. 

Other Nanoscale Analysis Techniques There are other techniques that have also been used to better understand polymer nanocomposite structure namely, atomic force microscopy (AFM), fluorescence, and dielectric constant... 

Polymer Nanocomposites Characterized by Thermal Analysis Techniques... 

Intercalated compounds offer a unique avenue for studying the static and dynamic properties of small molecules and macromolecules in a confined environment. More specifically, layered nanocomposites are ideal model systems to study small molecule and polymer dynamics in restrictive environments with conventional analytical techniques, such as thermal analysis, NMR, dielectric spectroscopy and inelastic neutron scattering. Understanding the changes in the dynamics due to this extreme confinement (layer spacing < Rg and comparable to the statistical segment length of the polymer) would provide complementary information to those obtained from traditional Surface-Force Apparatus (SFA) measurements on confined polymers (confinement distances comparable to Rp [36]. 

In this section, the production of PP nanofibres containing silver nanoparticles using the above technique, together with their characterisations using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis are presented. Additionally, the antibacterial properties of nanofibres are evaluated using the quantitative American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) 100 test. The inclusion of nanosilver into polymers to form a nanocomposite has been demonstrated to have a profound effect on the crystallisation of the polymer, which in turn affects the properties of nanofibres, including their antibacterial properties. 

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