Subject nanocomposite polymer

Preparation of polymer nanocomposites is nowadays an important research subject since polymer properties can be enhanced (e.g., modulus, strength, thermal resistance, per-meabifity, flammabifity resistance, and even biodegradability)... 

The 4th and 5th sessions of the Conference were held on October 5 at the Emanuel Institute of Biochemical Physics. The 4th session included seven reports. Dr. G.E. Zaikov presented the information about the latest achievements on reduction of inflammability of polymer materials and the use of nanocomposites as antipyrenes (substances that reduce the inflammability of polymer materials) Dr. A.A. Popov reported on the kinetics of destruction of strained polymers (strained molecules reactivity). The structural and dynamic parameters of interfacial layers in filled polymers were the subject of the report by A.L. Kovarskii and... 

Historically, polysiloxane elastomers have been reinforced with micron scale particles such as amorphous inorganic silica to form polysiloxane microcomposites. However, with the continued growth of new fields such as soft nanolithography, flexible polymer electronics and biomedical implant technology, there is an ever increasing demand for polysiloxane materials with better defined, improved and novel physical, chemical and mechanical properties. In line with these trends, researchers have turned towards the development of polysiloxane nanocomposites systems which incorporate a heterogeneous second phase on the nanometer scale. Over the last decade, there has been much interest in polymeric nanocomposite materials and the reader is directed towards the reviews by Alexandre and Dubois (4) or Joshi and Bhupendra (5) on the subject. 

Polymer clay nanocomposites have, for some time now, been the subject of extensive research into improving the properties of various matrices and clay types. It has been shown repeatedly that with the addition of organically modified clay to a polymer matrix, either in-situ (1) or by melt compounding (2), exfoliation of the clay platelets leads to vast improvements in fire retardation (2), gas barrier (4) and mechanical properties (5, 6) of nanocomposite materials, without significant increases in density or brittleness (7). There have been some studies on the effect of clay modification and melt processing conditions on the exfoliation in these nanocomposites as well as various studies focusing on their crystallisation behaviour (7-10). Polyamide-6 (PA-6)/montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposites are the most widely studied polymer/clay system, however a systematic study relating the structure of the clay modification cation to the properties of the composite has yet to be reported. 

The past decades have seen a rapid expansion in the use of polymers in many new fields of applications where they play an essential role. Unfortunately, most polymers are not inherently stable to light, so the studies of their photochemical behavior remain a subject of constant interest. Among the various fields that were the object of interest in the last few years, one has observed some of them emerging as the domains of organic solar cells, of coatings, and of nanocomposites. 

PEAs, some specific reviews can be taken into account [1-3], The present work is focused to the more recent developments performed with PEAs and highlights current activities on the biomedical field. The review is constituted by six sections the first and the second ones dealing with generic issnes snch as the synthetic methods applied and the derived polymer microstructures, while the third and fourth sections summarize more specific subjects such as preparation of hyperbranched and stiff polymers. The two last sections concern to PEAs prepared from renewable resources, paying special attention to polymers derived from a-amino acids, and specific applications like scaffolds with multiple functionalities, light-responsive materials, or nanocomposites. 

Dr. Vikas Mittal studied chemical engineering from Punjab Technical University in Punjab, India. He later obtained his Masters of Technology in polymer science and engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, India. Subsequently, he joined the Polymer Chemistry group of Professor U. W. Suter at the Department of Materials at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich in Switzerland. There he there worked for his doctoral degree with focus on the subjects of surface chemistry and polymer nanocomposites. He also jointly worked with Professor M. Morbidelli at the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences for the synthesis of functional polymer latex particles with thermally reversible behaviors. 

His research interests include organic-inorganic nanocomposites, novel filler surface modifications, thermal stability enhancements, polymer latexes with functionalized surfaces, etc. He has authored more than 40 scientific publications, book chapters, and patents on these subjects. 

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