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POLYMER NANOCOMPOSITES

HARIKRISHNAN.P
School of Technology and Applied Sciences,
Mahatma Gandhi University, Pullarikunnu Campus
Malloossery.P.O. Kottayam – 686 041
E-mail: harikris00@gmail.com
Mob : 09496544407

ABSTRACT
The field of material science became quite popular and pragmatic with a tremendous lust for
composite materials that exhibit the positive characteristics of both the components. Of late polymer
nanocomposites have been making a large splash in the media and throughout several industries.
Worldwide there has been a lot of interest to tailor the structure and composition of materials on sizes of
nanometer scale. Hence a systematic review on the preparation, properties and applications of polymer
nanocomposites is extremely important. Polymer nanocomposites are classified into different categories
according to various parameters. The preparation techniques include sol gel process, in-situ polymerization
and in-situ intercalative polymerization. The properties of nanocomposites such as mechanical, optical,
rheological, flame retardancy and dielectric behavior have been extensively reviewed. Their important
applications have also been described. This paper presents the latest developments of ‘polymer nano
composites’ and their possibility to create a sort of new,wet,soft,organic technology.

Introduction
Combining and orienting materials to achieve superior properties are old and well-proven concept.
Fillers have important roles in modifying the properties of various polymers. In a strict sense composites
are those materials formed by aligning extremely strong and stiff continuous fibers in a polymer matrix or
binder. Compared to neat resins, these composites have a number of improved properties including tensile
strength, heat distortion temperature and modulus. Composites are used in a wide variety of applications, as
there is a considerable scope for tailoring their structure to suit the service conditions together with other
advantages such as high strength to weight ratio, low cost etc.
A major classification of particulate composites is based on the particle size of the
dispersed phase. More recently, with advances in synthetic techniques and the ability to readily
characterize materials on an atomic scale has lead to interest in nano-meter size materials. Nanometer is an
atomic dimension and hence the properties of nanoclusters or particles are reflective of atoms rather than
bulk materials. Recent studies show that it may be possible to combine the nanocrystal into nanocrystal
molecules and nanocrystal solids in the same way as one does with real atoms; and these solids comprise
tens to thousand of atoms and have dimensions in nanometer (<10 nm) range.
The other names that have been used for nanostructure materials were nanocrystalline,
nanophase, cluster-assembled materials, quantum dots and quantum boxes. In nanoscale crystals quantum
size effects and the large number of surface atoms influence the chemical, electronic, magnetic and optical
behavior. It is driven by both the needs to further miniature electronic components and the fact that at the
nanometer scale the properties are strongly size dependent and thus can be tuned sensitively. Nano particles
themselves exhibit different properties from their larger ones in the areas of optical, electrical, magnetic
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and mechanical properties. Since nano particles are much smaller than the wavelength of visible light, the
composites may be transparent, although the same matrix with larger particles may not. Polymer
nanocomposites have been making a large splash in the media and throughout several industries of late.
Given all the interests in these materials, it is perhaps surprising to find that actual applications are few and
far between.

Nanocomposites
Nanocomposites have been studied for nearly 50 years. By a strict definition of
nanocomposites, i.e., any filler submicron in size, there already are significant volumes of nanocomposites
being produced. World-wide, there has been a new desire to tailor the structure and composition of
materials on sizes of the nanometer. This resulted in the generation of nanocomposites. Polymer
nanocomposites are polymers that have been reinforced with small quantities (less than10%) of nanosized
filler particles. Several advantages of these nanocomposites have been identified. They include efficient
reinforcement with minimal loss of ductility and impact strength, heat stability, flame retardance, improved
abrasion resistance, reduced shrinkage and residual stress and altered electronic and optical properties.
In polymer nanocomposites research, the primary goal is to enhance the strength
and toughness of polymeric components using molecular or nanoscale fillers. Composites that exhibit a
change in composition and structure over a nanometre scale have shown remarkable property
enhancements relative to conventional composites. Most notable are increased modulus, increased gas
barrier, increased heat distortion temperature, resistance to small molecule permeation, improved ablative
resistance, increase in atomic oxygen resistance and retention of impact strength etc. Interestingly, these
performance improvements are achieved without increasing the density of the base polymer, without
degrading its optical qualities and without making it any less recyclable. Nanocomposites are a
combination of two or more phases containing different compositions or structures where atleast one of the
phases is in the range of 10-to100 nm .

Classification
Nanocomposites are classified into thermoplastic and thermoset nanocomposites.
1. Thermoplastic nanocomposites: these materials are divided into two major categories, i.e.,
commodity resins and engineering resins. Thermoplastics filled with nanometer-size materials have
different properties than thermoplastics filled with conventional materials. Some of the properties of
nanocomposites, such as increased tensile strength, may be achieved by using higher conventional filler
loading at the expense of increased weight and decreased gloss. One of the goals of nanocomposites
was to allow substitution of more expensive engineering resins with a less expensive commodity resin
nanocompos
2. Thermoset nanocomposites: these have received less commercial interest in their development than
thermoplastic nanocomposites, but these materials may be relatively straightforward to bring into
production. Furthermore, thermoset nanocomposites can offer some significant advantages over
conventional thermosets.
Nanocomposites can also be classified based on the filler into three, viz., clay (silica)
based, inorganic-polymer layered and inorganic-polymer hybrids.The organoclays as precursors to
nanocomposites formation has been extended into various systems including epoxies, polyurethanes,
polyimides, nitrile rubber, polyester, polystyrenes, and siloxanes. For true nanocomposites, the clay
nanolayers must be uniformly dispersed (exfoliated) in the polymer matrix, as opposed to being aggregated
as tactoids or simply intercalated.
There are three major techniques for preparing nanoparticles in a polymer matrix. These are,
(i)in situ generation of the particles: This method involves two steps. First, incorporation of a metal ion
in the polymer by immersion of the polymer matrix, or polymer membrane, in an aqueous solution
containing the metal ions. The ion(s) is absorbed or adsorbed to the polymer matrix. The second step is the
formation of particles in the polymer matrix, by reacting the product of the first step with the proper
reactants; e.g., reducing compounds.
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(ii) Formation of nanoparticles via Polymerisation.

The second method of synthesising nanoparticles is via polymerisation of colloidal
solutions containing metal ions and monomers. The particle size can be controlled by the reaction
temperature and properties of the colloidal solution, thermal coagulation and Ostwald ripening.
(iii) Mechanical mixing of nanoparticles with polymers.
This method involves the direct mechanical mixing of a polymer solution with a pre-
synthesised, highly dispersive nanoparticle solution.

Preparation of Nanocomposites.
A polymeric particle/ polymer nanocomposite contains a rigid polymer component dispersed
within a flexible polymer matrix on a nanoscale level.anocomposites are prepared mainly by three
methods:
i) Sol- gel process, This includes two approaches: hydrolysis of the metal alkoxides and then
polycondensation of the hydrolyzed intermediates. This process provides a method for the preparation of
inorganic metal oxides under mild conditions starting from organic metal alkoxides, halides, esters etc .
ii) in-situ intercalative polymerization, which is a good method for the preparation of polymer/clay
mineral hybrids. A novel class of fillers is anisotropic layered silicates of the montmorillonite type, which
can be modified by cation exchange with organic ammonium salts, thus producing organophilic clays,
further called organoclays. Organophilic modification affords compatibility between filler and polymer.
Different methods have been introduced to achieve matrix-filler compatibilization: melt or solution
intercalation of organoclay with polymers, cation exchange of montmorillonite with polymers bearing
quartenary ammonium groups, or cation exchange and subsequent polymerization with monomers
containing quaternary ammonium groups. These compatibilisation techniques account for improved
interfacial adhesion and effective dispersion of either intercalated silicate layer aggregates or even
individual exfoliated silicate layers. Such nanocomposites exhibit superior stiffness, impact, strength and
heat distortion temperature.

iii) In situ polymerization, which is a method where nanometer scale inorganic fillers or reinforcements
are dispersed in the monomer first; then this mixture is polymerized using a technique similar to bulk
polymerization.

Properties of nanocomposites
Nanocomposites offer much different properties than conventional composites. The most
important ones are enhanced mechanical strength, optical transparency, improved thermal stability,
improved barrier properties, improved flexibility, novel electrical properties etc.

Applications of nano composites

In recent years significant progress has been achieved in the synthesis of various types
polymer-nanocomposites and in the understanding of the basic principles, which determine their optical,
electronic and magnetic properties. As a result nanocomposite-based devices, such as light emitting diodes,
photodiodes, photovoltaic solar cells and gas sensors, have been developed, often using chemically
oriented synthetic methods such as soft lithography, lamination, spin-coating or solution casting.
The peculiarities in the conduction mechanism through a network of semiconductor
nanoparticle chains provide the basis for the manufacture of highly sensitive gas and vapor sensors. These
sensors combine the properties of the polymer matrix with those of the nanoparticles. It allows the
fabrication of sensor devices selective to some definite components in mixtures of gases or vapors.
Magnetic phenomena, such as superparamagnetism, observed in polymer-nanocomposites containing
Fe3O4 nanoparticles in some range of concentrations, particle sizes, shapes and temperatures, provide a
way to determine the limits to magnetic media storage density.
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Over the last decades, the polymer nanocomposites application have gained their
commercial footing, due in large part to the efforts of resin manufacturers, compounding and master batch
producers who now offer user friendly products. Nanocomposites differ from traditional plastic composites
in that they provide these properties with minimal impact on articles weight and they do so without
providing penalties. Lastly in packaging nanocomposites deliver with good clarity, a combination not
possible using traditional composites approaches.

Future Outlook
The pace of revolutionary discoveries now in nanotechnology is expected to
accelerate in the next decade worldwide. This will have a profound impact on existing and emerging
technologies in almost all industry sectors, in conservation of materials and energy, in biomedicine and in
environmental sustainability. Potential technological applications with high commercial impact can be
expected in areas of superplastic forming of ceramics, ultra high strength and tough structural materials,
magnetic refrigerators, a wide range of nanoparticle filled nanocomosites based on elastomers,
thermoplastics and thermosets and ductile cements.

A decade ago nanocomposite technology was a concept with great potential. Today it is a reality and
tomorrow it will flourish.