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Recent Advancements in Characterization Techniques for Polymer Nanocomposites

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A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Analysis and Characterization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2020) | Viewed by 18960

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan

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Guest Editor

School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Interests: materials engineering; thermal systems; energy engineering; nanotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Liangchi Zhang

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Guest Editor

Laboratory for Precision and Nano Processing Technologies, School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Interests: manufacturing engineering; mechanical engineering; nanotechnology materials engineering; numerical modeling and mechanical characterization; precision engineering; solid mechanics; tribology machining
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Improvements in computational and experimental characterization techniques have led to a surge in the development of new materials. In particular, research on polymer nanocomposites has experienced remarkable growth. Traditionally, these nanocomposites were tested for their suitability in such applications as high-strength or structural engineering. Polymer nanocomposites also have vast potential in next-generation applications, such as nanoelectromechanical systems, nanoelectronic devices, energy engineering, and space applications.

There exists a good amount of literature that provides a comprehensive understanding of various characteristics of polymer nanocomposites. The scope of the existing literature can be broadly classified as focusing entirely on either experimental and computational modelling or a combination of both. Many of the studies offer a generalized understanding using the available techniques/principles. However, the complete realization of the potential of these materials for new-age applications requires us to develop new techniques, or improve the existing techniques, for the characterization of polymer nanocomposites.

This Special Issue aims to create an interdisciplinary forum for discussion on advancements in the area of material characterization of polymer nanocomposites for next-generation applications. Novel techniques for characterization—experimental, computational, or a combination of both—are solicited. Studies that explore the manufacturability of polymer nanocomposites in addition to the traditional mechanical, thermal, and electronic properties are also encouraged. This Special Issue aims to attract high-quality research and/or review articles that will help us to further understand the properties of polymer nanocomposites.

Dr. Venkatesh Vijayaraghavan
Prof. Liangchi Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

polymer nanocomposites
computational modeling
experimental characterization
mechanical properties
thermal properties
electronic properties

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 4234 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A New Polymer-Based Mechanical Metamaterial with Tailorable Large Negative Poisson’s Ratios

by Shanshi Gao, Weidong Liu, Liangchi Zhang and Asit Kumar Gain

Polymers 2020, 12(7), 1492; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym12071492 - 03 Jul 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4807

Abstract

Mechanical metamaterials have attracted significant attention due to their programmable internal structure and extraordinary mechanical properties. However, most of them are still in their prototype stage without direct applications. This research developed an easy-to-use mechanical metamaterial with tailorable large negative Poisson’s ratios. This metamaterial was microstructural, with cylindrical-shell-based units and was manufactured by the 3D-printing technique. It was found numerically that the present metamaterial could achieve large negative Poisson’s ratios up to −1.618 under uniaxial tension and −1.657 under uniaxial compression, and the results of the following verification tests agreed with simulation findings. Moreover, stress concentration in this new metamaterial is much smaller than that in most of existing re-entrance metamaterials. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advancements in Characterization Techniques for Polymer Nanocomposites)

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24 pages, 5534 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental Investigation of the Melt Shear Viscosity, Specific Volume and Thermal Conductivity of Low-Density Polyethylene/Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotube Composites Using Capillary Flow

by Nicoleta-Violeta Stanciu, Felicia Stan and Catalin Fetecau

Polymers 2020, 12(6), 1230; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/polym12061230 - 28 May 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4780

Abstract

Understanding the flow behavior of polymer/carbon nanotube composites prior to melt processing is important for optimizing the processing conditions and final product properties. In this study, the melt shear viscosity, specific volume and thermal conductivity of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) filled with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were investigated for representative processing conditions using capillary rheometry. The experimental results show a significant increase in the melt shear viscosity of the LDPE/MWCNT composite with nanotube loadings higher than 1 wt.%. Upon increasing shear rates, the composites flow like a power-law fluid, with a shear-thinning index less than 0.4. The specific volume decreases with increasing pressure and nanotube loading, while the pVT transition temperature increases linearly with increasing pressure. The thermal conductivity of the LDPE/MWCNT composite is nearly independent of nanotube loading up to the thermal percolation threshold of 1 wt.% and increases linearly with further increases in nanotube loading, reaching 0.35 W/m·K at 5 wt.%. The Carreau–Winter and Cross viscosity models and Tait equation, respectively, are able to predict the shear viscosity and specific volume with a high level of accuracy. These results can be used not only to optimize processing conditions through simulation but also to establish structure–property relationships for the LDPE/MWCNT composites. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advancements in Characterization Techniques for Polymer Nanocomposites)

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12 pages, 2167 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improved Hydrophobicity and Dimensional Stability of Wood Treated with Paraffin/Acrylate Compound Emulsion through Response Surface Methodology Optimization

by Jun Jiang, Yupeng Chen, Jinzhen Cao and Changtong Mei

Polymers 2020, 12(1), 86; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12010086 - 03 Jan 2020

Cited by 23 | Viewed by 2456

Abstract

Wood treatment was conducted by paraffin/acrylate compound emulsion. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied for modeling and to determine the relationship between hydrophobicity and influencing factors. The results showed that the paraffin emulsion concentration and acrylate emulsion percentage had significant influences on water absorption (WA) and mass percentage gain (MG). The WA decreased obviously with increasing acrylate emulsion percentage. The correlation models for WA and MG showed a good prediction due to the straight-line distribution in the normal probability plot of residuals. The optimal conditions (5.57% paraffin emulsion concentration, 20% acrylate emulsion percentage, and 10 min treatment time) provided by RSM were acceptable for predicting the MG and WA. Compared to untreated (66°) and paraffin emulsion treated wood (94°), the wood treated by compound emulsion showed the highest water contact angle (133°) and better dimensional stability. This could be ascribed to a synergistic effect (bulking effect and filling effect) provided by paraffin and acrylate, which could form a completely hydrophobic film in wood. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advancements in Characterization Techniques for Polymer Nanocomposites)

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Review

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33 pages, 12345 KiB

Open AccessReview

X-ray-Based Spectroscopic Techniques for Characterization of Polymer Nanocomposite Materials at a Molecular Level

by Dongwan Son, Sangho Cho, Jieun Nam, Hoik Lee and Myungwoong Kim

Polymers 2020, 12(5), 1053; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12051053 - 04 May 2020

Cited by 54 | Viewed by 6416

Abstract

This review provides detailed fundamental principles of X-ray-based characterization methods, i.e., X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure, and the development of different techniques based on the principles to gain deeper understandings of chemical structures in polymeric materials. Qualitative and quantitative analyses enable obtaining chemical compositions including the relative and absolute concentrations of specific elements and chemical bonds near the surface of or deep inside the material of interest. More importantly, these techniques help us to access the interface of a polymer and a solid material at a molecular level in a polymer nanocomposite. The collective interpretation of all this information leads us to a better understanding of why specific material properties can be modulated in composite geometry. Finally, we will highlight the impacts of the use of these spectroscopic methods in recent advances in polymer nanocomposite materials for various nano- and bio-applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advancements in Characterization Techniques for Polymer Nanocomposites)

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