engleski

Effects of nanoparticles on the structure and properties of multiphase polymer systems

The improved adhesion parameters at the interface in nanocomposites depend mostly on the great active surface area of nanofillers that interact significantly with polymer matrix, its surface energetics and structure and surface functionality of both the selected nanoparticles and polymer matrix. Surface pre-treatments of fillers with different agents enable tailoring of interface properties and properties of multiphase polymer materials as a whole. In this study an overview of our results about surface effects of the selected nanofillers in polyurethane (PU) and poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) matrices will be presented. In order to improve the interfacial properties the filler pre-treatments with stearate and/or silane agents were carried out. The surface free energy of composites components were determined using contact angle measurement. Composite morphology and failure were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and mechanical properties were determined using tensile tests. The influence of different filler surface pre-treatment on the interfacial properties were correlated with the calculated values of adhesion parameters at the interface. The higher work of adhesion, lower interfacial energy and positive coefficient of wetting together with higher coefficient of interactions and failure in polymer matrix indicate strong interactions at the interface due to the effects of great surface area of nanoparticles. The results proved that the homogeneous morphology of evenly distributed nanoparticles that depend on the way of nanocomposite preparation is of key importance for the properties of multiphase polymer systems filled with nanoparticles.

multiphase polymer systems

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