Introduction to Clay- and Carbon-Based Polymer Nanocomposites: Materials, Processing, and Characterization

Abstract

This chapter comprehensively emphasizes the effect of nanofillers (nanoclays, nanotubes, and graphenes) on the material properties of polymer matrices, including structure and modification of nanofillers, preparation techniques, and some suitable examples. Nowadays, the nanofiller-reinforced high-performance polymer nanocomposites have gained tremendous focus to the academia and industries due to substantial increase in overall material properties by the addition of very small amount of nanofillers. The performance properties of the polymer matrices are significantly improved by the incorporation of nanoparticles having high aspect ratio and extremely high active surface area. Specifically, both physical and mechanical properties of the polymer nanocomposites particularly depend on the chemical structure of the nanofillers, strong interfacial interactions between polymer and nanofillers, strong affinity of nanofillers for the polymer matrices, nature of dispersion of the nanofillers within the polymer matrices, and the method of preparation of polymer nanocomposites. The homogeneous dispersion of nanofillers throughout polymer matrix, achieved by eco-friendly, industrially viable, and cost-effective melt blending technique, greatly enhances its properties.