Particle Polymer Composites Research Articles

Robust catalyst 3D microarchitectures by digital light printing with ceramic particle–polymer composites

This study entailed the development of an advanced photocatalyst model characterized by high efficiency and ease in dispersion and retrieval processes. This model incorporates a multiscale-hierarchical open-cell structure integrated with nanostructured materials, effectively targeting the removal of organic compounds from wastewater. The fabrication of the specimens was achieved through a combined approach of additive manufacturing and chemical synthesis. The open-cell structure, composed of photopolymerized polymers and synthesized nanocrystals, displays a notable aspect ratio, an extensive surface area, and a significant porosity. These features facilitate the concurrent entry of fluid and light into the core of the framework, leading to enhanced light scattering and activation of photoinduced redox reactions on organic contaminants adhered to the anatase TiO2 surface. The photocatalytic performance was quantified through a spectroscopic analysis, monitoring the absorbance changes associated with organic pollutant degradation. In addition, the influence of open-cell structures on nanomaterial growth under hydrothermal synthesis conditions was explored using finite element method simulations, with findings corroborated by microscopic examination. The functional effectiveness of the novel photocatalyst was assessed through compression tests, analysis of changes pre- and post-reaction, and evaluations of reusability. The developed 3D photocatalyst offers straightforward installation, relocation, and operation, presenting a resilient and effective solution for employing nanoscale catalysts while significantly reducing secondary contamination risks from nanomaterials in aquatic environments. This innovative structure holds potential for application in diverse sectors, including hydrogen production, water decomposition, CO2 capture, and biomedicine.

Optimal design of ultrasonic transducer based on multi-layer backing with adjustable impedance

Ultrasonic transducers, especially used in medical imaging, strike a balance between sensitivity and bandwidth to yield high-quality images. This challenge centers on the optimal transmission of acoustic energy across the layers of transducer. The backing layer stands as a critical component of transducers, orchestrating the conversion of acoustic impedance to enhance bandwidth. While traditional designs often utilize metal particle-polymer composites, issues arise from material limitations, complex fabrications, and deviations in sample properties. This study introduces an optimized multilayer backing (MLB) design using a metal-polymer structure. Implementing an equivalent circuit model, an MLB of epoxy-aluminum composite is designed. The ultrasonic transducer has an operating frequency of about 6 MHz, in which the backing layer is a stacking composite of 19.3 μm epoxy resin and 30 μm aluminum foil. Notably, this optimized design increased the -6dB bandwidth from 27.72 % to 33.44 % and verified its superior electro-acoustic performance based on ultrasonic imaging. Furthermore, this innovative design approach provides a wider range of acoustic impedance, improves the efficiency of ultrasonic energy transmission, and provides a streamlined approach to miniaturized transducer design.

Liquid Metal Particles and Polymers: A Soft–Soft System with Exciting Properties

ConspectusGallium-based liquid metal alloys are a special type of material that is in the liquid state at (or near) room temperature. They are particularly attractive due to their unique combination of a fluidic and metallic body, together with a chemically reactive and functionable surface. As a fluid, liquid metals provide the best union of stretchability, deformability, and electrical conductivity among all soft materials. Such an advantage in combination with their low toxicity and relatively good biocompatibility have imparted liquid metals with unique features that can be harnessed for versatile applications in fields such as electronics, energy, chemistry, and biomedical research. More importantly, the fluidic nature of liquid metals allows them to be readily processed using shear for making particles with variable sizes (from nm to mm), which is not possible with solid materials. These particles have a liquid metal core–solid metal oxide shell (conductor–semiconductor) structure, allowing them to merge, transform shape, change phase, respond to stimuli, and self-heal.Despite these unique features, limited surface stability and functionality, unpredictable reactivity, and uncontrollable hydrophilicity of liquid metal particles niche their wider applications in biomedical fields. To bestow liquid metal particles with desirable surface properties while taking the benefits offered by soft features, another important soft material—polymers—can be synthesized and engineered on an on-demand basis to coat or embed liquid metal particles. This leads to the formation of liquid metal–polymer soft composites with versatile surface properties. More specifically, polymer segments with corresponding functions for surface anchoring, tuning solubility, enhancing biocompatibility, providing stimuli-responsive properties, and further bioconjugation can be linked together, thereby forming macromolecules to graft liquid metal particles for yielding soft–soft systems with exciting properties.Herein, we provide a concise review of our contributions to the production, investigation, characterization, and application of liquid metal particle–polymer composites. First, we summarize various top-down techniques developed for producing micro- to nanosized liquid metal particles. We highlight two platforms we developed for tackling long-existing problems encountered by sonication—the most widely adopted method for producing liquid metal particles. Second, we discuss the design of polymers for surface modification of particles. Various grafting strategies for polymers synthesized using different approaches are elaborated. We also discuss factors that affect the colloidal and chemical stability of the composite in biological buffers. Methods for further surface functionalization of the composite are presented, followed by providing examples of biomedical and sensing applications for the system. Next, we introduce the fabrication, unique properties, and applications of elastomeric hybrid composites incorporating liquid metal particle fillers. Finally, we offer a perspective on the opportunities and challenges for the future development of this exciting soft–soft system for realizing synergistic outcomes.

Two-photon polymerization of anisotropic composites using acoustic streaming

In this work, an acoustic streaming-assisted Two-Photon Polymerization process (TPP) was developed for manufacturing anisotropic particle-polymer composites. Acoustic field (AF)-assisted constant microcirculation of nanoparticles within a droplet, also known as acoustic streaming (AS), results in nanoparticle trapping within TPP printed grooved surfaces. The effect of the acoustic voltage on the flow velocity and particle trapping efficiency is modeled and characterized. The identified optimum input voltage was used to generate the proper acoustic streaming to trap particles within polymer grooves during TPP process to produce a three-dimensional (3D) anisotropic particle-polymer composite in a layer-by-layer fashion. Experimental results validated the feasibility of the proposed manufacturing approach.

Directed Assembly of Particles for Additive Manufacturing of Particle-Polymer Composites.

Particle-polymer dispersions are ubiquitous in additive manufacturing (AM), where they are used as inks to create composite materials with applications to wearable sensors, energy storage materials, and actuation elements. It has been observed that directional alignment of the particle phase in the polymer dispersion can imbue the resulting composite material with enhanced mechanical, electrical, thermal or optical properties. Thus, external field-driven particle alignment during the AM process is one approach to tailoring the properties of composites for end-use applications. This review article provides an overview of externally directed field mechanisms (e.g., electric, magnetic, and acoustic) that are used for particle alignment. Illustrative examples from the AM literature show how these mechanisms are used to create structured composites with unique properties that can only be achieved through alignment. This article closes with a discussion of how particle distribution (i.e., microstructure) affects mechanical properties. A fundamental description of particle phase transport in polymers could lead to the development of AM process control for particle-polymer composite fabrication. This would ultimately create opportunities to explore the fundamental impact that alignment has on particle-polymer composite properties, which opens up the possibility of tailoring these materials for specific applications.

A Brief Review on Additive Manufacturing of Polymeric Composites and Nanocomposites.

In this research article, a mini-review study is performed on the additive manufacturing (AM) of the polymeric matrix composites (PMCs) and nanocomposites. In this regard, some methods for manufacturing and important and applied results are briefly introduced and presented. AM of polymeric matrix composites and nanocomposites has attracted great attention and is emerging as it can make extensively customized parts with appreciably modified and improved mechanical properties compared to the unreinforced polymer materials. However, some matters must be addressed containing reduced bonding of reinforcement and matrix, the slip between reinforcement and matrix, lower creep strength, void configurations, high-speed crack propagation, obstruction because of filler inclusion, enhanced curing time, simulation and modeling, and the cost of manufacturing. In this review, some selected and significant results regarding AM or three-dimensional (3D) printing of polymeric matrix composites and nanocomposites are summarized and discuss. In addition, this article discusses the difficulties in preparing composite feedstock filaments and printing issues with nanocomposites and short and continuous fiber composites. It is discussed how to print various thermoplastic composites ranging from amorphous to crystalline polymers. In addition, the analytical and numerical models used for simulating AM, including the Fused deposition modeling (FDM) printing process and estimating the mechanical properties of printed parts, are explained in detail. Particle, fiber, and nanomaterial-reinforced polymer composites are highlighted for their performance. Finally, key limitations are identified in order to stimulate further 3D printing research in the future.

Additive manufacturing of multi-material soft robot for on-demand drug delivery applications

Soft robotics has tremendous potential for various in-vivo bio applications. However, developing untethered soft robots is quite challenging in terms of designing robust actuation systems, efficient fabrication processes and integrating multiple functionalities. This study proposes an untethered fully 3D printed soft robot, capable of multi-modal locomotion. This soft robot has a multi-material and compliant body structure made with magnetic particle-polymer composites which can be 3D printed directly from a digital computer model. The material composition is digitally programmed for untethered magnetic actuation and the robot contains two functional parts, anterior and posterior legs, with embedded magnetic materials. The robot has 3 degrees of freedom and it is capable of bi-directional bending in xy plane and z direction. In this study, the soft robot prototypes are printed with a novel magnetic field assisted projection stereolithography (M-PSL) technique. The magnetic torque on the robot body during turning locomotion is also measured experimentally and compared with theoretical prediction. Additionally, to demonstrate the multi-functionality of the robot, a magnetically controlled drug carrier reservoir is integrated into the anterior leg of the robot. The robot can store liquid drug inside this reservoir and release the drug once it reaches the target. A dummy drug delivery application is also demonstrated inside a human stomach model and a lung model.

Influence of Particle Shape on the Drying Regime Maps for Platelike Particle-Polymer Composites.

In previous works, the influence of drying conditions on the particle distribution in filled polymer films was investigated using spherical silica particles and polystyrene pellets. The results showed that changing drying conditions can influence the particle distribution in a dry film. These were summarized in drying regime maps to predict the distribution of the particles in the final film; the particles accumulate at the top of the coating (evaporation regime) or sink to the bottom (sedimentation regime) or remain homogeneously distributed (diffusion regime). In the present study, the particle geometry was oblate to determine the changes in the particle distribution in comparison to spherical particles. A simulation was developed by changing the sedimentation and diffusion models. Concentration-dependent sedimentation rates and the particle orientation in the dry film were experimentally determined. New drying regime maps were plotted and compared. The simulation results show an expansion of the diffusion regime for the platelike particles in comparison with spherical particles. The regime maps were validated using platelike glass particles dispersed in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with water. The particle concentration profiles in the dry film and the film morphology were obtained via three-dimensional (3-D) Raman spectroscopy.

Analysis of mechanical behavior of 3D printed heterogeneous particle-polymer composites

Additive manufacturing has emerged as a powerful tool for fabrication of heterogeneous particle-polymer composites with enhanced material properties. These synthetic particle-polymer composites are lightweight, tough and showcase remarkable fracture toughness. Yet there is still a big knowledge gap in engineering particle microstructure orientation and loading fraction, to achieve the desired stress-deformation behavior of particle-polymer composites. To close this knowledge gap, it is essential to study the fracture toughness and stress-deformation patterns. Hence, in this paper, we additively manufactured particle-polymer composites with varied particle chain distributions and particle loading fractions, and investigated the mechanical behaviors of those composites both experimentally and analytically. Additionally, we investigated the influence of layer thickness on the Young's modulus and breaking propagation paths of the 3D printed samples. It is observed that the breaking edges remain smooth for parts printed with a small layer thickness and becomes irregular with asymmetrical fractures as the layer thickness is bigger than a critical value. The Young's modulus predicted by Cox-Krenchel model show similar trends as in the experimental results and validates the feasibility of the models in guiding the design of particle distribution, orientation and concentration in heterogeneous particle-polymer composites. Yet a higher modulus is predicted when particle chains are aligned parallel to the force direction, while a much smaller modulus, as small as the modulus of pure polymer, is predicted when particle chains are aligned perpendicular to the force direction. The analytical results of S1-0 and S1-45 composites agree with the experimental results with a deviation of 5.5%. While the analytical results of S1-90 do not agree with the experimental results, mainly due to the weak interfacial bonding between particle chain and polymer in the 3D printed composites. Both analytical and experimental results show that the particle-polymer composites with high particle volume loading fraction and parallel particle chain orientation has the highest stiffness.

An improved crack-bridging model for rigid particle-polymer composites

The incorporation of rigid particles is a promising design strategy to enhance the fracture toughness of polymeric materials. Quantitatively evaluating the toughening effect of particles is crucial for thoroughly exploring the full potential of such a strategy. In this paper, an improved crack-bridging model is proposed to correlate the fracture toughness of rigid microparticle-reinforced polymer composites with their microstructure. The critical stress intensity factor (SIF) is used to describe the fracture toughness of composites. The critical SIF values of composites rely on the critical SIF of the polymer matrix and the SIF induced by the bridging particles. The discrete bridging forces induced by particles are treated as the continuous bridging stresses. The bridging-SIF is determined by the integration of bridging stress. Theoretical predictions revealed that increasing the particle volume fraction and the particle-matrix interfacial strength can effectively improve the fracture toughness of polymeric materials. For the polymer reinforced with micron-sized particles, the fracture toughness increases with increased particle size. The theoretical results predicted by our model agree well with the experimental data. Our results help to elucidate the dependence of the fracture toughness of particle-polymer composites on their microstructure and therefore are useful for the design and optimization of advanced composite materials.

Polymer-particulate composites with differential interfaces: synthesis, characterization, and mathematical modeling to evaluate interface-yield strength correlations

Polymer particulate composites (PPC) are extensively used in numerous mechanical and aviation applications, which take advantage of their synergistic properties such as superior yield strength. This work combines experimental and theoretical approaches to evaluate yield strength of thermosetting PPC made of pristine p-TiO2 or surface-grafted g-TiO2 nanoparticles and an epoxy thermoset. Accordingly, p-PPC and g-PPC sheets containing different volume fraction (ϕf = 0.0234–0.0936) of p-TiO2 or g-TiO2 nanoparticles exhibit variable yield strength. A mathematical model is used to evaluate the effects of nanoparticles aggregation on the relative yield strength of PPC. The interfacial parameters “B” and “Bagg” give a quantitative measure of the ability of stress dispersion by the agglomerated nanoparticles. The higher “B” and “Bagg” values for g-PPC reveal its greater interfacial strength. The experimental data show good correlation with the theoretical predictions. However, these models truly predict PPC’s yield strength only at low volume fraction (ϕf ≤ 0.09) of filler nanoparticles.

Multi-material Additive Manufacturing of Functional Soft Robot

The field of soft robotics has a lot of potential in various in-vivo bio-applications. However, there are several challenges in developing untethered soft robots including ease of fabrication, efficient actuation system and multiple integrated functionalities. This study proposes a fully 3D printed, monolithic soft robot capable of linear and turning locomotion. This multi-modal, multi-material soft robot has a compliant body structure made of magnetic particle-polymer composites and can be 3D printed directly from a digital computer model. The locally programmed magnetic material composition in the posterior and anterior legs allows untethered magnetic actuation. The robot has 3 degrees of freedom and is capable of bi-axial bending in xy plane and z directions. This paper presents design and fabrication process of the soft robot with the novel magnetic field assisted projection stereolithography (M-PSL) technique. The magnetic torque on the robot body during turning locomotion is also measured experimentally and compared with theoretical prediction. Additionally, a controlled dummy drug delivery application in model human stomach and lung is demonstrated to showcase the multi-functionality of the soft robot. A uniquely designed, magnetically controlled drug carrier reservoir is integrated into the anterior leg of the soft robot. This reservoir can hold the liquid drug during locomotion and releases the drug once the robot arrives at the targeted location. With different modes of locomotion and high bending capability, the robot is able to maneuver in confined spaces that represent the inside of human stomach and lungs.

Vibrationally directed assembly of micro- and nanoparticle-polymer composites

In this study, we examine directed self-assembly of micro- and nanoparticles on a vibrating substrate as a viable pathway to large-scale assembly of microstructures and composite materials. We demonstrate the vibration-driven assembly of glass bead microparticles and iron oxide nanoparticles in contact with a photocurable hydrogel (PEGDA) over an area of 3000 mm2. The competition between acoustic radiation force and vibration-generated fluid flow in a viscous medium above a vibrating plate determines the particle transport characteristics. Based on a suspension balance model of this competition, we find that glass microparticles are dominated by displacement gradients and migrate towards displacement anti-nodes. Iron oxide nanoparticles that are smaller than the characteristic boundary layer generated by the flow will drive particles towards displacement nodes. We find close agreement between the observed experimental results when compared to a numerical solution to the 2D wave equation that governs this case. We also demonstrate that patterns assembled by vibration for glass microparticles or iron oxide nanoparticles dispersed in PEGDA can be immobilized by a UV light, allowing this approach to be used as a fabrication process for heterogeneously structured particle-polymer composites. The composites produced by this technique are robust and can be held by hand for application to tunable material properties for applications to bioelectronics and soft robotics.This work has been selected by the Editors as a Featured Cover Article for this issue.

Employing multi-GPU power for molecular dynamics simulation: an extension of GALAMOST

ABSTRACTWe describe the algorithm of employing multi-GPU power on the basis of Message Passing Interface (MPI) domain decomposition in a molecular dynamics code, GALAMOST, which is designed for the coarse-grained simulation of soft matters. The code of multi-GPU version is developed based on our previous single-GPU version. In multi-GPU runs, one GPU takes charge of one domain and runs single-GPU code path. The communication between neighbouring domains takes a similar algorithm of CPU-based code of LAMMPS, but is optimised specifically for GPUs. We employ a memory-saving design which can enlarge maximum system size at the same device condition. An optimisation algorithm is employed to prolong the update period of neighbour list. We demonstrate good performance of multi-GPU runs on the simulation of Lennard–Jones liquid, dissipative particle dynamics liquid, polymer and nanoparticle composite, and two-patch particles on workstation. A good scaling of many nodes on cluster for two-patch particles is presented.

Refractive Index Tuning of Hybrid Materials for Highly Transmissive Luminescent Lanthanide Particle-Polymer Composites.

High-refractive-index ZrO2 nanoparticles were used to tailor the refractive index of a polymer matrix to match that of luminescent lanthanide-ion-doped (La0.92Yb0.075Er0.005F3) light-emitting particles, thereby reducing scattering losses to yield highly transparent emissive composites. Photopolymerization of blends of an amine-modified poly(ether acrylate) oligomer and tailored quantities of ZrO2 nanoparticles yielded optically transparent composites with tailored refractive indices between 1.49 and 1.69. By matching the refractive index of the matrix to that of La0.92Yb0.075Er0.005F3, composites with high transmittance (>85%) and low haze from the visible to infrared regions, bright 1530 nm optical emissions were achieved at solids loadings of La0.92Yb0.075Er0.005F3, ranging from 5 to 30 vol %. These optical results suggest that a hybrid matrix approach is a versatile strategy for the fabrication of functional luminescent optical composites of high transparency.

Correlation Between Microscale Magnetic Particle Distribution and Magnetic-Field-Responsive Performance of Three-Dimensional Printed Composites

To date, several additive manufacturing (AM) technologies have been developed for fabricating smart particle–polymer composites. Those techniques can control particle distributions to achieve gradient or heterogeneous properties and functions. Such manufacturing capability opened up new applications in many fields. However, it is still widely unknown how to design the localized material distribution to achieve desired product properties and functionalities. The correlation between microscale material distribution and macroscopic composite performance needs to be established. In our previous work, a novel magnetic field-assisted stereolithography (M-PSL) process was developed, for fabricating magnetic particle–polymer composites. In this work, we focused on the study of magnetic-field-responsive particle–polymer composite design with the aim of developing guidelines for predicting the magnetic-field-responsive properties of the composite. Microscale particle distribution parameters, including particle loading fraction, magnetic particle chain structure, microstructure orientation, and particle distribution patterns, were investigated. Their influences on the properties of particle–polymer liquid suspensions and properties of the three-dimensional (3D) printed composites were characterized. By utilizing the magnetic anisotropy properties of the printed composites, motions of the printed parts could be actuated at different positions in the applied magnetic field. Physical models were established to predict magnetic properties of the composite and trigger distance of fabricated parts. The predicted results agreed well with the experimental measurements, indicating the effectiveness of predicting macroscopic composite performance using microscale distribution data, and the feasibility of using the developed physical models to guide multimaterial and multifunctional composite design.

Thermomechanical Properties of Polypropylene-Based Lightweight Composites Modeled on the Mesoscale

A waste-based particle polymer composite (WPPCs) made of foam glass and polypropylene was developed as a low-cost construction material. Thermomechanical properties of the composite, including creep properties of WPPC and polypropylene binder, were examined. By adding a relatively small amount of polypropylene to foam glass (about 2:8 in volume parts), the maximum bearing capacity at room temperature of the composite increased from 1.9 (pure foam glass) to 15 MPa. A significant creep strain accumulated during compressive loading of WPPC (5 MPa) in the first 2000 s at elevated temperatures (40, 60 °C). In the study, Kafka’s mesomechanical model was used to simulate creep strain changes in time for various temperatures. The applicability of Kafka’s mesomechanical model for simulating creep properties of the studied composite material was demonstrated.

Expansion of Kolarik model for tensile strength of polymer particulate nanocomposites as a function of matrix, nanoparticles and interphase properties

Kolarik proposed a model for tensile strength of polymer particulate composites based on the cubic orthogonal skeleton or three perpendicular plates (3PP) system. In this paper, Kolarik model is expanded for tensile strength of polymer nanocomposites containing spherical nanoparticles assuming the interphase properties. This model expresses the strength as a function of interphase properties. This development is performed using some models such as Pukanszky and Nicolais-Narkis. The expanded model is applied to calculate the thickness and strength of interphase by the experimental results. Furthermore, the strength of polymer nanocomposites is evaluated at different levels of material and interphase properties. The experimental data show good agreement with the predictions of the developed model.

Development of cubic orthogonal skeleton or three perpendicular plates system for prediction of Young’s modulus in polymer nanocomposites assuming the interphase

Kolarik proposed a model for Young’s modulus of polymer particulate composites based on the cubic orthogonal skeleton or three perpendicular plates (3PP) system. However, this model commonly underestimates the modulus of polymer nanocomposites, because it does not take into account the interphase properties. In this paper, the Kolarik model is developed for polymer nanocomposites assuming the interphase role. The original and the developed models are compared with the experimental data, and also, the effects of material and interphase properties on the predicted modulus are discussed. The predictions of the developed model display fine agreement with the experimental results from literature assuming acceptable interphase. Similarly, the developed model shows the logical effects of material and interphase parameters on the modulus. For example, the modulus improves by reduction of nanoparticle size which increases the interfacial area between polymer chains and nanoparticles. The appropriate outputs of the developed model confirm the correct expansion of Kolarik model for modulus of polymer nanocomposites.

Chemical Sculpturing of Al Micro-Particles for Polymer Composites and Universal Polymer-Polymer Joints

Composite materials attract more and more attention due to their unique properties in many fields. For certain applications metal particle-polymer composites are very attractive, where e.g. lightweight heat-conductive composites are needed. For particle-polymer composites the typical problem is the deterioration of the mechanical properties of the polymer matrix due to poor adhesion at the polymer-metal particle interface. Our approach solves this problem by generating a mechanical interlocking surface structure on the metal particle surface via wet chemical etching which we call sculpturing. In this work commercially available granular Al micro-particles with a typical size distribution between 200 - 800 µm and a purity of 99.7 % is used. These Al particles are structured in an optimized aqueous HCl based electrolyte. The key idea is to balance the passivation and dissolution of the metal surface in such a way that the desired interlocking structures form. Similar to HNO3-HF based Si etchants, the employed electrolyte makes use of in-situ formed reaction products controlling the structuring homogeneity and reaction speed. Figure 1a) provides a top view on Al particles sculptured in such way with a magnification view in Fig. 1b). The sculptured surface structure consists of a multitude of rectangular structures with flat faces in a step-like arrangement or as free-standing hooks. These rectangular structures vary in size and are tilted towards each other depending on the crystal orientation. The EDX analysis confirms that the surface of these Al micro-particles after sculpturing is covered only by a native oxide layer. By adjusting the chemical fabrication process the Al micro-particles could be fully or partially sculptured. Correspondingly, the Al micro-particles showed a change in their optical properties depending on the etching duration. Fully-sculptured Al micro-particles are dark gray in color, partially structured ones are light-gray, and the untreated ones are silver colored. With these sculptured Al micro-particles polymer composites can be formed as shown in Fig. 1c. Here, a densely packed polythiourethane (PTU)-sculptured Al particle composite is formed in the shape of a dog bone. Tensile test results show that the addition of sculptured particles results in a strongly increased Young’s modulus and reaching at least the maximum tensile strength of the pure polymer, unlike in case of the addition of untreated Al micro-particles. In case of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) which is well-known for its poor adhesion to metals, polymers and ceramics, the effect on the increase of Young’s modulus is even far more pronounced as well as a tremendous increase in the maximum tensile strength. The fracture surfaces of all sculptured Al micro-particle-polymer composites showed always cohesive failure where even the particles themselves are torn apart, which is the best reachable adhesion strength. Another very important application for sculptured Al micro-particles could be adhesive-free joining of immiscible polymers like ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) and polyoximethylen (POM) or other low surface energy polymers. Here, the sculptured micro-particles are partially imprinted into the thermally-softened POM surface and then joined with the softened EVA. Owing to the hook and step structures of the sculptured particles a robust connection between the Al micro-particles and any polymer matrix is obtained. No matter how the sculptured particles are partially imprinted in the polymer surface, they stick to it and hinder delamination. This is impressively shown via tensile testing, where only cohesive failure within the EVA component is found, while the direct joint without particles and via untreated particles fail adhesively directly at the POM-EVA interface. Fig. 1: SEM top view on chemically sculptured a) Al micro-particles, b) in high magnification of the structured Al micro-particle surface and c) Al micro-particle filled PTU composite in the shape of dog bone. Figure 1