Nanocomposites: Preparation, Characterization and Modeling

Description

Nanocomposites are one of the major advances in the field of materials. They have applications in sectors as varied as aeronautics, energy and the environment. However, the effective use of nanocomposites requires new knowledge and tools in order to overcome the difficulties and benefit from the advantages. Nanocomposites presents recent academic and industrial progress in this field, as well as the latest research on the effective use of nanoscale fillers and reinforcements to improve the performance of advanced nanocomposites. It also describes the techniques and tools used to prepare nanocomposites, including the latest techniques for synthesis and surface treatment of nanofillers for different applications. Finally, it details the role of nanoscience in the design, characterization and multi-scale modeling of these materials, with a focus on nanoscale phenomena. Cover Half-Title Page Title Page Copyright Page Contents Foreword Polymer Nanocomposites: Are There Scientific Questions with No Answers? 1. Graphite and Graphene Nanoplatelets (GNP) Filled Polymer Matrix Nanocomposites 1.1. General information on graphene 1.1.1. Definition and structure 1.1.2. Structures associated with graphene 1.1.3. Graphene properties 1.2. Graphene preparation methods 1.2.1. Graphite exfoliation 1.2.2. Graphite-derived compounds exfoliation 1.3. Methods of dispersion of carbon nanofillers in a polymer matrix 1.3.1. In situ polymerization 1.3.2. Intercalation in solution 1.3.3. Melt mixing 1.3.4. Comparison of development methods 1.4. Influence of the nanofiller on the properties of the nanocomposite 1.4.1. Analysis of the material morphology 1.4.2. Influence of nanofillers on semi-crystalline microstructures 1.4.3. Influence of nanofillers on mechanical properties 1.4.4. Influence of nanofillers on electrical properties 1.4.5. Evolution of the thermal resistance 1.5. References 2. Morphological Characterization Techniques for Nano-Reinforced Polymers 2.1. Transmission electron microscopy 2.1.1. Sample preparation and acquisition of the TEM images 2.1.2. Size, dispersion and interparticle distance 2.2. X-ray diffraction 2.2.1. SAXS 2.2.2. WAXS 2.3. Conclusion 2.4. References 3. Size Effects on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Nano-Reinforced Polymers 3.1. Size effect on the glass transition temperature 3.1.1. Differential scanning calorimetry 3.1.2. Dynamic mechanical analysis 3.1.3. Wide-angle temperature synchrotron X-ray diffraction (WAXS) 3.2. Thermal stability 3.3. Effect of size on mechanical properties 3.3.1. Quasi-static tests: elastic properties 3.3.2. Dynamic tests: viscoelastic properties 3.4. Conclusion 3.5. References 4. Effects of the Size and Nature of Fillers on the Thermal and Mechanical Properties of PEEK Matrix Composites 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Materials and methods 4.2.1. Polymer 4.2.2. Reinforcements 4.2.3. Nano- and microcomposites preparation 4.2.4. Characterization 4.3. Results 4.3.1. Characterization of the powders 4.3.2. Filler distribution in the matrix 4.3.3. Effect of size on thermal transitions 4.3.4. Effect of size on the degree of crystallinity 4.3.5. Thermal properties 4.3.6. Effect of size on mechanical properties 4.4. Conclusion 4.5. References 5. Study of Interface and Interphase between Epoxy Matrix and Carbon-based Nanofillers in Nanocomposites 5.1. Introduction 5.1.1. Surface modification of the fillers 5.1.2. Experimental techniques 5.2. Structural analysis of the interface with electron energy-loss spectroscopy 5.2.1. Analysis technique 5.2.2. Results 5.2.3. Interpretation 5.3. In situ tensile test using scanning electron microscopy 5.3.1. Experimental set-up 5.3.2. Results 5.3.3. Interpretation 5.3.4. Perspectives 5.4. Conclusion 5.5. Acknowledgments 5.6. References 6. Multiscale Modeling of Graphene-polymer Nanocomposites with Tunneling Effect 6.1. Introduction 6.2. Modeling of effective electric nonlinear behavior in graphene–polymer nanocomposites 6.2.1. Tunneling effect 6.2.2. Nonlinear electrical conduction model at the RVE scale 6.3. Numerical simulations of effective electric conductivity 6.3.1. Effect of barrier height on the percolation threshold 6.3.2. Effect of graphene aspect ratio on the percolation threshold 6.3.3. Effect of alignment of graphene sheets 6.3.4. Comparison between numerical and experimental results 6.4. Two-scale approaches 6.4.1. Construction of the surrogate model based on ANN: strategy 6.4.2. Structural application 6.5. Electromechanical coupling 6.5.1. Mechanical modeling 6.5.2. Constitutive laws 6.5.3. Weak form of mechanical problem 6.5.4. Identification of cohesive zone model 6.5.5. Evolution of electrical properties under stretching of the composite 6.6. Conclusion 6.7. References 7. Computational Modeling of Carbon Nanofiller Networks in Polymer Composites 7.1. Introduction 7.2. Modeling and simulation of CNT/polymer nanocomposites 7.2.1. Geometrical modeling of CNT/polymer nanocomposites 7.2.2. Analysis of electrical conductivity 7.3. Improving electrical conductivity of polymers loaded with CNTs 7.3.1. Introducing a definition of loading efficiency 7.3.2. Efficiency and electrical conductivity of polymers loaded with CNTs 7.3.3. Influence of junction resistance 7.4. Improving electrical conductivity of polymers loaded with hybrid particles 7.4.1. Hybrid particles 7.4.2. Efficiency and electrical conductivity of CNT-GNP hybrid-particle networks 7.4.3. Optimization of the hybrid-particle geometry 7.5. Conclusions 7.6. References 8. Electrostrictive Polymer Nanocomposites: Fundamental and Applications 8.1. Introduction 8.2. Electrostriction relations 8.3. Determination of the electrostriction coefficient 8.4. The route to high electrostriction materials 8.5. Applications of electrostrictive materials 8.5.1. Actuators 8.5.2. Capacitive sensors 8.5.3. Mechanical energy harvesting 8.6. Conclusions and perspectives 8.7. References List of Authors Index