Modification of clays with styrenic ionic liquid by Synthesis of in-situ Polystyrene Nanocomposite

Nanocomposites of polystyrene (PS) was prepared with new styrenic ionic liquid, N-(4-vinyl benzyl)-(N,N-dimethylamino) pyridinium chloride[VBMAP], surfactants used as organic modifications for the clays. Sodium montmorillonite (Na-MMT) was successfully modified by [VBMAP] to become OMMT through cation exchange technique which is shown by the increase of basalspacing of clay by XRD. The composite material based on polystyrene and organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT) was prepared by insitu polymerization and characterized. The morphology of the polymer/clay hybrids was evaluated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) ,transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), showing good overall dispersion of the clay. The thermal stability of the polymer/clay nanocomposites were enhanced, as evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis.

Gradient Microstructure Analysis of PI-SiO2 Hybrid Tubular Films

PI-SiO2 hybrid seamless tubular films with gradient microstructure were prepared by sol-gel insitu polymerization and rotational moulding process. Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectrometry (EDS) and Field Emitter Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) were used to evaluate the spatial gradient distribution of SiO2 in the PI-SiO2 hybrid tubular films. The experimental results showed that the SiO2 particles were dispersed at nanoscale in the PI matrix, and that the size and the dispersivity of the SiO2 particles changed gradiently along the tubular film cross-section. The lower the SiO2 distribution density, the smaller the SiO2 particles. When the SiO2 content exceeded a certain value, some SiO2 nano-particles aggregated into nano-clusters with thyrsiform structure, and the nano-clusters aggregated more into limbate globoids.

Conjugated Polymer Based Nanocomposites for Photonics Applications

Nanoscale synthesis and processing provides a novel approach for making a new generation of nanocomposite materials with exceptional optical and electrical properties that are needed for the development of new technologies. This presentation will focus on the preparation of nanocomposites made of Poly (para-phenylene vinylene) (PPV) with other polymers, inorganic glasses and semiconductors. We will present a new approach of nanoscale polymerization for making processable monodispersed oligomeric species of PPV which uses the base catalyzed polymerization of PPV monomer within the cavity of a reverse micelle nanoreactor. Application of this approach of fabricating novel materials for a variety of applications in photonics will also be discussed. In addition, we will discuss fabrication of bulk nanocomposites of PPV and silica by insitu polymerization of monomer within a porous glass and their lasing properties.