| Nanocomposite technology has advanced considerably in recent years and excellent engineering properties have been achieved in numerous systems. In multiphase materials the enhancement of properties relies heavily on the nature at the interphase region between polymer domains and nanoparticle reinforcements. Strong adhesion between the phases provides excellent load-transfer and good mechanical elastic modulus and strength, whereas weak interaction contributes to crack deflection mechanisms and toughness. Polymer molecules are large and the presence of comparably sized filler particles affects chain gyration, which in turn influences the conformation of the polymer and the properties of the composite.;Nanoparticles were incorporated into a poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix by means of in situ free radical (bulk) polymerization. Aluminum oxide and zinc oxide nanoparticles were added to study the effects of particle chemistry and shape on selected mechanical properties such as impact resistance, which showed significant improvement at a certain loading of zinc oxide. The elongated shape of zinc oxide particles appears to promote crack deflection processes and to introduce a pull-out mechanism similar to that observed in fiber composite systems. Moreover, the thermal stability of PMMA was improved with the addition of nanoparticles, apparently by steric hindrance of polymer chain motion and a second mechanism related to the dipole inducing effect of the oxide particles. The sensitivity of infrared spectroscopy to changes in molecular dipoles was used to study the nature of the polymer/particle interface. The results revealed some interesting aspects of the secondary bonds between polymers and oxides. Raman spectroscopy was used to investigate the extent of polymerization and changes in polymer conformation. A degree of polymerization of 93% was achieved in neat PMMA, and even when 5.0 v/o of PGMEA was introduced into the system no monomer was detected. However, when nanoparticles were included in the system, the ability of these surfaces to absorb active species reduced the degree of polymerization to about 87%. Furthermore, the syndiotactic sequence increases with the addition of nanoparticles as a consequence of enhanced accessibility to both the metal oxide surface and the dispersing solvent within the system. |
