Effect of Size on Properties of Nano-structured Polymers –transition from Macroscaling to Nanoscaling

The growth in investment on the effect of size in nanoscience and nanotechnology has been astounding. Of the $12.4B spent in 2006 worldwide Nanotechnology research funding [1], at least 50 % was spent on the effect of size for the development of nanomaterials and devices. The focus of nanoscience is to understand the influence of size on the material properties, while nanotechnology focuses on using size effects to create structures, devices and systems with novel properties and functions. Based on literature data, we have demonstrated that a modified Hall-Petch relation is useful to relate the observed “effective” nanosize to physical properties. Several viscoelastic models have been developed to explain the role surface molecular dynamics plays in thermal mechanical behavior. The polymers examined including polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, and Metafuse.