Title of Document: The Development of Food Polymer-Based Nanocomposites as Novel Antimicrobial Agents and Sustainable Packaging Materials Boce Zhang, Doctor of Philosophy, 2012

The 0.7Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O₃-0.3PbTiO₃(0.7PMN-0.3PT) nanorods were obtained via hydrothermal method with high yield (over 78%). Then, new piezoelectric nanocomposites based on (1-x)Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O₃-xPbTiO₃ (PMN-PT) nanorods were fabricated by dispersing the 0.7PMN-0.3PT nanorods into piezoelectric poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) polymer. The mechanical behaviors of the nanocomposites were investiga...

In the last few years, great attention has been paid to the preparation of polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites using carbon nanotubes (CNTs) due to the tremendous enhancement of the mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical and structural properties of the pristine material. This is due to the unique combination of structural, mechanical, electrical, and thermal transport properties of CNTs. Howev...

The effect that polymer molecular weight has on the dispersion of relatively polar montmorillonite (MMT) in nonpolar, unmodified high density polyethylene (HDPE) was examined. Polymer layered silicate (PLS) nanocomposites were prepared via melt compounding in a single screw extruder using three unmodified HDPE matrices of differing molecular weight and organically modified MMT (organoclay) in c...

Highly luminescent nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating CdSe/CdS core/shell nanorods into different polymer matrices. The resulting nanocomposites show high transparency of up to 93%. A photoluminescence quantum efficiency of 70% was obtained, with an optimum combination of nanorod (0.05 wt %) and at a UV-initiator concentration of 0.1 wt % for poly(lauryl methacrylate). Nanorods tend ...

Graphene-polymer nanocomposites have attracted considerable attention due to their unique properties, such as high thermal conductivity (~3000 W mK), mechanical stiffness (~ 1 TPa) and electronic transport properties. Relatively, the thermal performance of graphene-polymer composites has not been well investigated. The major technical challenge is to understand the interfacial thermal transport...

Electrospun mats and films of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel are produced for drug delivery. To provide mechanical consistency to the gel a reinforcement by nanoclays is introduced in the polymer matrix. Four different suspensions of nanoparticles in the polymer solution are prepared in an adequate solvent. These suspensions are subjected to an electrospinning process to produce the nanofiber...

Polymer nanocomposites are known to exhibit enhanced mechanical properties compared to neat polymeric system [1]. Fillers can be used as reinforcement in polymer composites for the enhancement of mechanical properties [2]. Reinforced” polymers consist of a polymeric matrix and relatively stiff filler that exhibit a drastic change in modulus or stress at given strain in compare with the pure pol...