The focus of this research is to investigate the potential of using exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets, GNP, as the multifunctional reinforcement in fabricating polymer/GNP nanocomposites and then explore their prospective applications in bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Firstly, high density polyethylene (HDPE)/GNP nanocomposites were fabricated using the conven...

Inorganic nanometer-sized particles (nanoparticles) are attracting attention as reinforcing fillers for use in polymer-nanoparticle composites (nanocomposites) because they improve key characteristics of these composites at a relatively low content (Hussain et al., 2006, Jordan et al., 2005). For example, clay nanoparticles (Usuki et al, 2005), metal oxide nanoparticles such as silica (Rosso et...

The embedding of oxide nanoparticles in polymer matrices produces a greatly enhanced dielectric response by combining the high dielectric strength and low loss of suitable host polymers with the high electric polarizability of nanoparticles. The fabrication of oxide-polymer nanocomposites with well-controlled distributions of nanoparticles is, however, challenging due to the thermodynamic and k...

The embedding of oxide nanoparticles in polymer matrices produces a greatly enhanced dielectric response by combining the high dielectric strength and low loss of suitable host polymers with the high electric polarizability of nanoparticles. The fabrication of oxide–polymer nanocomposites with well-controlled distributions of nanoparticles is, however, challenging due to the thermodynamic and k...

Layered assemblies of polymers and graphene derivatives employ nacre's tested strategy of intercalating soft organic layers with hard crystalline domains. These layered systems commonly display elastic properties that exceed simple mixture rule predictions, but the molecular origins of this phenomenon are not well understood. Here we address this issue by quantifying the elastic behavior of nan...

Nanocomposites of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and nitrogen-doped carbon nanotubes (N-CNTs) have been synthesized by two methods; specifically, direct solution mixing and in situ polymerization. The nanocomposites were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray dispersive spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, photoluminescence ...

A series of 0-3 metal oxide-polyolefin nanocomposites are synthesized via in situ olefin polymerization, using the following single-site metallocene catalysts:C2-symmetric dichloro[rac-ethylenebisindenyl]zirconium(IV),Me2Si( BuN)(η-C5Me4)TiCl2, and (η -C5Me5)TiCl3 immobilized onmethylaluminoxane (MAO)-treated BaTiO3, ZrO2, 3-mol%-yttria-stabilized zirconia, 8-mol%-yttria-stabilized zirconia, sp...

Ferroelectric-relaxor behavior of Ba(Zr0.3Ti0.7)O3 nanofibers (BZT NF) with a large aspect ratio were prepared via electrospinning and surface modified by PVP as dielectric fillers. The nanocomposite flexible films based on surface modified BZT NF and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) were fabricated via a solution casting. The results show that the surface-modified BZT NF fillers are highly dispe...

Title of Document: STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF NANOCOMPOSITES CONTAINING ANISOTROPIC NANOPARTICLES Bani Hans Cipriano, Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Directed By: Professor Srinivasa R. Raghavan, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering This dissertation deals with polymeric materials containing dispersed anisotropic nanoparticles such as nanotubes, nanofibers, and nanoplatelets. Such po...

BACKGROUND Carotid artery stenting (CAS) has been advocated as an alternative to endarterectomy. To prevent cerebral atheroembolism during CAS, distal balloon occlusion of the target artery increasingly is employed during the procedure. A correlation of the size of captured particles with the incidence of periprocedural neurological complications (PNCs) has not been attempted. METHODS AND RES...