Emerging polymer-based nanocomposites

Abstract

Polymer-based nanocomposites have received considerable interest in research for the last three decades. Besides improving the properties of parent polymer, the addition of low content of organic or inorganic nanofillers provides new properties to the nanocomposite material while maintaining almost the same processing properties as the starting polymers. Furthermore, the high surface/volume ratio of nanofillers and the interaction between polymer matrix and nanofiller at the molecular level leads to phase interfaces and notable changes in mechanical, optical, electrical properties, etc. Therefore, polymer-based nanocomposites can potentially replace existing materials in different fields such as automotive and transportation, biomedical, energy storage and generation, electronics, construction, piping, intelligent coatings, and environmental protection. Polymer-based nanocomposites represent one of the hottest topics in polymer technology with many application fields. Figure 1 shows the distribution of the scientific articles on polymer nanocomposites among the most crucial application fields in the last decade. Almost half of these application fields are covered by the energy, coatings, environment, sensors, biomedical, packaging, and aerospace sectors. More interesting, the temporal distribution of the scientific publications demonstrates a continuous growth trend reflected in this Special Collection on Emerging polymer-based nanocomposites. Among the multifunctional properties of polymerbased nanocomposites are included anticorrosive, antibacterial, self-cleaning, and eco-friendly effects, which play a prominent role for surface treatments in the contribution of superior physical effects in products. These outstanding properties are achieved when organic or inorganic materials at the nanoscale (nanofillers) are incorporated into polymer matrices. Figure 2 shows the most used nanofillers and polymer matrices in the last decade to prepare polymer nanocomposites among the different application fields. For example, in the case of nanofillers, carbon nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes, graphite, and graphene are primarily used in sensors and energy sectors. Also, metal nanoparticles such as silver and gold nanoparticles are primarily used in the biomedical sector. On the other hand, in the case of polymer matrices, biodegradable polymers such as cellulose, polylactic acid (PLA), and chitosan have relevance in the packaging and biomedical sectors. Despite the infinite potential applications, the manufacturing of nanocomposites has still to overcome several challenges for an effective transition frommacro-scale to the nanoscale. For example, a robust interdisciplinary interaction between scientists and engineers is still necessary to understand and optimize the structure-process-properties relationships, achieve a simpler and effective particle exfoliation and dispersion, and reduce manufacturing costs using more compostable and biodegradable polymers.