- Title
- Interfacial and bulk nanostructure of liquid polymer nanocomposites
- Creator
- McDonald, Samila; Wood, Jared A.; FitzGerald, Paul A.; Craig, Vincent S. J.; Warr, Gregory G.; Atkin, Rob
- Relation
- ARC.DP130102298 and ARC.FT120100313
- Relation
- Langmuir Vol. 31, Issue 12, p. 3763-3770
- Publisher Link
- http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b00255
- Publisher
- American Chemical Society
- Resource Type
- journal article
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Liquid polymer nanocomposites (l-PNCs) have been prepared using silica nanoparticles with diameters of 15 nm (l-PNC-15) and 24 nm (l-PNC-24), and Jeffamine M-2070, an amine-terminated ethylene oxide/propylene oxide (PEO/PPO, ratio 31/10) copolymer. Jeffamine M-2070 was used as the host liquid in which the particles were suspended and was also grafted onto the particle surface to prevent aggregation. The grafting density of Jeffamine M-2070 on the particle surfaces was ~0.75 chains nm-2. When the total polymer content (surface layer + host) was greater than ~30 wt %, the PNC was a liquid, while at lower polymer volume fractions the PNC was solid. In this work, the bulk and surface structures of l-PNCs with ~70 wt % polymer and 30% silica are characterized and compared. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) was used to probe the bulk structure of the l-PNCs and revealed that the particles are well-dispersed with minor clustering in l-PNC-15 and substantial clustering in l-PNC-24. This is attributed to stronger van der Waals attractions between particles due to the larger particle size in l-PNC-24. Corresponding effects were revealed using tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM) at the l-PNC-air interface; clustering was minimal on the surface of l-PNC-15 but significant for l-PNC-24 droplets. In regions of the l-PNC where the particles were well-dispersed, the spacing between particles is consistent with their volume fractions. This is the first time that the distribution of polymer and particles within l-PNCs has been imaged in situ.
- Subject
- liquid polymer nanocomposites (l-PNCs); Jeffamine M-2070; tapping mode atomic force microscopy (TM-AFM); small-angle neutron scattering (SANS)
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1302781
- Identifier
- uon:20545
- Identifier
- ISSN:0743-7463
- Rights
- This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of a Published Work that appeared in final form in Langmuir, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review and technical editing by the publisher. To access the final edited and published work see http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b00255
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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