[CCoE Notice] PhD Defense Announcement

[Khator, Suresh]

Name: Mansour AbdulBaki    Date: Tuesday, April 26, 2011         Time: 12:00pm    Place: Chemical Engineering Conference Room

Nanoparticle Effects on Polymer Crystallization and Dynamics


Polymer mixtures, copolymers, and structurally designed polymers have been joined by the incorporation of nanoparticles as a method of tuning material properties. The research presented here examines the properties of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) in terms of nanoparticle effects on polymer crystallization and dynamics. The objective of this work is to further the understanding of the ways in which NPs affect polymer properties in order to enhance development of PNCs with desired properties through the controlled addition of appropriate nanoparticles.
The work presented aims to distinguish between nano-confinement and interfacial interactions as the dominating factor in the observed phenomenon whereby polymer glass transition temperatures (Tg) are shifted up or down in glass-forming amorphous liquid and polymer systems. A new approach is used involving different nanoparticle geometries to represent different modes of interaction with the polymer. By the implementation of neutron scattering, behavior is distinguished between what occurs at different length scales and temperatures. Near and above Tg, experiments reveal that the dynamics are dominated by the confinement of the polymer chains rather than by their interactions with nearby interfaces.
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