Multifunctional Polymer Nanocomposites

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Composites and Nanocomposites".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 4246

Special Issue Editors

Chemical & Petroleum Engineering Department, UAE University, Al Ain P.O. Box 15551, United Arab Emirates
Interests: nanocomposites; nanotechnology; multifunctionality; auxetic; tissue engineering; shape memory polymer; 3D printing
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, College of Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain 15551, United Arab Emirates
Interests: materials science and engineering; materials characterization; polymeric and composite materials; biomaterials and tissue engineering; biomechanics; durability and degradation of polymeric and composite materials; welding of metallic and polymeric materials; corrosion; fatigue and fracture mechanics; renewable energy; finite element method
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid advancements in nanotechnology, it has now become feasible to produce hierarchically structured polymer composites, encompassing fillers such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), and graphene-based and other inorganic inclusions. These nanocomposites exhibit various physiochemical properties, which may not be attainable by the individual component. The synergy of nanocomposite design with advanced 3D printing techniques has also opened opportunities to produce engineering materials with tailored properties including multi-functionality, i.e., mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, etc. Various advantages of the "nano-effects" observed include increased conductivity, improved biodegradability, and reduced flammability, which are all factors of the interface between the macromolecule of the polymer and the nano-sized heterogeneities. The current research on nanocomposites is centered on various applications such as nanobiomaterials, nanoelectronics, nanocomposite-based drug-delivery systems and supercapacitors, etc. Advanced processing techniques are also developed to induce novel multi-functionalities such as being stimuli-responsive/environment adaptive to light, heat, and vibration.

The multi-functionality arises mainly as a combined effect of the intrinsic property of the polymer (typically mechanical property) and the unique property introduced by the reinforcement (e.g., electrical/thermal conductivity). Advanced applications include tissue engineering and bioimplants based on scaffold materials such as polyurethane, which exhibit auxetic behavior (i.e., a negative Poisson's ratio) developed to facilitate cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation owing to the innate auxetic nature of certain tissues. Water-responsive polyurethane-based composites are also being developed to induce a shape memory effect in these implants, which can facilitate minimal invasive surgeries and on-point drug-delivery systems. 

Dr. A. S. Mohammad Sayem Mozumder
Prof. Dr. Abdel-Hamid I. Mourad
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • nanocomposites
  • nanotechnology
  • multifunctionality
  • auxetic
  • tissue engineering
  • shape memory polymer
  • 3D printing

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 3276 KiB  
Article
Development of Porous-Polyacrylonitrile-Based Fibers Using Nanocellulose Additives as Precursor for Carbon Fiber Manufacturing
by Iris Kruppke, Fawzy Sherif, Mirko Richter and Chokri Cherif
Polymers 2023, 15(3), 565; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15030565 - 21 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1590
Abstract
Cellulose is a renewable and environmentally friendly raw material that has an important economic and technical impact in several applications. Recently, nanocellulose (NC) presented a promising road to support the manufacturing of functional carbon fibers (CFs), which are considered superior materials for several [...] Read more.
Cellulose is a renewable and environmentally friendly raw material that has an important economic and technical impact in several applications. Recently, nanocellulose (NC) presented a promising road to support the manufacturing of functional carbon fibers (CFs), which are considered superior materials for several applications because of their outstanding properties. However, the smooth and limited effective surface areas make CFs virtually useless in some applications, such as energy storage. Therefore, strategies to increase the porosity of CFs are highly desirable to realize their potential. Within this article, we present an approach that focuses on the designing of porous CF precursors using polyacrilonitrile (PAN) and NC additives using a wet spinning method. To enhance the porosity, two jet stretching (50% and 100%) and four NC additive amounts (0 wt.%, 0.1 wt.%, 0.4 wt.% and 0.8 wt.%) have been applied and investigated. In comparison with the reference PAN fibers (without NC additives and stretching), the results showed an increase in specific surface area from 10.45 m2/g to 138.53 m2/g and in total pore volume from 0.03 cm3/g to 0.49 cm3/g. On the other hand, mechanical properties have been affected negatively by NC additives and the stretching process. Stabilization and carbonization processes could be applied in a future study to support the production of multifunctional porous CF. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Polymer Nanocomposites)
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21 pages, 4525 KiB  
Article
Insulation Foam Concrete Nanomodified with Microsilica and Reinforced with Polypropylene Fiber for the Improvement of Characteristics
by Besarion Meskhi, Alexey N. Beskopylny, Sergey A. Stel’makh, Evgenii M. Shcherban’, Levon R. Mailyan, Nikita Beskopylny, Andrei Chernil’nik and Diana El’shaeva
Polymers 2022, 14(20), 4401; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14204401 - 18 Oct 2022
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2134
Abstract
Some of the primary problems of construction are brittleness and low the mechanical properties of good thermal insulation materials. Heat-insulating foam concrete has a low thermal conductivity. However, it is practically impossible to transport it over long distances since corners are cracked during [...] Read more.
Some of the primary problems of construction are brittleness and low the mechanical properties of good thermal insulation materials. Heat-insulating foam concrete has a low thermal conductivity. However, it is practically impossible to transport it over long distances since corners are cracked during transportation, the structure is broken, and, in principle, the fragility of this material is a big problem for modern buildings. The purpose of this study was to develop a heat-insulating foam concrete with improved characteristics by experimentally selecting the optimal dosage of polypropylene fiber and a nanomodifying microsilica additive. Standard methods for determining the characteristics of fiber foam concrete were used as well as the method of optical microscopy to study the structure of the composite. It has been established that the use of polypropylene fiber with the optimal reinforcement range from 1% to 3% allows us to achieve an improvement in the mechanical and physical characteristics of fiber foam concrete. The optimal dosage of the nanomodifier introduced instead of a part of the binder (10%) and polypropylene fiber (2%) by weight of the binder was determined. The maximum values of increments in mechanical characteristics were 44% for compressive strength and 73% for tensile strength in bending. The values of the thermal conductivity coefficient at optimal dosages of the nanomodifier and fiber decreased by 9%. The absence of microcracking at the phase boundary between the polypropylene fiber and the hardened cement–sand matrix due to nanomodification was noted. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Multifunctional Polymer Nanocomposites)
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