Molecular Theory of the Structure, Thermodynamics, and Miscibility of Polymer Nanocomposites

"For systems with finite &phis;, the many body entropic interactions substantially modify the structure of the system. At low epsilonpc, nanoparticle ""imprintation"" on the polymer matrix occurs, rearranging the particles and destroying much of the fine scale structure seen at &phis; ≈ 0. The sterically stabilized phases become attractive, with long-range, shallow attractive wells. As epsilonpc is increased, polymers binding tighter at particle surfaces, and the structural interactions creep toward the infinite dilution calculations. Novel effects are observed, including volume enhancement (for polymer coated nanoparticle spheres in the repulsive infinite dilution limit) and clustering (for nanoparticles in the bridging infinite dilution limit) structural features. Finally, the thermodynamic bulk modulus of the system is found to universally and monotonically decrease as &phis; is increased."

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Materials Science and Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Hooper, Justin B.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Schweizer, Kenneth S.

• Engineering, Materials Science

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3199022

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/82769