Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment
School of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering
School of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering
Thesis Abstract
A current challenge for the material scientists and engineers nowadays is the design and invention of new material systems that have a low weight, low cost but possess high levels of mechanical performance, good design flexibility and processability. This challenge has arisen due to the modern trend of utilizing lightweight and high performance materials, which has the potential to contribute to the advanced future applications, such as in aerospace, automotives, biotechnology, electronics and many more. In this new world, polymer nanocomposites have developed to be one of the latest evolutionary steps in the polymer technology, besides showing a great deal to become the most versatile industrial advanced materials. In comparison with conventional composites, nanocomposites demonstrate significantly higher levels of mechanical performance with less content of particles. The particle interface has been known to play a critical role in conventional composites. Nevertheless, the understanding of the role of interface in morphology and properties of polymer nanocomposites remains in its infancy. Therefore, this project aims to develop a series of polymer layered-structured nanocomposites with levels of interface strength by designing chemical reactions or adopting concept of physical entanglements between nanoparticles and matrix polymer. There are two key components that will be studied in the research which are polymer-clay and polymer-graphite as both of these represent the layered-structured nanofillers. The interface strength will be identified through the morphology observation, mechanical property and toughness measurement, solvent extraction experiment and dynamic mechanical analysis. Based upon the foregoing investigation, models will be built to illustrate these phenomena.
