Design and Applications of Nanostructured Polymer Blend and Nanocomposite Systems offers readers an intelligent, thorough introduction to the design and applications of this new generation of designer polymers with customized properties. The book assembles and covers, in a unified way, the state-of-the-art developments of this less explored type of material. With a focus on nanostructured polymer blends, the book discusses the science of nanostructure formation and the potential performance benefits of nanostructured polymer blends and composites for applications across many sectors: electronics, coatings, adhesives, energy (photovoltaics), aerospace, automotive, and medical devices (biocompatible polymers). The book also describes the design, morphology, and structure of nanostructured polymer composites and blends to achieve specific properties. Covers all important information for designing and selecting the right nanostructured polymer system Provides specialized knowledge on self-repairing, nanofibre and nanostructured multiphase materials, as well as evaluation and testing of nanostructured polymer systems Serves as a reference guide for development of new products in industries ranging from electronics, coatings, and energy, to transport and medical applications Describes the design, morphology, and structure of nanostructured polymer composites and blends to achieve specific properties

Over 30% of commercial polymers are blends or alloys or one kind or another. Nanostructured blends offer the scientist or plastics engineer a new range of possibilities with characteristics including thermodynamic stablility; the potential to improve material transparency, creep and solvent resistance; the potential to simultaneously increase tensile strength and ductility; superior rheological properties; and relatively low cost. Nanostructured Polymer Blends opens up immense structural possibilities via chemical and mechanical modifications that generate novel properties and functions and high-performance characteristics at a low cost. The emerging applications of these new materials cover a wide range of industry sectors, encompassing the coatings and adhesives industry, electronics, energy (photovoltaics), aerospace and medical devices (where polymer blends provide innovations in biocompatible materials). This book explains the science of nanostructure formation and the nature of interphase formations, demystifies the design of nanostructured blends to achieve specific properties, and introduces the applications for this important new class of nanomaterial. All the key topics related to recent advances in blends are covered: IPNs, phase morphologies, composites and nanocomposites, nanostructure formation, the chemistry and structure of additives, etc. Introduces the science and technology of nanostructured polymer blends – and the procedures involved in melt blending and chemical blending to produce new materials with specific performance characteristics Unlocks the potential of nanostructured polymer blends for applications across sectors, including electronics, energy/photovoltaics, aerospace/automotive, and medical devices (biocompatible polymers) Explains the performance benefits in areas including rheological properties, thermodynamic stablility, material transparency, solvent resistance, etc.

The design of polymer blends constitutes an interesting alternative to obtaining micro- and nanostructured surfaces. The cost is reasonable and it is free from time-consuming procedures. Blending of polymers can yield materials with unprecedented properties that cannot be provided otherwise by using a single polymer. The free surface topography of polymer blend films, often related to phase domain structure, is critical to the applications. Two main aspects need to be considered in the preparation of multistructured blends: the interfaces involved and the morphology to be obtained. The control of these two aspects depends further on materials-related parameters involving the composition of the blend, the interfacial tension or viscosity ratio, and the processing conditions related to the temperature, time, or intensity of mixing, among others. Both domain structure and topography of the blend films have garnered increasing interest over the past decade. This chapter describes the nanomicrostructures formed at the polymer surface from polymer blends. Despite the crucial role that surfaces play in the final application of the material, up to now most of the studies concerning polymer blends have been related to the control of the mechanical properties (toughness, stiffness, thermal expansion, etc.), their barrier properties, or the electrical conductivity. This chapter focuses on the analysis of the structured polymer surfaces and thin films, giving an overview of the role of these structures on the final application. The principles of phase separation and the resulting structures formed are briefly discussed, followed by a wide overview of the possibilities of producing stimuli-responsive interfaces by introducing, among other things, pH- or temperature-responsive polymers within the blend. Finally, we look at how using particular preparation conditions and/or self-assembly of block copolymers, the formation of films and surfaces with hierarchical order length-scales can be induced. We also examine the main areas in which multiscale-ordered interfaces obtained from polymer blends have been applied.

The exceptional properties of nanoheterogeneous materials result both from the nature of each component, the size scale, the degree of mixing between the two phases, and the surface area-to-volume ratio. Therefore, significant performances of the resulting materials can be reached by tailoring the interfaces. Due to their features, nanoheterogeneous materials have been involved in a plethora of niche markets linked, for instance, to new generations of smart textiles, photovoltaic and fuel cells, antennas and satellite communications, optoelectronics, new catalysts and coatings, smart therapeutic vectors with controlled drug delivery properties, new ultrasensitive sensors, cosmetics, smart papers, and so on. The chapter is an overview of the current state of knowledge in processing, manufacturing, characterization, and potential applications of the most common polymer nanocomposites, with a special attention to their utilizations in gas sensing.

Engineered Polymer Nanocomposites for Energy Harvesting Applications looks at materials engineering, characterization and design aspects of mechanical energy harvesting devices for superior performance. Tapping into electrical energy from various mechanical stimuli, such as stress, elongation, tension and vibration has been getting substantial research attention, however, there are many challenges associated with the development energy harvesters with efficient conversion capabilities. This title consolidates a broad spectrum of material engineering and devices design research into one resource and will be an invaluable reference for those working in this field. Provides an interdisciplinary book focused on the engineering of high performance polymer-based nanocomposites and design strategies of high performance energy harvesting Written by leading researchers in the field of materials science, polymer science and nanotechnology from industry, academia, government and private research institutions across the globe Includes broad coverage of specific analytical techniques that will assist researchers to solve fundamental and applied problems in the development of materials for energy harvesting applications

Micro- and Nanostructured Multiphase Polymer Blend Systems: Phase Morphology and Interfaces focuses on the formation of phase morphology in polymer blends and copolymers and considers various types of blends including thermosets, thermoplastics, thermoplastic vulcanizates, and structured copolymers. The book carefully debates the processing

Nanostructured hydrogels represent a unique class of materials that synergizes the advantageous features of hydrogels. Research into nanostructured hydrogels for biomedical applications has seen great progress in recent years owing to their unlimited potential to advance human health. The development of nanotechnology provides opportunities to characterize, manipulate, and organize matter systematically at the nanometer scale. This is because nanostructured systems in general and nanostructured polymer hydrogels in particular have noble advantages as transporters for a wide range of drugs and tissue engineering scaffolds for biomedical (therapeutic) applications. This chapter explains the design and development of different nanostructured hydrogels and their applications in the biomedical field.