Interfacial Modifcation in Nanocomposites to Tailor Functionalities

Author(s): Sabu Thomas

The talk will concentrate on various approaches being used to engineer materials at the nanoscale for various applications in future technologies. In particular, the case of clay, carbon nanostructures (e.g. nanotubes, graphene), metal oxides, bionanomaterials (cellulose, starch and chitin) will be used to highlight the challenges and progress. Several polymer systems will be considered such as rubbers, thermoplastics, thermoetts and their blends for the fabrication of functional polymer nanocomposites. The interfacial activity of nanomaterials in compatibilising binary polymer blends will also be discussed. Various self assembled architectures of hybrid nanostructures can be made using relatively simple processes. Some of these structures offer excellent opportunity to probe novel nanoscale behavior and can impart unusual macroscopic end properties. I will talk about various applications of these materials, taking into account their multifunctional properties. Some of the promising applications of clay, metal oxides, nano cellulose, chitin, carbon nanomaterials and their hybrids will be reviewed. Finally the effect of dewetting up on solvent rinsing on nano scale thin films will also be discussed.

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