Synthesis in situ of nanocomposites of poly(amide)6 and poly(methyl methacrylate) by bulk polymerization with layered hydroxide salts.

• Grant number: 13/14981-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: February 29, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Industrial Operations and Equipment for Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Liliane Maria Ferrareso Lona
• Grantee: Rodrigo Botan
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Polymer nanocomposites can be defined as the combination of a polymer continuous phase (matrix) and other materials (reinforcements) that have at least one dimension in the nanometer range. Over the past decade, polymer nanocomposites have attracted interest, both in the industry and in the academia. They often exhibit remarkable improvement in their properties when compared with pure polymer or conventional micro and macro-composites using low levels of reinforcements, usually maximum 5% by weight. The improvements mainly include mechanical, thermal and physical properties. This project aims to in situ synthesize new (unpublished) polymer nanocomposites of poly(amide)6 and poly(methyl methacrylate) with layered hydroxide salts. The in situ synthesis of these nanocomposites will be by bulk polymerization. Synthesized these materials, they will be characterized in order to verify whether there was an effective nanocomposites synthesis and what structure (morphology) obtained. For such characterizations techniques of X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy will be used. Mechanical, thermal, flammability, water absorption properties and molecular weights of these new nanocomposites will also be analyzed in order to verify the gain for these new nanocomposites compared to pure polymers as well as their possible applications. The study of these properties will be conducted through dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, tensile tests, thermogravimetric analysis, flammability tests, water absorption test and gel permeation chromatography. The synthesis of these polymer nanocomposites will enable the discovery and development of a new type of nanocomposites, which may present applications in various fields of science and technology.