Clay-Containing Polymeric Nanocomposites, Two Volume Set

By L. A. Utracki, National Research Council Canada, Industrial Materials Institute Nanocomposites are being described as the ultimate in new materials this decade. They offer potentially outstanding material performance. Clay-containing polymeric nanocomposites have now reached a commercially viable stage and are being incorporated in many new applications. It is essential that material suppliers, designers and manufacturers understand the potential and the limitations of these new products. This book is an encyclopaedic compilation of the material published to date in this exciting new field of polymer science. It describes patents, journal and conference articles and the practical experience of the author in developing and working with these new materials. All of this information is compiled in useful sections by material, processing, properties and applications. It also includes useful commercial information, such as the names of the companies who are researching and producing nanocomposites. This monograph starts with a very useful section on the different types of nanoparticles currently available. It gives details of the geometry of these particles and describes the experimental work on incorporating these particles into polymeric matrices. Clays are at by far the most advanced stages of development. There are further sections containing detailed theory of the incorporation of particles of different shapes and sizes into polymeric matrices and on how property changes may be brought about by nanoparticles. Clay has the advantage that it is a relatively cheap and abundant material. However, it is also very varied in form and chemistry: impurities can lead to degradation of nanocomposites; different types of clay will be less compatible with different types of polymer. Work has been carried out on all of these issues to look for the best clay and compatibilisers for each polymer type. This is just the start of the development process as the clay has to be dispersed to the nano-level in the matrix, involving intercalation and exfoliation. This is described in detail here together with the chemistry of the processes used. Synthetic clays are also being developed. Production methods for nanocomposites are described, for example clay can be dispersed in a melt or monomers can be mixed in and then polymerised. Most of the research to date has been carried out on thermoplastics with some on thermosets and a limited amount on elastomers. Toyota and Allied-Signal have worked on polyamides, for example, whilst Dow, Sekisui Chemical and Toyota have all taken out patents relating to polyolefins. Rheology has also been studied in depth. There is extensive data in this text including numerous tables and graphs illustrating property changes, processing attributes, chemical interactions, material types and so forth. This is a very comprehensive book and represents the forefront of the technology of Clay-Containing Polymeric Nanocomposites.

Key Features

• Nanoparticle types
• Clays - types and chemistry
• Synthesis
• Processing
• Properties
• Summaries of research and patent literature

About the author Dr Utracki is a Senior Research Officer, past Head of the Industrial Polymers Section at the SPE and past 'adjoint au Directeur' of the National Research Council of Canada, Industrial Materials Institute. He is the author of over 500 articles, is named on 12 patents and has written or edited 20 books and 38 book chapters. He is a renowned expert in polymer science. In 2003, Dr Utracki was awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award from the SPE Thermoplastic Materials and Foam Division in recognition of his work in rheology, thermodynamics, blends and nanocomposites. Hard-backed copies are also available.

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