Interfacial Nucleation and Growth of Hierarchical Structures and Phases in Polymer Nanocomposites

智力优势：该项目的研究目标是研究在含有纳米颗粒分散的聚合物的压力诱导结晶过程中分层结构和相演变的基本物理机制。该研究将解决聚合物纳米复合体系中界面处聚合物晶体成核和生长的关键问题。这将提供对粘附过程的洞察，这将指出改善这些材料系统界面性能的方法。基于聚合物-纳米颗粒界面上的热力学驱动相互作用的性质，将为广泛的纳米颗粒增强聚合物系统开发具有预测能力的热力学模型。该研究的成功完成将为压力诱导的聚合物纳米复合材料加工提供通用指导，这种加工从根本上影响纳米尺度上的结构和组成，类似于纳米颗粒金属。更广泛的影响：对物理过程的理解将使聚合物纳米复合材料系统实现高强度-韧性组合，允许使用更薄的部分或组件，从而节省能源。此外，纳米结构复合材料抗刮擦性能的增强将促进其在存储设备、生物医学部件和需要光学透明度的应用中的应用。工程专业的研究生和本科生将通过参与研究以及将研究与现有课程相结合而受益。

Intellectual Merit: The research objective of the project is to investigate the basic physical mechanisms underlying the evolution of hierarchical structures and phases during pressure-induced crystallization of polymers containing dispersion of nano-particles. The research will address critical issues of nucleation and growth of polymer crystals at interfaces in polymer nano-composite systems. This will provide an insight into the adhesion process, which would point to methods to improve the interfacial properties of these material systems. Thermodynamic models with predictive capabilities will be developed for a wide range of nano-particle-reinforced polymer systems based on the nature of thermodynamically-driven interactions at the polymer-nano-particle interface. Successful completion of the research will provide generic guidelines governing pressure-induced processing of polymer nano-composites that fundamentally affect the structure and composition on a nanometer-size scale, in a manner similar to nano-grained metals. Broader Impact: The understanding of physical processes will enable high strength-toughness combination to be achieved in polymer nano-composite systems, allowing use of thinner sections or components with consequent energy savings. Additionally, enhanced scratch resistance of nano-structured composites would promote their use in storage devices, biomedical components, and applications requiring optical transparency. Graduate and undergraduate engineering students will benefit through involvement in research and integration of research with existing curriculum.