Advanced polyolefin nanocomposite materials by surface-initiated living olefin polymerization technology

减少运输人员和产品所需的能源是加拿大乃至全世界交通运输业面临的最大的长期挑战之一。以无机纳米填料增强的高性能聚合物纳米复合材料作为一种新型的轻量化、强强度的结构材料，在交通运输行业引起了极大的关注。然而，由于缺乏有效的方法来实现均匀的纳米填料分散和强的纳米填料-聚合物相互作用，聚合物纳米复合材料的性能和广泛的技术应用受到限制，而这是纳米复合材料性能的关键。这个拟议的项目旨在提高加拿大在运输业开发和利用轻质聚烯烃纳米复合材料方面的竞争地位。本项目的预期成果是一种先进的聚烯烃纳米复合技术——表面引发的活烯烃聚合技术，用于制造具有优异力学性能的高性能聚烯烃纳米复合材料。该技术将提供具有更均匀的纳米填料分散和更强的纳米填料-聚合物相互作用的纳米复合材料。如果成功，这些高附加值的纳米复合材料有望在交通运输行业得到广泛应用。

Reducing the energy required to move people and products is one of the biggest long-term challenges that the transportation industry faces in Canada and worldwide. High-performance polymer nanocomposite materials reinforced with inorganic nanofillers have attracted tremendous attention from the transportation industry as a novel class of lightweight yet strong structural materials to replace metals for energy savings. However, the performance and broad technological utilization of polymer nanocomposites have been restricted by the lack of effective methods to achieve uniform nanofiller dispersion and strong nanofiller-polymer interactions, which are key to nanocomposite performance properties. This proposed project is aimed at improving Canada's competitive position in the development and utilization of lightweight polyolefin nanocomposites for the transportation industry. The anticipated outcome of this project is an advanced polyolefin nanocomposite technology, surface-initiated living olefin polymerization technology, for making high-performance polyolefin nanocomposites of outstanding mechanical performance. This technology will provide nanocomposites featured with more uniform nanofiller dispersion and stronger nanofiller-polymer interactions. If successful, these value-added nanocomposite materials are anticipated to have wide applications in the transportation industry.