Barrier Property Tester for Advanced Nanostructured Polymer Composites

先进纳米结构聚合物复合材料阻隔性能测试仪

• 批准号: RTI-2021-00796
• 负责人: Park, Chul
• 金额: $ 10.93万
• 依托单位: University of Toronto
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Research Tools and Instruments
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=717690
• 关键词: Barrier; Property; Tester; Advanced; Nanostructured

Polymers account for the most-widely used packaging materials globally, owing to their capacity to behave as barrier materials against gases (eg. oxygen or water vapour). For example, food packaging materials often must be strong oxygen barriers, to prevent oxidation and spoiling of foods. Moreover, the barrier properties of polymers can be carefully controlled by an abundance of methods which involve the tuning of crystalline properties, the incorporation of micro/nanoparticle fillers, or the application of surface coatings. The vast number of techniques that can be used to tune a polymer's barrier properties necessitate a high-precision measurement device. However, most commercial barrier property testing apparatus is limited due to long sensor calibration times, limited temperature or humidity control, and poor sensitivity. These limit the testing throughput and prevent the measurement of ultra-high barrier materials, ultimately limiting the applicability of measurements. Hence, the PI and co-PI are requesting an ultra-high sensitivity MOCON OXTRAN 2/22 10x OXYGEN transmission rate testing system, for analysis of engineered materials. The MOCON OXTRAN 2/22 10x Model is one of the world's most sensitive advanced barrier testing devices, allowing for ultra-sensitive barrier property measurements in the range of 0.0005 to 200 cc/(m2.day), with a wide range of humidity and temperature control, rapid testing times, and automation capabilities. Currently, only the University of Guelph and Western University hold similar instruments at their research facilities, with poorer sensitivities. The applicants and their research groups will use the requested equipment for barrier property analysis in the following research programs: (1) Coextruded multi-nanolayer polymer films, (2) In situ nanofibrillated polymer composites, (3) Nanoparticle-reinforced polymer composites, and (4) fully bio-based and compostable polymer composites for sustainable packaging. These research programs represent advanced manufacturing processes capable of producing micro/nanostructured materials with enhanced barrier properties, that cannot be adequately quantified by any other means. The acquisition of this barrier property testing equipment will allow high-impact research that will help inform and optimize industrial processes. This research will be highly valuable in growing Canada's advanced manufacturing sector, and provide an avenue for Canada to increase its global impact and expertise in this field.

聚合物是全球使用最广泛的包装材料，因为它们能够作为气体（例如氧气或水蒸气）的阻隔材料。例如，食品包装材料通常必须具有很强的氧气屏障，以防止食品氧化和腐败。此外，聚合物的阻隔性能可以通过大量方法来仔细控制，这些方法涉及结晶性能的调节、微米/纳米颗粒填料的掺入或表面涂层的应用。可用于调节聚合物阻隔性能的大量技术需要高精度的测量设备。然而，大多数商业阻隔性测试设备由于传感器校准时间长、温度或湿度控制有限以及灵敏度差而受到限制。这些限制了测试吞吐量并阻碍了超高阻隔材料的测量，最终限制了测量的适用性。 因此，PI 和 co-PI 需要超高灵敏度 MOCON OXTRAN 2/22 10x OXYGEN 传输率测试系统，用于工程材料分析。 MOCON OXTRAN 2/22 10x 型号是世界上最灵敏的先进阻隔测试设备之一，可在 0.0005 至 200 cc/(m2.day) 范围内进行超灵敏的阻隔性能测量，具有宽范围的湿度和温度控制、快速的测试时间和自动化功能。目前，只有圭尔夫大学和西部大学的研究机构拥有类似的仪器，但灵敏度较差。 申请人及其研究小组将在以下研究项目中使用所需的设备进行阻隔性能分析：（1）共挤多层纳米层聚合物薄膜，（2）原位纳米原纤化聚合物复合材料，（3）纳米粒子增强聚合物复合材料，以及（4）用于可持续包装的完全生物基和可堆肥聚合物复合材料。这些研究项目代表了先进的制造工艺，能够生产具有增强阻隔性能的微/纳米结构材料，而这些材料无法通过任何其他方式充分量化。购买这种阻隔性能测试设备将有助于开展高影响力的研究，从而有助于为工业流程提供信息和优化。这项研究对于发展加拿大先进制造业非常有价值，并为加拿大提高其在该领域的全球影响力和专业知识提供了途径。