Control of the Evolution of Morphology of Polymer Blends and Polymer Nanocomposites during Processing

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Polymer blends, with a global market of about $ 40 billion, which grows at about 4.4% annually, are used in many industries such as packaging, transportation, construction and others, due to the possibility of synergistically combining the properties of their components. Polymer nanocomposites, which consist of a polymer matrix in which fillers with size ranging from 1 to 100 nm are distributed, have become increasingly popular in the academic and industrial world. Their market shows economic growth of about 20% per year.These multiphase materials have their engineering properties that depend on their morphology, which in turn, is a result of its evolution during processing. Over the years, I have studied the factors that affect the morphology, and how to control it for both polymer blends and polymer nanocomposites. I made significant contributions in the field of rheology, interface control and morphology characterization of these materials. The present research program will continue contributing to a fundamental understanding of the evolution of morphology of these multiphase polymeric materials during conventional polymer processing and will leverage this knowledge to extend it to novel polymer processing techniques such as electrospinning and additive manufacturing. In particular, during the next five years I will1) Study, theoretically, as well as, experimentally, the rheological behavior of polymer blends to which nanoparticles are added, in order to understand the evolution of their morphology during processing.2) Develop tools to control the morphology and functional properties of electrospun scaffolds and their fibers. This involves the development a theoretical model of the electrospinning process, as well as, experimental studies to evaluate the formation of morphologies of multiphase materials during that process. 3) Develop tools to control the morphologies of polymer blends and nanocomposites processed by additive manufacturing. This includes modelling the flow within the capillary ending with the printing head, and experimentally, evaluating the morphology formation of multiphase materials with the ultimate objective of obtaining gradient morphology materials.6 HQP, 3 PhD and 3 MSc will participate in that program.This research will be carried out in collaboration with researchers from four different countries: Canada, France, Singapore and Brazil.