Polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) are a blend of inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) and polymer, where the nanoscale morphology, increased number density of filler, and propensity of internal interfaces have yielded enhanced thermal, mechanical and electrical performance. Thermodynamics, processing requirements, interface functionalization, and geometrical considerations however establish a practical limit on the maximum inorganic volume fraction in traditional blended PNCs. Matrix-free assemblies of polymer grafted nanoparticles (PGNs) have recently garnered substantial interest due to their inherent ability to circumvent these challenges for many functional (optical, dielectric and magnetic) applications. Here in, we will discuss the impact of the architecture of the grafted polymer canopy on toughness and deformability, enhanced dielectric breakdown, and rapid fabrication of stable, large-area, ordered PGN monolayers. The demonstrated potential of these single component hybrid nanocomposites are motivating current investigation into the efficient, scalable synthesis of PGNs with low disparity, the chemical stability of the polymer-nanoparticle coupling, phase behavior of blends with a majority fraction of PGN, and mechanical failure mechanism within monolayer assemblies. Overall these findings imply intriguing parallels between aHNP and other mesoscale ordered polymeric systems including hard-soft block copolymers and semi-crystalline polymers. With the appropriate corona architecture, aHNPs afford opportunities to design high inorganic fraction hybrids that retain processibility and enable the creation of films and fibers for next generation dielectrics or optoelectronic applications.

Single-component, hybrid nanocomposites: Materials for print passives and photonics

251st National Meeting (2016)

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