Abstract:

In the last two decades, the omnipresence of nanomaterials in polymeric systems has ushered in a new era of nanostructured polymeric materials. Proliferating in the realm of interdisciplinary sciences, the prodigious growth of these advanced materials has obliterated the boundaries of conventional academic disciplines of chemistry, biology, materials science and engineering. The exemplary interfacial interaction between the matrix and the nanofiller particles via small-scale design enables these organic-inorganic hybrid materials to play important roles as structural composites .  Interfacial structure is known to be different from bulk structure, and in rubbers filled with nanofillers possessing extremely high specific surface areas, most of the rubbers is present near the interface, even in spite of the small weight fraction of filler. This is one of the reasons why the nature of reinforcement is different in nanocomposites and is manifested even at very low filler loadings (<10wt %). Crucial parameters in determining the effect of fillers on the properties of composites are filler size, shape, aspect ratio and filler-matrix interactions . In the case of nanocomposites, the properties of the material are more tied to the interface. Thus, the control and manipulation of microstructural evolution is essential for the growth of a strong polymer-filler interface in such nanocomposites.
In our laboratory, we have concentrated on development of rubber nanocomposites  using various fillers and a variety of rubbers. The fillers include natural and synthetic clays , modified clays,  silica ,  carbon based nanofillers , layered double hydroxide , metal oxides, oligomeric silsesquioxanes and metallic nanoparticles. Some of the fillers  having controlled shape and structure have been synthesized and characterized in our laboratory. Rubber nanocomposites have been prepared by using various techniques .  Characteristic morphology is achieved on the basis of the technique used. Natural Rubber , Polyisoprene  Rubber,  Epoxidized Natural Rubber , Polybutadiene Rubber  , Styrene–Butadiene Rubber  , Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Rubber,  . Ethylene Propylene Diene Methylene Rubber , Butyl Rubber  , Polyolefin Elastomer , Chloroprene Rubber  , Poly(Ethylene-Co-Vinylacetate) ,  Acrylic Rubber , Silicone Rubber, Epichlorohydrin Rubber, Fluoroelastomers ,  Polyurethane ,   Thermoplastic Elastomers and various polymer blends were the subject of our investigation  . Structure-property relationship has been established  for all these rubber  nanocomposites. The present lecture will highlight recent studies on some of the potential nanofillers, their reinforcement mechanism and possible applications.