Process chain for the fabrication of nanoparticle polymer composites
Elisabeth Mühlhausen, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Technische Chemie I, CENIDE, Essen, DeutschlandStephan Barcikowski, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Technische Chemie I, CENIDE, Essen, DeutschlandBilal Gökce, Universität Duisburg-Essen, Technische Chemie I, CENIDE, Essen, Deutschland
The potential of nanoparticles and their unique properties is, till now, not completely utilized. In particular, the integration of these nanoparticles into a matrix to obtain composite materials with new functionalities, such as optical, antimicrobial or electronic properties, can be added to a conventional polymer. However, conventional composite synthesis methods usually require several process steps including steps for cleaning and improving the particle-matrix dispersion. For nanocomposites, the bottleneck within the general process chain is the synthesis and embedment of the nanoparticles. For instance, it is often necessary to control the exact composition, dispersion, and filling factor of the integrated particles. However, conventional composite synthesis methods usually require several process steps including steps for cleaning and improving the particle-matrix dispersion, due to ligands, precursors, agglomerates etc. These difficulties limit the variety of materials readily being used to produce functional materials, leaving a gap between the desired and already feasible nanointegration. As an alternative, laser ablation synthesis can be used to prepare tunable composite materials. This method enables an easy process chain, without the need of additional steps, enabling the scalable synthesis of a wide variety of different and pure colloidal nanoparticles. Nanointegrating these laser-generated nanoparticles into polymer matrices is a promising approach to bridge the previously mentioned gap, allowing a rapid prototyping of nanofunctional polymer parts.
This presentation, therefore, points out the perspective of an easy process chain to obtain nanofunctional, macroscopic polymer products from laser-generated colloids. The process steps are demonstrated from the synthesis of the colloid to applicable functional products. The advantages of using laser ablation for nanocomposites synthesis are highlighted.
References
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