Nanocomposites

A nanocomposite is   usually taken to mean the solid combination of a bulk matrix and nano-dimensional phase(s) differing in properties due to dissimilarities in structure and chemistry. The mechanical, electrical, thermal, optical, electrochemical, catalytic properties of the nanocomposites differ markedly from that of the component materials. In mechanical terms, nanocomposites differ from conventional composite materials due to the exceptionally high surface to volume ratio of the reinforcing phase and/or its exceptionally high aspect ratio. The reinforcing material can be made up of particles (e.g. minerals, SiO2), sheets (e.g. exfoliated clay stacks) or fibers (e.g carbon nanotubes or electrospun fibers). The matrix material properties are significantly affected in the vicinity of the reinforcement. Among the nanofillers CNT has attained significant attention and considered to have enormous potential to be used in nanocomposites for its extraordinary properties. Nevertheless among the numerous inorganic/organic nanocomposites, polymer/silica composites are the most commonly reported in the literature. They have also received much attention in recent years and have been employed in a variety of applications. The dispersion of nanometer-sized particles in the polymer
matrix has a significant impact on the properties of nanocomposites.

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by Iijima and the realization of their unique physical properties, including mechanical, thermal, and electrical, many investigators have endeavored to fabricate advanced CNT composite materials that exhibit one or more of these properties. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are allotropes of carbon with a cylindrical nanostructure. The length-to-diameter ratio of nanotubes is up to 132,000,000:1, which is significantly larger than any other material. These cylindrical Carbon molecules have novel properties that make them potentially useful in many applications in nanotechnology, electronics,...