Polymer nanocomposites are strong, durable and multifunctional materials with potential applications as high performance materials in sports and aerospace industries
.However the cost and availability of the nanoparticles required to prepare them provide a major obstacle in their production. Now researchers from Northwestem and
They developed a method to exfoliate graphite to single sheet from with a functional chemical surface and incorporated these FGS into polymers .The ability to use
graphite in this manner is very powerful .While single wall nanotubes (SWNT) cab achive similar results, the processing is more difficult and the starting materials very expensive.
The low loading level of FGS result in extraordinary improvements in the thermal and mechanical properties of the poltmers .These characteristics are as good as those with SWNT in nanocomposites , yet come at a fraction of the cost .The method is easily scaleable,and since the FGS are electrically conducting ,they may also be used to create conducting polymers. It's really impressive mechanical properties at low loading levels that are still transparent and with a cheap commodity material.To create optically transparent conducting polymers that are also thermomechanically stable.
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