Edward D. McCarthy

Current Research Interests

• Sustainable and conventional polymer nanocomposites
• Polylactic acid (PLA) synthesis by ring-opening polymerization using layered double hydroxides (LDHs)
• Network formation by in-situ polymerization of lactone monomers with anionic LDHs
• Rheology of polymer melts containing hybrid organic/inorganic networks
• Contribution of hybrid networks to polymer nanocomposite strength and toughness
• Matrix/reinforcement interface characterization using Raman spectroscopy and FRET
  

Past Research Activities

• Combustion modeling of epoxy/E-glass composites using finite difference models
• Mechanical failure of load bearing composites under imposed heat loads
• Thermal expansion of fluoroelastomer seal materials
• Process intensification and miniaturization
• Photopolymerization of flowing film pre-polymer melts on spinning disc surfaces
• Micromixing, nucleation and crystallization in parallel channel microreactors
• Influence of micromixing conditions on particle size distributions of barium sulfate suspensions

Backround

B. Chem. Eng., M. Research and Ph.D. in Chemical and Process Engineering from Newcastle University, UK

Thesis: "Production of Polymer Nanocomposites using Intensified Technology"

Professional and Academic Society Memberships

American Chemical Society

Materials Research Society

Publications

1. E.D. McCarthy et al., Characterization of poly(lactide) polymerized in-situ with layered double hydroxide, ACS PMSE Preprint, Fall Meeting, Denver, CO, US (2011).
   
2. E.D. McCarthy et al., Application of an intensified narrow channel reactor to the aqueous phase precipitation of barium sulfate, J. Colloid. Interf. Sci. 305, 72-87 (2007).
3. E.D. McCarthy, Factors affecting the coefficient of thermal expansion in fluoroelastomer seal material, Sealing Technology, Dec 2008, 7-10.
4. E.D. McCarthy et al., A thermal model for spontaneous combustion of fiber-reinforced composite laminates, in prep.
5. M. Zammarano et al., Revealing the interface in polymer nanocomposites, ACS Nano, 5, 3991 (2011).
6. E. Kandare et al., Fiber-reinforces epoxy composites exposed to high temperature environments. Part II: modeling mechanical property degradation, J. Comp. Mat., online, Nov 2010.