High Throughput Methods for Nanocomposite Materials Research. Extrusion and Visible Optical Probes.

Published

February 19, 2017

Author(s)

Jeffrey W. Gilman, P H. Maupin, Richard H. Harris Jr., S Bellayer, Anthony J. Bur, S C. Roth, M Murariu, A B. Morgan, J R. Harris

Abstract

A quiet revolution is occurring in the field of polymer science the high throughput (HT) or combinatorial revolution. It is, in a general sense, a change in the way one views performing research and development, and simply involves devising methods to allow one to carry out many more experiments, per unit time, than was previously possible. It appears that even the methods developed so far are poised to generate the same explosion in information that both the spectroscopic and computerization revolutions brought to all the sciences. Most of the HT methods, which borrow from those developed for drug discovery, use multiple, small-scale sample preparation and analysis techniques, which take advantage of automation, robotics, and either serial or parallel analysis methods. An alternative approach utilizes the concept of a gradient. This involve either a gradient in the composition, or in the conditions of sample preparation, or a gradient in the testing environment. We have focused our HT methods development efforts on these later gradient-type approaches.Our interest in developing HT methods was motivated by the fact that the study of polymer nanocomposites is a multiple parameter-space problem, and the detailed understanding of these materials involves investigation of a large volume of the associated multi-dimensional property space. This multi-dimensional parameter space for polymer-nanocomposites consists of the obvious list of different material types under consideration, such as polymer and nano-additive, but also includes interphase surface chemistry, surface treatments, and processing conditions. This article presents combinatorial library design and high-throughput screening methods for polymer nanocomposites intended as flame-resistant materials. Several HT methods have successfully been developed in our labs, and an overview of these is presented here, along with a specific focus on recent results using an optical probe, the cationic dye Nile Blue A, to characterize intercalation and exfoliation of organo-layered silicates (clays) in polyamide-6 (PA-6).

Citation

ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering

Pub Type

Journals

Keywords

extrusion, flammability, high throughput, montmorillonite, nanocomposite, optical probe

Citation

Gilman, J. , Maupin, P. , Harris Jr., R. , Bellayer, S. , Bur, A. , Roth, S. , Murariu, M. , Morgan, A. and Harris, J. (2017), High Throughput Methods for Nanocomposite Materials Research. Extrusion and Visible Optical Probes., ACS Division of Polymeric Materials: Science and Engineering (Accessed April 26, 2024)