(691d) Recent Advances in Green Nanocomposites: an Overview

Sustainability, industrial ecology, eco-efficiency and green chemistry are guiding the development of the next generation of materials, products and processes. Over the last decade, interest in polymeric materials containing dispersed inorganic nano-scale particles (nanofiller) has skyrocketed due to the potential for significant improvement to mechanical, thermal, barrier and flammability properties. Green nanocomposites (nanofiller reinforced bioresin) are emerging as a viable alternative to traditional nanocomposites, especially in automotive, packaging and building product applications. The combination of organic and inorganic nanoreinfocements such as nanoclay, nanosilica, nanoalumina, cellulose nanowhiskers, etc ... with polymer matrices obtained from both non-renewable and renewable resources can produce nanocomposite materials that are competitive with synthetic nanocomposites. The design of these materials requires special attention to the dispersion of the nano-particles in the polymeric resin and the nano-reinforcement-matrix adhesion. Recent developments in nanoparticle dispersion, nanocomposite processing and the use of physical and chemical surface treatments of nanoreinforcements on the properties of green nanocomposites will be highlighted in this presentation. This research is financially supported by EPA-STAR 2002 Award # RD-830904 and USDA-MBI, Award # 2002-34189-12748-S4057.