Rheological Behavior of Nanocomposites

For the last few decades, interest has arisen toward the development of nanocomposites consisting of a polymer matrix in which a nanoparticle is evenly distributed. Several types of nanofillers, with their three, two, or one dimensions in the nanoscale, such as exfoliated clay, ^1–3 carbon derivatives such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, ⁴ ceramic oxides, nitrides, and carbides ^5–7 have been dispersed into polymers. The resultant nanocomposites were shown to exhibit improvements in several properties, such as mechanical, ^8,9 conductive, and dielectric, ¹⁰ gas barrier, UV, ¹¹ and flame resistance, ¹² among others when compared to pure polymers, and hence can be used in packaging, automotive, and aerospace industries.