Page 31 - Polymer-based Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications

10 Polymer-based Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications

that not only can prevent the agglomeration but also can increase their stiffness for
arrangement to get the desirable thermoelectric properties for PNCs.
There are several researches in the application of CNTs in polymer matrices
[55-58]. El Moumen et al. [59] used instrumented indentation testing to determine
the elastic mechanical properties of MWCNT-reinforced polymer composites.
Also, Chen et al. [52] proposed an efficient thermodynamic method to precisely
control multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) at the interface of a cocontinuous
PS/PMMA blend to design conductive polymer composites with ultralow percolation
threshold. Moreover, in renewable energy field, the polymer/CNT composites are car-
ried out for solar water heating systems (SWHS) due to the thermal and optical prop-
erties for the absorber of the solar collector [60].

1.3.1.2 Polymer-graphene
Graphene (GR) is a single carbon atomic sheet with hexagonal sp2. It exhibits a new 2-D
material with remarkable mechanical, transport, and thermal features. Specifically,
based on its outstanding mechanical properties, it can be introduced as strengthening
structural elements of composites [51-63].Graphene thatis carried outfor theproduc-
tion of graphene-based PNCs is widely generated by either chemical or thermal reduc-
tion of graphite oxide. This process has more advantages rather than the others due to the
scale in which graphene can be prepared. Mostly, three main techniques are employed to
produce the graphene/PNCs including in situ polymerization, solvent processing, and
melt processing [64]. Potts et al. [65] represented a review on PNCs based on the
graphene-based fillers. Also, Li et al. [66] introduced the progress in production, abil-
ities, and potential performances of graphene-polymer composites. In this paper, phos-
phorus graphene oxide/poly(vinyl alcohol) polymer (PGO/PVA polymer) was
synthesized by PGO and PVA. A remarkable synergetic influence between the GR
and CNT in enhancing the interfacial mechanical factors of polyethylene polymer com-
posites was investigated using molecular dynamics simulations [67]. Obviously, recent
researches clearly illustrate that graphene-PNCs are promising products with a wide
range of applications from biomedical systems, transportation, sensors, electrodes for
solar cells, and electromagnetic interference [68].

1.3.1.3 Polymer-nanodiamond

Nanodiamond (ND) is illustrating many important properties of bulk diamond, such as
hardness, Young’s modulus, and thermal conductivity that make it as a useful material
for different applications. On the basis of these important properties of NDs, they are
considered to be used in many applications such as thermal conducting, electronic and
optic mechanics, heat interface, lubricating oil, biomedical technology, and active
fillers for the nanocomposite systems [69,70]. A distinct factor of ND is its numerous
functional groups, which can terminate the surface of ND particles. On the other hand,
its layer for surface functional groups is an inherent ability of this material. Thus, the
ability to adjust and tailor the surface chemistry of ND is very vital for rich surface
chemistry functionalization of ND [71].