Page 349 - Polymer-based Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications

316 Polymer-based Nanocomposites for Energy and Environmental Applications

Nanocarbon polymers offer enormous potential for individual evolution. Activated
carbons were in use since the early period and have been playing a key role in various
applications (nanocomposite applications). In the previous two decades, a nanoscale
study has exposed innovative opportunity for civilizing the presentation of super-
capacitors (supercapacitor and nanoscale). It is well-known that the size regime of
energy carriers for supercapacitors (electrolyte ions) falls into the domain of
nanoscience and nanotechnology. The current chapter reviews the uniqueness and
effects of polymer nanocomposite for supercapacitor applications.

11.2 Polymer nanocomposite

A polymer nanocomposite is a multisegment hard substance in which one of the
phases has one, two, or three dimensions that is <100 nm in a distinct polymer matrix.
Polymer nanocomposites have captivated immense global application, economically
and scientifically, due to the exposition of outstanding effects such as modulus,
potency, roughness, and difficulty distant from those of predictable microcomposite
and equivalent to those of metals. On the other hand, polymer nanocomposites have
the additional attention of smaller thickness and the capability of development capac-
ity. The polymeric element is, frequent, thermic insular; thus, nanoscale cylinders
with better thermal transfer character are integrated into polymeric matrices to arrange
nanocomposites that demonstrate a good quality amalgamation of process ability and
thermal conductivity [5].

11.2.1 Polymer
Polymers are materials that consist of many, thousands, of repeating units. Polymer
structure is in general used because of their lightness, elasticity, and process ability
[6,7]. These structures, usually, show a lesser amount of mechanical properties such
as low strength and low stretch modulus as compared with metals and ceramics. And
to get better mechanical properties of these systems while maintaining their desir-
able properties is by adding high-modulus reinforcing filler to make polymer com-
posites [8]. Composite design efforts to achieve the optimal mechanical properties
have paid attention to enlarging the relations among polymeric medium and the
filler [9–11]. Polymer nanocomposites, consisting of a polymer matrix with nano-
particle filler, have been anticipated to be one of the most useful functions of
nanotechnology.

11.2.2 Chemical structure
From a chemical point of view, polymers are molecular systems that consist of a num-
ber of monomers connected by covalent bonds. A monomer is a small molecule com-
posed of one chemical unit. For example, ethylene is a monomer and a group of such
monomer forms polyethylene as shown symbolically in Fig. 11.1.