Dataset Information

Size-Dependent Submerging of Nanoparticles in Polymer Melts: Effect of Line Tension.

ABSTRACT: Adhesion of nanoparticles to polymer films plays a key role in various polymer technologies. Here we report experiments that reveal how silica nanoparticles adhere to a viscoelastic PMMA film above the glass transition temperature. The polymer was swollen with CO₂, closely matching the conditions of nanoparticle-nucleated polymer foaming. It is found that the degree by which the particles sink into the viscoelastic substrate is strongly size dependent and can even lead to complete engulfment for particles of diameter below 12 nm. These findings are explained quantitatively by a thermodynamic analysis, combining elasticity, capillary adhesion, and line tension. We argue that line tension, here proposed for the first time in elastic media, is responsible for the nanoparticle engulfment.

SUBMITTER: Liu S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5895979 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Size-Dependent Submerging of Nanoparticles in Polymer Melts: Effect of Line Tension.

Liu Shanqiu S Pandey Anupam A Duvigneau Joost J Vancso Julius J Snoeijer Jacco H JH

Macromolecules 20180316 7

Adhesion of nanoparticles to polymer films plays a key role in various polymer technologies. Here we report experiments that reveal how silica nanoparticles adhere to a viscoelastic PMMA film above the glass transition temperature. The polymer was swollen with CO<sub>2</sub>, closely matching the conditions of nanoparticle-nucleated polymer foaming. It is found that the degree by which the particles sink into the viscoelastic substrate is strongly size dependent and can even lead to complete eng ...[more]

PMID: 29657338

Similar Datasets

Project description:Core-shell nanoparticles consisting of silica as core and surface-grafted poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) as shell with different diameters were prepared and used as heterogeneous nucleation agents to obtain CO2-blown poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) nanocomposite foams. PDMS was selected as the shell material as it possesses a low surface energy and high CO2-philicity. The successful synthesis of core-shell nanoparticles was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and transmission electron microscopy. The cell size and cell density of the PMMA micro- and nanocellular materials were determined by scanning electron microscopy. The cell nucleation efficiency using core-shell nanoparticles was significantly enhanced when compared to that of unmodified silica. The highest nucleation efficiency observed had a value of ∼0.5 for nanoparticles with a core diameter of 80 nm. The particle size dependence of cell nucleation efficiency is discussed taking into account line tension effects. Complete engulfment by the polymer matrix of particles with a core diameter below 40 nm at the cell wall interface was observed corresponding to line tension values of approximately 0.42 nN. This line tension significantly increases the energy barrier of heterogeneous nucleation and thus reduces the nucleation efficiency. The increase of the CO2 saturation pressure to 300 bar prior to batch foaming resulted in an increased line tension length. We observed a decrease of the heterogeneous nucleation efficiency for foaming after saturation with CO2 at 300 bar, which we attribute to homogenous nucleation becoming more favorable at the expense of heterogeneous nucleation in this case. Overall, it is shown that the contribution of line tension to the free energy barrier of heterogeneous foam cell nucleation must be considered to understand foaming of viscoelastic materials. This finding emphasizes the need for new strategies including the use of designer nucleating particles to enhance the foam cell nucleation efficiency.

Dataset Information

Size-Dependent Submerging of Nanoparticles in Polymer Melts: Effect of Line Tension.

Publications

Size-Dependent Submerging of Nanoparticles in Polymer Melts: Effect of Line Tension.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets