Role Of Polymer-Surface Interactions On The Viscolesatic Properties Of The Polymer Nanocomposites
Alireza Sarvestani, Chemical Engineering, University of South Carolina, Dept. of Chemical Eng., Rm. 2C11, Swearingen Engineering Center, Columbia, SC 29208 and Esmaiel Jabbari, University of South Carolina, Dept. of Chemical Eng., Rm. 2C11, Swearingen Engineering Center, Columbia, SC 29208

A molecular model is proposed for the dynamics of polymer chains in dilute polymer solutions containing well-dispersed low volume fraction spherical particles. The equilibrium structure of the reversibly adsorbed layer was characterized by a scaling theory. The dynamics of the polymer chains is studied by a Maxwell type kinetic model. The results show that at the limit of small particle size, the increase of the monomer-filler energetic affinity, particle volume fraction, and surface friction of the particles can strongly affect the overall viscoelastic response of the filled solutions and lead to peculiar properties such as a dramatic increase in shear viscosity, intense shear thinning, and solid-like behavior at low frequency domains, all of which have been observed experimentally.

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Composites I

The Preliminary Program for 2007 Annual Meeting