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Characterization of Polymer Nanocomposites

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Acting Principles of Nano-Scaled Matrix Additives for Composite Structures

Part of the book series: Research Topics in Aerospace ((RTA))

Abstract

The complex effect of nanoparticles on an epoxy-based and anhydride cured DGEBA/Boehmite nanocomposite with different particle concentrations is considered in this chapter. A combination of X-ray scattering, calorimetry (fast scanning and temperature modulated calorimetry) and dielectric spectroscopy was employed to characterize the structure, vitrification kinetics and the molecular dynamics of the nanocomposites. Firstly, the unfilled polymer was found to be intrinsically heterogeneous, showing regions with different crosslinking density, indicated by two separate dynamic glass transitions. Moreover, the glass transition temperature decreases with increasing nanoparticle concentration, as a result of changes in the crosslinking density. In addition, it was shown that the incorporation of nanoparticles can result in simultaneous increase in the number of mobile segments for low nanoparticle concentrations and on the other hand, for higher loading degrees the number of mobile segments decreases, due to the formation of an immobilized interphase.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung (BAM), Berlin, Germany

    Paulina Szymoniak, Xintong Qu, Andreas Schönhals & Heinz Sturm

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  1. Paulina Szymoniak
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  2. Xintong Qu
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  3. Andreas Schönhals
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  4. Heinz Sturm
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Correspondence to Paulina Szymoniak .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mechanics and Adaptronics, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany

    Michael Sinapius

  2. Institute of Polymer Materials and Plastics Engineering, Clausthal University of Technology, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany

    Gerhard Ziegmann

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Szymoniak, P., Qu, X., Schönhals, A., Sturm, H. (2021). Characterization of Polymer Nanocomposites. In: Sinapius, M., Ziegmann, G. (eds) Acting Principles of Nano-Scaled Matrix Additives for Composite Structures. Research Topics in Aerospace. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68523-2_4

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