Preparation and Characterization of Polymer Nanocomposites

The polymer nanocomposites have been the exponentially growing field of research for developing the materials in last few decades. The remarkable improvement in the polymer nanocomposite is found when a small amount of nanosized particles are added to a polymer matrix. The addition of inorganic solid nanoparticles (typically in the form of fibres, flakes, spheres or fine particles) into polymer matrix increases their physical, structural and mechanical properties. Since the polymer-nano composites have been the staple of modern polymer industry, their durability under various environmental conditions and degradability after their service life are also essential fields of research. This leads to focus on preparation & characterization of polymer nanocomposite. This article is intended to review the status of worldwide research in this aspect. The successful application of nano particles depends upon both the correct preparation techniques followed by testing through characterization. Surface modification can improve the inherent characteristics of the nano particles and serve to prepare nano composites inexistent in nature. Therefore, some tools as their various properties like electrical, optical and morphological can be used to optimize the preparation of polymer nano composites. This chapter will make an overview about different routes to prepare polymer-based nano composites by extrusion, synthesis of nano particles by sol-gel reactions, sputtering and mainly by physical evaporation deposition method.