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Quantitative Characterization of Clay Dispersion in Polymer‐Clay Nanocomposites
Author(s) -
Xie Shaobo,
HarkinJones Eileen,
Shen Yucai,
Hill Janet,
Hornsby Peter,
McAfee Marion,
McNally Tony,
Patel Raj,
Benkreira Hadj,
Coates Phil
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
macromolecular symposia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.257
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-3900
pISSN - 1022-1360
DOI - 10.1002/masy.201150319
Subject(s) - dispersion (optics) , materials science , nanocomposite , polymer clay , polymer , characterization (materials science) , transmission electron microscopy , clay minerals , microstructure , composite material , mineralogy , nanotechnology , geology , optics , physics
Summary: A novel methodology has been developed to describe the microstructure of polymer‐clay nanocomposites quantitatively. It builds on the image analyses of transmission electron microscopy and optical microscopy micrographs, and two parameters, degree of dispersion and mean interparticle distance per unit volume of clay, are proposed to characterize the level of clay dispersion. It provides insights into the ‘real’ clay dispersion using a combination of both microscopical and macroscopical aspects.