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Nanoparticle encapsulation by a polymer via in situ polymerization in supercritical conditions
Author(s) -
Esmaeili Babak,
Chaouki Jamal,
Dubois Charles
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.22126
Subject(s) - materials science , polymer , nanoparticle , polymerization , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , thermogravimetric analysis , supercritical fluid , chemical engineering , emulsion polymerization , in situ polymerization , transmission electron microscopy , composite material , polymer chemistry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , chemistry , engineering
The encapsulation of aluminum nanoparticles by polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) was carried out in supercritical conditions via in situ polymerization. The aluminum particles possessed an average diameter of 43.7 nm. The presence of PVDF on the particles was validated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). This result was further approved by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which showed high intensity peaks of fluorine and carbon on the particles after the encapsulation process, which are associated with the presence of hydrocarbon‐based PVDF. As observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, the nanoparticles were uniformly coated by a polymer of a few nanometers in thickness. The results showed that there is a good consistency between the calculated thickness of the polymer coating and the results obtained by TEM. In addition, the effect of polymerization time on the kinetics of the reaction was investigated. Finally, it was found that the thickness of the polymer layer can be controlled by the duration of the encapsulation process. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2012. © 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers