Challenges in Polymer Nanocomposites Characterization

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The intriguing perspective of imparting new physical properties and novel behaviors to a host polymer matrix through the simple addition of small amounts of nanoparticles is what makes polymer nanocomposites attractive.

Rather than aiming at the mere capitalization of the filler properties, the current trend is using nanoparticles as an active tool for manipulating the microstructure and, through it, the final performances of materials with phase-separated morphology, such as immiscible polymer blends.

The effects of filler adding can be a wide variety of property changes. Those are needed to be studied to predict final properties and evaluate suitability for specific purposes. Below are the properties that most nanocomposite polymers must be tested for.

There are mechanical characterization techniques useful for determining how stiff or how flexible your sample is. No matter your polymer is thermoplastic or not, dynamic mechanical analysis is a powerful tool employed to comprehend the thermal transitions of viscoelastic materials by characterizing the evolution of their macromolecular relaxation as a function of temperature and loading frequency.

The presence of nanofillers perturbs the relaxation of the polymer chains affecting the stiffness, rigidity, and energy-absorbing capability of polymeric materials. Primary glass transition (Tg) and secondary glass transition can be precisely measured from this high-sensitivity method due to the force, the heat and the frequency applied when testing. The only limitation is you cannot measure polymer in the melt state. For this, you need to go for the next technique.

The rheological characterization can monitor the processibility, flowability, and modulus of the bulk. It can also study the networks formed due to nano-sized filler in the melt system. Thus, your polymer must be melt-test under frequency and heat in a rheometer test chamber.

Some rheometers can even record the phase transition using a camera and export it as a video file. It can measure not only the complex viscosity of the melt but also other viscoelasticity values such as storage modulus and loss modulus under the given shear rate. However, the rheometer does not provide sufficient information for accurate particle morphologies of nanocomposites.

The structural features of nanocomposites can be investigated by using X-ray diffraction. The X-ray diffractometer can measure powder, thin film, nanomaterials, and solid samples.

This technique is non-destructive and fast as compared to other characterization techniques. If you have a small sample amount, the XRD analysis should be done before other time-consuming and destructive techniques.

To determine what temperature is needed to make the material melt and processable, Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) can help you to find the melting temperature (Tm) and if there is no Tm due to the 100 percent amorphous structure, you can still find Tg which considered the softening point from the technique.

The degradation mechanism is one of the most important things to predict how much heat the polymer can bear under the process condition. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) can tell the degradation temperature (Td) of both nanomaterials added in the polymer or the matrix.

The higher the Td value, the more durable the material is. Furthermore, TGA is a useful tool to see how much additive exists in the sample. This technique can determine carbon content and oxidative stability as well.

You would never know how long the product can last when the product is being used, pressed, stretched, and bent for a long time. To study the strength of the polymer nanocomposites after applying load for billions of cycles, you need to use a fatigue tester with a very rigid load frame and friction-free linear motor to handle this job.

The technique reveals important stiffness, strength, and durability characteristics of test samples, often pushing samples to failure to determine yield strength, ultimate strength, and fatigue life.

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Chalanda is the Thermal Analysis Specialist for DKSH Management overseeing the Asia Pacific region. In her PhD thesis, she developed and characterized polymer membranes for fuel-cell application. She has over 10 years of experience in Thermal Analysis Instruments and their applications. She also supports the thermal analyzer customers in South East Asia.

Chalanda Chulakham

Material Science

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Alan Boey has been in the X-ray analytical instrument business for the past 14 years, servicing various industries from minerals and mining, metal manufacturing to electronics and semiconductor businesses. Alan is now engaged with DKSH as a regional product manager for Southeast Asia, specializing in X-ray analytical instruments and providing solutions to fulfill market requirements in material analysis with X-ray diffraction techniques as well as elemental determination via X-ray fluorescence methods.

Alan Boey

Material Science

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Catherine Emrich has been with DKSH Australia since 2005. As a sales professional in scientific Instrumentation sales and product management, Catherine is best known for maintaining proven track record of meeting sales targets and strive to provide solutions for customers and their specific applications. The diversity of her role has resulted in a solid technical foundation and strong customer relationships. This has allowed Catherine to transition into key sales roles while ensuring a practical approach to problem solving.

Catherine is now the Sales Manager for Scientific Instrumentation at DKSH Australia leading the Industrial and Life Science sales teams. Prior to her promotion she was the Energy & Resources Product Manager and Sales Specialist at DKSH for over 15 years.

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Roman Ratayczak is the General Manager of Business Development at DKSH Technology, with over 26 years of expertise in management, sales, project leadership, and manufacturing across the automotive and machine tool sectors. A highly innovative professional, Roman brings a wealth of experience in leading teams and driving business success. He has spent over 13 years working in multicultural and global environments, particularly in Korea and Thailand, where his multilingual skills have enhanced his ability to navigate complex, cross-cultural business landscapes.

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Precision Machinery & Semiconductor and Electronics

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Afzalur Alfan received his M.Sc in materials science & engineering from National University Malaysia. He has been with DKSH for 8 years and is now serving as Senior Manager for the Materials Science Team in Indonesia. He has experience in several scientific instrumentation techniques such as laser diffraction, dynamic light scattering, differential scanning calorimetry and rheology.

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Material Science

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Carissa Lim is the Senior Application Specialist at DKSH Singapore, bringing over 18 years of diverse experience to her role. Her expertise spans project management, training coordination, scientific research, and quality assurance. Certified as a Food Safety Preventive Control Alliance (FSPCA) Preventive Controls Qualified Individual for Human Food, she also has expertise as an internal auditor for both Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Good Distribution Practice for Medical Devices (GDPMDS). Previously, Carissa spent more than 9 years in the food safety industry, where she leverages her knowledge in microbiology and food science education to assist food processors in developing and implementing effective food safety strategies and testing methods.

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Cathleen Lin is the General Manager of Scientific Instrumentation at DKSH Business Unit Technology, China. With an extensive background in the instrumentation industry, she brings over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing, product management, and business development in China. She holds a Bachelor Degree in Applied Chemistry from Fudan university, and an MBA from East China University of Science and Technology (ECUST).

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Hanno Elbraechter joined DKSH in September 2014 as Head Business Unit Technology across 18 countries. He has been transforming sales and service organizations over the last 15 years across Asia to set new standards when it comes to systematic market development, industry specific market penetration and after-sales services combined with state-of-the-art CRM systems. After living for 13 years in China, he recently moved to Singapore with his wife and three kids.

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Material Science

Challenges in Polymer Nanocomposites Characterization