Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Materials Science and Engineering

PDF

Clemson University

Theses/Dissertations

Polymer

Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Effects Of Polymer Side-Group Size On Interfacial Mechanics Of Graphene-Polymer Nanocomposites, Grace Brokaw Dec 2022

Effects Of Polymer Side-Group Size On Interfacial Mechanics Of Graphene-Polymer Nanocomposites, Grace Brokaw

All Theses

Graphene-reinforced polymer nanocomposites possess excellent mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties, which make them promising candidates for various applications. Favorable interfacial interactions and mechanics between graphene sheets and polymer matrices are often essential to achieve superior mechanical properties. Nevertheless, it remains largely elusive how molecular features of polymer systems, particularly the side-group size of polymer chains, affect the interfacial mechanics between graphene sheets and polymer matrices, primarily due to challenges in well controlling these features in experiments. On the other hand, exploring their roles in the mechanical properties of graphene-polymer nanocomposites is very expensive to study with all-atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) …


3d Printed Multicomponent Polymer Based Materials Via Hybrid Filaments: Fabrication And Characterization, Erik Antonio Aug 2022

3d Printed Multicomponent Polymer Based Materials Via Hybrid Filaments: Fabrication And Characterization, Erik Antonio

All Dissertations

Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, promises a manufacturing revolution for both industry and academic circles. One of the most widely used method of 3D printing is Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) or Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), which requires a thermoplastic filament to be directed towards a heating block and then deposited via extrusion layer by layer to produce a finished part. However, there are significant issues with this technology, mainly a limitation on the materials available for use and mechanical property deficiencies when compared to traditional manufacturing. These issues are brought about by the temperature limited nature of the …


Characterization Of Thermal Gelation Properties In Bioresorbable Thermally Activated Hydrogel Polymers For Hernia Surgery Applications, Alexander Mayfield Aug 2022

Characterization Of Thermal Gelation Properties In Bioresorbable Thermally Activated Hydrogel Polymers For Hernia Surgery Applications, Alexander Mayfield

All Theses

Hydrogel adhesives are a new class of materials with excellent biocompatibility, which makes them very attractive for biomaterial applications. It has been previously shown that Tetronic T1107, a four-arm poly (propylene oxide)-poly (ethylene oxide) (PPO-PEO) block copolymer, is useful as a chemical crosslinking thermo-responsive hydrogel for bioadhesive applications. The end groups of this polymer are modified with acrylate and N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) functional groups. The acrylate end group gives the polymer cohesive properties with long-range chemical crosslinking using dithiothreitol (DTT), while the NHS end group gives the polymer adhesive properties through bonding with amines found in organic tissue. It was found …


Graphene Oxide-Thermoplastic Nanocomposites: Fabrication And Properties, Seyedeh Mastooreh Seyedi Ghezghapan May 2022

Graphene Oxide-Thermoplastic Nanocomposites: Fabrication And Properties, Seyedeh Mastooreh Seyedi Ghezghapan

All Dissertations

Polymer nanocomposites are used for a wide variety of applications. These nanocomposites can have a number of important characteristics depending on the nature of the nanomaterial, its size, volume fraction, its distribution, and interactions within the host polymer. Mechanical strength, thermal and electrical conductivity are some of these materials' most focused and studied features. Besides the positive influences of the reinforcements, nanomaterials also might have some adverse impacts on the polymer matrix. These issues could arise from the aggregation of the fillers and the poor interfacial interactions of the components. Several approaches are introduced to modify the nanofillers and enhance …


Synthesis And Characterization Of Glycidyl Methacrylate-Based Graft Copolymer Functional Interfaces, Nikolay Brordinov Dec 2017

Synthesis And Characterization Of Glycidyl Methacrylate-Based Graft Copolymer Functional Interfaces, Nikolay Brordinov

All Dissertations

Modification of materials properties such as surface energy, wettability, ability to absorb, contain or release specific type of chemicals enables practical application of these materials in various scientific and engineering set-ups. However, designing protocol that could be easily adapted for different situations and simultaneously unlock multiple variations of the resulting properties is a non-trivial task. This dissertation is devoted to application of glycidyl methacrylate-based graft copolymers for the purposes of surface modification, establishing fundamental trends and dependencies of this process and exploring the possible range of applications. These materials have extremely valuable property to undergo controllable post-synthetic modifications including surface …


Synthesis And Characterization Of Chemically Functionalized Shape Memory Nanofoams For Unattended Sensing Applications, Anna Paola Soliani Dec 2014

Synthesis And Characterization Of Chemically Functionalized Shape Memory Nanofoams For Unattended Sensing Applications, Anna Paola Soliani

All Dissertations

The work in this dissertation is devoted to the synthesis and characterization of novel materials for off-line unattended sensing: shape-memory grafted nanofoams. The fabrication process and characterization of highly efficient, polymeric nanosensor element with the ability to selectively detect analytes and retain memory of specific exposure events is reported. These shape memory nanofoams could potentially act as efficient and highly sensitive coatings for evanescent waveguide-based optical monitoring systems. On exposure to specific analytes, the polymeric coatings locally change their internal structure irreversibly at the nanolevel, affecting the local optical properties such as refractive index. Currently, enrichment polymer layers (EPLs) are …


Engineering Single-Molecule, Nanoscale, And Microscale Bio-Functional Materials Via Click Chemistry, Michael Daniele Aug 2012

Engineering Single-Molecule, Nanoscale, And Microscale Bio-Functional Materials Via Click Chemistry, Michael Daniele

All Dissertations

To expand the design envelope and supplement the materials library available to biomaterials scientists, the copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuCAAC) was explored as a route to design, synthesize and characterize bio-functional small-molecules, nanoparticles, and microfibers. In each engineered system, the use of click chemistry provided facile, bio-orthogonal control for materials synthesis; moreover, the results provided a methodology and more complete, fundamental understanding of the use of click chemistry as a tool for the synergy of biotechnology, polymer and materials science. Fluorophores with well-defined photophysical characteristics (ranging from UV to NIR fluorescence) were used as building blocks for small-molecule, fluorescent biosensors. Fluorophores …


Probing And Controlling Fluid Rheology At Microscale With Magnetic Nanorods, Alexander Tokarev Aug 2012

Probing And Controlling Fluid Rheology At Microscale With Magnetic Nanorods, Alexander Tokarev

All Dissertations

This Dissertation is focused on the development of new methods for characterization and control of fluid rheology using magnetic nanorods. This Dissertation consists of five chapters. In the first chapter, we review current microrheologial methods and develop a Magnetic Rotational Spectroscopy (MRS) model describing nanorod response to a rotating magnetic field. Using numerical modeling, we analyze the effects of materials parameters of nanorods and fluids on the MRS characteristic features. The model is designed for a specific experimental protocol. We introduce and examine physical parameters which can be measured experimentally. The model allows identification of MRS features enabling the calculation …


Synthesis And Characterization Of Macromolecular Layers Grafted To Polymer Surfaces, Oleksandr Burtovyy Dec 2008

Synthesis And Characterization Of Macromolecular Layers Grafted To Polymer Surfaces, Oleksandr Burtovyy

All Dissertations

The composition and behavior of surfaces and interfaces play a pivotal role in dictating the overall efficiency of the majority of polymeric materials and devices. Surface properties of the materials can be altered using surface modification techniques. It is necessary to highlight that successful methods of surface modification should affect only the upper layer of the polymer material without changing bulk properties. The processes must introduce new functionalities to the surface, optimize surface roughness, lubrication, hydrophobicity, hydrophilicity, adhesion, conductivity, and/or biocompatibility.
Research presented in this dissertation is dedicated to the synthesis, characterization, and application of thin macromolecular layers anchored to …