I-Corps: NC2 Team - Sustainable Polymer Nanocomposite

North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, Greensboro NC

Investigators

Abstract

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project lies in lighter and stronger polymer composite materials with partial sustainability. 'Light and strong' features are essential to polymer composites. These composites have demonstrated their effectiveness in the automobile industry from improved engine efficiency, low fuel consumption, reduction in the emission of CO2 and increased safety. The enhanced properties of our polymer nanocomposite materials including lighter weight, higher strength, and partial sustainability in combination with cost-effectiveness is of interest to the current composite industry and will benefit a wide range of industrial sectors such as aerospace, automotive, sports, defense, construction, packaging, electrical & electronics, biomedical etc. There is a growing market in polymer nanocomposites. The global polymer nanocomposite market will reach $11.5 billion by 2022 according to new research published by Allied Market Research. This I-Corps project is based on developing polymer composite materials with nanoscale reinforcing fillers as well as a partially sustainable polymer matrix. Compared to traditional polymer composite materials, benefits of nanofiller come from their significantly higher specific surface area and concurrently enormous interfacial area. Surface modification of nanofillers will be carried out to efficiently stabilize the dispersion of nanofillers in the polymer matrix, substantially strengthen interfacial bonding between nanofillers and the polymer matrix, and consequently improve mechanical performance of the polymer nanocomposites, which brings in great potential for even lighter and stronger materials. In the meantime, environmentally friendly bio-based binders will be developed to not only replace conventional surface coupling agents to surface-modify nanofillers, but also to partially replace the conventional polymer matrix to enhance the sustainability and mechanical performance of the resultant polymer composite materials. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.