3D Imaging of Organic Nanoparticle Fillers in Organic Matrices
EMSL Project ID
27090
Abstract
The addition of fillers to polymer matrices is well known to affect their performance, from improving mechanical properties to barrier properties to membrane performance, depending upon the filler particle type and its interfacial interactions. Experiments in our lab have shown the effect of different interphase chemistries and percolation on nanocomposite performance. The filler we utilize is cellulose nanocrystals (CNXLs). The cellulose crystal is one of the strongest and stiffest of organic compounds. In addition, cellulose is imminently modifiable via a host of well known chemical reactions.
In order to discern the contribution of a percolating CNXL network in a polymer matrix, we must be able to image the CNXLs in that matrix. However, neither SEM, TEM, AFM, nor optical microscopes are unable to tell us about the 3D nanoscale distribution of the CNXL nanoparticles. The ability to image the 3D structure of CNXLs in a variety of polymer matrices would allow us to evaluate the contribution of percolation to the observed macro properties of the composite. This proposal intends to address this data gap by imaging various CNXL/polymer matrix samples using TEM tomography on the low power instruments at PNNL.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2007-11-05
End Date
2008-11-09
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator