Bimodal surface ligand engineering: the key to tunable nanocomposites

Preparation and Evaluation of a Zirconia/Oligosiloxane Nanocomposite for LED Encapsulation

A zirconia/oligosiloxane nanocomposite encapsulant has been developed and tested in a high-power LED package against commercial silicone resins. The composite was a marriage of zirconia nanocrystals modified with butyric acid (BA) and 3-methacryloxy propyl trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) and a high-index methacryloxy-oligosiloxanes resin made from MPTMS plus dimethyl, diphenyl, and triphenyl silanes. The modified zirconia had an index of 1.762 (@589 nm) and was dispersible in many solvents. The oligosiloxane resin, however, had an index of 1.5413 with good encapsulation properties and low viscosity allowing the incorporation of more zirconia. The final nanocomposite showed a refractive index of 1.625 with high transparency and a wavelength-independent scattering, both desirable for the light extraction from LED. When tested in a high-power LED package, the composite encapsulant resulted in 13% more light output compared to the commercial encapsulant (OE-6630, Dow Corning Corp.) and showed longer than 1000 h of lifetime (L70) under the steady-state Temperature Humidity Bias (THB) test.

Efficient One-Pot Synthesis of Colloidal Zirconium Oxide Nanoparticles for High-Refractive-Index Nanocomposites

Zirconium oxide nanoparticles are promising candidates for optical engineering, photocatalysis, and high-κ dielectrics. However, reported synthetic methods for the colloidal zirconium oxide nanoparticles use unstable alkoxide precursors and have various other drawbacks, limiting their wide application. Here, we report a facile one-pot method for the synthesis of colloidally stable zirconium oxide nanoparticles. Using a simple solution of zirconium trifluoroacetate in oleylamine, highly stable zirconium oxide nanoparticles have been synthesized with high yield, following a proposed amidization-assisted sol-gel mechanism. The nanoparticles can be readily dispersed in nonpolar solvents, forming a long-term stable transparent solution, which can be further used to fabricate high-refractive-index nanocomposites in both monolith and thin-film forms. In addition, the same method has also been extended to the synthesis of titanium oxide nanoparticles, demonstrating its general applicability to all group IVB metal oxide nanoparticles.

Novel Nanocomposites of Poly(lauryl methacrylate)-Grafted Al2O3 Nanoparticles in LDPE

Aluminum oxide nanoparticles (NPs) were surface-modified by poly(lauryl methacrylate) (PLMA) using surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) of lauryl methacrylate. Nanocomposites were obtained by mixing the grafted NPs in a low-density polyethylene (LDPE) matrix in different ratios. First, the NPs were silanized with different aminosilanes, (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane, and 3-aminopropyl(diethoxy)methylsilane (APDMS). Subsequently, α-BiB, an initiator for SI-ATRP, was attached to the amino groups, showing higher immobilization ratios for APDMS and confirming that fewer self-condensation reactions between silanes took place. In a third step SI-ATRP of LMA at different times was performed to render PLMA-grafted NPs (NP-PLMAs), showing good control of the polymerization. Reactions were conducted for 20 to 60 min, obtaining a range of molecular weights between 23 000 and 83 000 g/mol, as confirmed by size-exclusion chromoatography of the cleaved grafts. Nanocomposites of NP-PLMAs at low loadings in LDPE were prepared by extrusion. At low loadings, 0.5 wt % of inorganic content, the second yield point, storage, and loss moduli increased significantly, suggesting an improved interphase as an effect of the PLMA grafts. These observations were also confirmed by an increase in transparency of the nanocomposite films. At higher loadings, 1 wt % of inorganics, the increasing amount of PLMA gave rise to the formation of small aggregates, which may explain the loss of mechanical properties. Finally, dielectric measurements were performed, showing a decrease in tan δ values for LDPE-NP-PLMAs, as compared to the nanocomposites containing unmodified NP, thus indicating an improved interphase between the NPs and LDPE.

Environmentally responsive self-assembly of mixed poly(tert-butyl acrylate)-polystyrene brush-grafted silica nanoparticles in selective polymer matrices

Environmentally responsive self-assembly of nearly symmetric mixed poly(tert-butyl acrylate) (PtBA, 22.2 kDa)/polystyrene (PS, 23.4 kDa) brushes grafted onto 67 nm silica nanoparticles in selective homopolymer matrices [PtBA for the grafted PtBA chains and poly(cyclohexyl methacrylate) (PCHMA) for the grafted PS chains] was investigated using both conventional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron tomography (i.e., 3D TEM). A variety of self-assembled phase morphologies were observed for the mixed brushes in selective polymer matrices with different molecular weights, and these can be explained by entropy-driven wet- and dry-brush theories. In a low molecular weight selective matrix, the wet-brush regime was formed with the miscible chains stretching out and the immiscible chains collapsing into isolated domains. In contrast, when the molecular weight of the selective matrix was higher than that of the compatible grafted polymer chains, the dry-brush regime was formed with the mixed brushes exhibiting the unperturbed morphology. In addition to the molecular weight, the size of nanoparticles (or the substrate curvature) was also observed to play an important role. For small particles (core size less than 50 nm), the wet brush-like morphology with a surface-tethered micellar structure was observed. Finally, the wet- and dry-brush regimes also significantly affected the dispersion of mixed brush particles in selective polymer matrices.

Bimodal “matrix-free” polymer nanocomposites

“Matrix-free” nanocomposites with a bimodal population of polymer brushes for optimizing filler loading while maintaining controlled dispersion.

High-transparency polymer nanocomposites enabled by polymer-graft modification of particle fillers

The role of polymeric ligands on the optical transparency of polymer-matrix composites is analyzed by evaluating the effect of surface modification on the scattering cross-section of particle fillers in uniform particle dispersions. For the particular case of poly(styrene-r-acrylonitrile)-grafted silica particles embedded in poly(methyl methacrylate), it is shown that the tethering of polymeric chains with appropriate optical properties (such as to match the effective refractive index of the brush particle to the embedding matrix) facilitates the reduction of the particle scattering cross-section by several orders of magnitude as compared to pristine particle analogues. The conditions for minimizing the scattering cross-section of particle fillers by polymer-graft modification are established on the basis of effective medium as well as core-shell Mie theory and validated against experimental data on uniform liquid and solid particle dispersions. Effective medium theory is demonstrated to provide robust estimates of the "optimum polymer-graft composition" to minimize the scattering cross-section of particle fillers even in the limit of large particle dimensions (comparable to the wavelength of light). The application of polymer-graft modification to the design of large (500 nm diameter) silica particle composites with reduced scattering cross-section is demonstrated.

Rapid charging of thermal energy storage materials through plasmonic heating

Direct collection, conversion and storage of solar radiation as thermal energy are crucial to the efficient utilization of renewable solar energy and the reduction of global carbon footprint. This work reports a facile approach for rapid and efficient charging of thermal energy storage materials by the instant and intense photothermal effect of uniformly distributed plasmonic nanoparticles. Upon illumination with both green laser light and sunlight, the prepared plasmonic nanocomposites with volumetric ppm level of filler concentration demonstrated a faster heating rate, a higher heating temperature and a larger heating area than the conventional thermal diffusion based approach. With controlled dispersion, we further demonstrated that the light-to-heat conversion and thermal storage properties of the plasmonic nanocomposites can be fine-tuned by engineering the composition of the nanocomposites.

Bio-inspired evaporation through plasmonic film of nanoparticles at the air-water interface

Plasmonic gold nanoparticles self-assembled at the air-water interface to produce an evaporative surface with local control inspired by skins and plant leaves. Fast and efficient evaporation is realized due to the instant and localized plasmonic heating at the evaporative surface. The bio-inspired evaporation process provides an alternative promising approach for evaporation, and has potential applications in sterilization, distillation, and heat transfer.

Block-copolymer-mediated nanoparticle dispersion and assembly in polymer nanocomposites

A individual nanoparticle (NP) dispersion in polymer nanocomposites has been obtained through the adsorption of PSbP2VP block copolymer (BCP) at the NPs' surface in solution. The adsorbed block increases the minimum inter-NP distance, while the non-adsorbed block has favourable entropy of mixing with the matrix polymer with the same chemical structure. Physical adsorption of BCP provides a simple, robust means of organizing NPs in a chemically unfavourable polymer.

Ligand engineering of polymer nanocomposites: from the simple to the complex

One key to optimizing the performance of polymer nanocomposites for high-tech applications is surface ligand engineering of the nanofiller, which has been used to either tune the nanofiller morphology or introduce additional functionalities. Ligand engineering can be relatively simple such as a single population of short molecules on the nanoparticle surface designed for matrix compatibility. It can also have complexity that includes bimodal (or multimodal) populations of ligands that enable relatively independent control of enthalpic and entropic interactions between the nanofiller and matrix as well as introduce additional functionality and dynamic control. In this Spotlight on Applications, we provide a brief review into the use of brush ligands to tune the thermodynamic interactions between nanofiller and matrix and then focus on the potential for surface ligand engineering to create exciting nanocomposites properties for optoelectronic and dielectric applications.

Surface patterning of nonscattering phosphors for light extraction

A two-dimensional TiO₂ photonic crystal layer is fabricated on Y3Al5O12:Ce3+ (YAG:Ce) yellow ceramic plate phosphor (CPP) to enhance its forward emission. A triangle lattice pattern is defined by molecular transfer lithography with polyvinyl alcohol nanostructured templates. A 4.5 improvement in yellow emission is achieved from photonic-crystal-structure (PhC) patterned YAG:Ce CPP compared to a nonpatterned one. The PhC-patterned YAG:Ce CPP shows a collimated far-field intensity emission pattern compared to the random-patterned and nonpatterned one.