V.N. Kestelman

Highly dispersed nanoscale particles in polymer matrices are currently attracting great interest in many fields of chemistry, physics, and materials science. This book presents and analyzes the essential data on nanoscale metal clusters dispersed in, or chemically bonded with polymers. Special attention is paid to the in situ synthesis of the nanocomposites, their chemical interactions, and the size and distribution of the particles in the polymer matrix. Numerous novel nanocomposites are described with regard to their mechanical, electrophysical, optical, magnetic, catalytic, and biological properties. Their applications, present and future, are outlined. The book is addressed both to researchers who actively use these materials and to students entering this multidisciplinary field.

Data on the synthesis and physicochemical studies of salts of mono- or dibasic unsaturated carboxylic acids and macromolecular metal carboxylates are generalised and described systematically in this monograph. The structures and properties of the COO group in various compounds and characteristic features of the structures of carboxylate are analysed. The main routes and kinetics of polymerisation transformations of unsaturated metal carboxylates are considered. The attention is focused on the effect of the metal ion on the monomer reactivity and the polymer morphology and structure. The possibility of stereochemical control of radical polymerisation of unsaturated metal carboxylates is demonstrated. The electronic, magnetic, optical, absorption and thermal properties of metal (co)polymers and nanocomposites and their main applications are also considered.

One of the recently emerging techniques of fibrous materials production, melt blowing, consists of forming fibers from substances heated above their melting (crystalline) or glass transition (glass-like) point with further blowing by gas flow. The sprayed fibrous mass is then cooled to solidification either in a gas flow or upon deposition on the forming substrate. Realized from polymers and then ceramics, the melt blowing technique has enriched materials science, engineering, and all commodity products by novel types of fibrous materials and products made from them with a unique combination of properties. The reasons for the popularity of melt blowing are the following. The shape stability and strength of melt-blown materials and products are controllable technological parameters that depend on the diameter and the intensity of the adhesive interaction between fibers and the number of contacts between them. The greater area of fiber surface in contrast to negligible clearances in between is the source of the uniqueness of melt-blown materials as systems whose properties are governed to a great degree by surface phenomena. Dielectric materials manufactured by melt blowing are subjected to the rigorous effects of heat, deformation, and friction during processing which is accompanied by natural electrical polarization of fibers. The fibers are transferred into an electret state (an electret is a dielectric that preserves its electrical polarization for a long time), which makes melt-blown materials the source of a permanent electrical field.

It is known that composites have insufficient transversal strength and rigidity, and low longitudinal shear modulus, compression and shear strength. This book describes methods to avoid these disadvantages by hybridization and spiral reinforcement of composites at the micro-level during the production stage. Mathematical models and design methods have been developed for various composites. The authors discuss the technology of spiral reinforcement and fillers, the structures and properties of spirally reinforced composites, binders, the manufacture of such composites, and the application of new materials and constructions. This informative text will be of interest to researchers, teachers and students in academia and also to industrial scientists and engineers involved in the development and application of new materials.

One of the key problems of failure-free operation of machinery is prevention of corrosion. The global scale of modern production makes this problem even more critical. At the beginning of the 21st century industrial contami- tion and the corrosion-active nature of the environment reached a level such that corrosive damage of materials became commensurate with their prod- tion volume and expenditure on anticorrosion protection of machines became comparable with investments in basic production. Anticorrosion techniques changed from being an auxiliary service to industrial enterprises into a dev- oping, scienti?cally intensive and generously ?nanced branch of production. Polymers occupy a very speci?c place amongst anticorrosion techniques. Polymers combine good chemical resistance with impermeability to di?- ent media and unusual deformation characteristics. The main principle of their application as anticorrosion means is the creation of a tight barrier that insulates metal machine parts or constructions from corrosion agents. The advantages of polymers allow the creation of such a barrier at minimal cost,providingprotectionoftheworkingmachinesfromcorrosion,combining their manufacture with preservation and decreasing the cost of anticorrosion. This is one of the main reasons why world production of polymer materials increased by almost 50% in the past decade.

Data on the synthesis and physicochemical studies of salts of mono- or dibasic unsaturated carboxylic acids and macromolecular metal carboxylates are generalised and described systematically in this monograph. The structures and properties of the COO group in various compounds and characteristic features of the structures of carboxylate are analysed. The main routes and kinetics of polymerisation transformations of unsaturated metal carboxylates are considered. The attention is focused on the effect of the metal ion on the monomer reactivity and the polymer morphology and structure. The possibility of stereochemical control of radical polymerisation of unsaturated metal carboxylates is demonstrated. The electronic, magnetic, optical, absorption and thermal properties of metal (co)polymers and nanocomposites and their main applications are also considered.

One of the key problems of failure-free operation of machinery is prevention of corrosion. The global scale of modern production makes this problem even more critical. At the beginning of the 21st century industrial contami- tion and the corrosion-active nature of the environment reached a level such that corrosive damage of materials became commensurate with their prod- tion volume and expenditure on anticorrosion protection of machines became comparable with investments in basic production. Anticorrosion techniques changed from being an auxiliary service to industrial enterprises into a dev- oping, scienti?cally intensive and generously ?nanced branch of production. Polymers occupy a very speci?c place amongst anticorrosion techniques. Polymers combine good chemical resistance with impermeability to di?- ent media and unusual deformation characteristics. The main principle of their application as anticorrosion means is the creation of a tight barrier that insulates metal machine parts or constructions from corrosion agents. The advantages of polymers allow the creation of such a barrier at minimal cost,providingprotectionoftheworkingmachinesfromcorrosion,combining their manufacture with preservation and decreasing the cost of anticorrosion. This is one of the main reasons why world production of polymer materials increased by almost 50% in the past decade.

Highly dispersed nanoscale particles in polymer matrices are currently attracting great interest in many fields of chemistry, physics, and materials science. This book presents and analyzes the essential data on nanoscale metal clusters dispersed in, or chemically bonded with polymers. Special attention is paid to the in situ synthesis of the nanocomposites, their chemical interactions, and the size and distribution of the particles in the polymer matrix. Numerous novel nanocomposites are described with regard to their mechanical, electrophysical, optical, magnetic, catalytic, and biological properties. Their applications, present and future, are outlined. The book is addressed both to researchers who actively use these materials and to students entering this multidisciplinary field.

It is known that composites have insufficient transversal strength and rigidity, and low longitudinal shear modulus, compression and shear strength. This book describes methods to avoid these disadvantages by hybridization and spiral reinforcement of composites at the micro-level during the production stage. Mathematical models and design methods have been developed for various composites. The authors discuss the technology of spiral reinforcement and fillers, the structures and properties of spirally reinforced composites, binders, the manufacture of such composites, and the application of new materials and constructions. This informative text will be of interest to researchers, teachers and students in academia and also to industrial scientists and engineers involved in the development and application of new materials.

Numerous practical problems connected to triboelectric phenomena remain unsolved in both the fabrication and behavior of polymer threads and fabrics in a variety of industrial articles. Using the results of unique experiments carried out in the countries of the former Soviet Union, this volume fills a gap in the science of tribology, presenting fundamental information on the nature of physical and chemical processes governing and accompanying tribodeformation and tribodisintegration of polymers. Details on electrophysical phenomena such as contact electrification and emergence of the electret state in polymer materials are also provided.