Aligned Nafion® Nanocomposites: Preparation and Morphological Characterization

✍ Scribed by C. S. Karthikeyan; M. Schossig; E. Radovanovic; M. C. Gonçalves; H. Wittich; K. Schulte; S. P. Nunes

• Book ID: 102490047
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 338 KB
• Volume: 288
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1438-7492
• DOI: 10.1002/mame.200390010

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

A novel nanocomposite based on Nafion® (ionomer) and a layered silicate is studied. An innovative approach of processing a composite under electric field to induce orientation of the inorganic filler was carried out and accomplished in the present work. The morphology of oriented composites was analyzed by scanning electric potential microscopy (SEPM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Films based on both plain ionomer and composite displayed fine contrast in SEPM, differentiating the phases, which could not be achieved using conventional atomic force microscopy. The orientation of the silicates in the composites is evident from the SEPM picture.

AFM of Nafion®/montmorillonite composite films prepared by solution casting under electric field (Image obtained by SEPM).

magnified imageAFM of Nafion®/montmorillonite composite films prepared by solution casting under electric field (Image obtained by SEPM).