Effect of Initial Dispersion State on the Structure and Property of Polymer Nanocomposites

In the colloids-polymer mixture system, the microstructure of particles and polymers are strongly dependent upon their interactions, which can vary systemically with the component concentrations. When the colloidal system is concentrated by solvent evaporation with drying, the continuous change of component concentrations also causes a continuous change in the interparticle interaction. Previous studies have been conducted to control the rate of evaporation or drying conditions of the system. In this study, we show how the initial dispersion of the colloidal system can influence the final structure and property of the polymer nanocomposites. To vary the initial dispersion state, we first set different initial dispersion concentrations to find the effect of polymer and particle volume fractions on the interaction. Second, we provide different equilibrium time for particles to be aggregated. Ensemble- averaged microstructures were analyzed by SAXS measurement and rheological properties were analyzed by rheometer.