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Updated: Feb 20, 2026
Advanced Compositional Analysis of Nanoparticle-polymer Composites Using Direct Fluorescence Imaging
Published on: July 19, 2016
Cation-π Interaction Triggered-Fluorescence of Clay Fillers in Polymer Composites for Quantification of
Jinpan Zhong1, Zhiqiang Li1, Weijiang Guan1
1State Key Laboratory of Chemical Resource Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology , Beijing 100029, China.
Abstract:
It is a considerable challenge to realize 3D fluorescence quantification of macrodispersion of clay fillers in a polymer matrix mainly owing to quenching of light emission in the solid state. Herein, a strong light emission is generated within the interlaminated clay as a result of a cation-π interaction between cationic surfactant and fluorescent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon when they are cointercalated into clay. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is applied for 3D imaging of macrodispersion of the fluorescence-labeled clay fillers in a silicone rubber matrix. More importantly, the quantification of macrodispersion of clay fillers in the overall polymer composite is established by a statistical model. The proposed method fills in an important gap in the standard for macrodispersion quantification of inorganic fillers in polymer composites.
