PU nanocomposites from bifunctional nanoparticles: impact of liquid interphase on mechanical properties

The Fe₃O₄@Poly(1,4-butanediol)/polyurethane nanocomposite is a highly interphase-dependable material with unique characteristics. Firstly, the nanoparticle's organic shell allows simple fabrication of very well dispersed nanocomposites and the incorporation of extremely high amounts of nanoparticles (NP) into the polymer matrix. Secondly, both chemical and physical aspects of the nanoparticles determine the material's mechanical behavior. The chemical functionality of the organic layer - free hydroxyl groups at the end of the tethered chains - ensures the material's stiffening through covalent bonds with the matrix, while being at molten state provides high flexibility and deformability yet maintaining mechanical resistance. As a result, nanocomposites at the low concentration region show increased elastic modulus and tensile strength and slight increase in total strain, while highly concentrated nanocomposites show reduction of elastic modulus and tensile strength and roughly double the total strain. The combination of the chemical and physical functionalities ensures high compatibility between nanoparticles and matrix and allows the production of highly concentrated - above 90% in weight - nanocomposites as a cohesive and flexible material, instead of a brittle wafer. This bifunctionality effect is unprecedented and the results open a wide range of new possibilities in the tailoring of functional nanomaterials for all sorts of applications in materials science.