Elsevier

Polymer

Volume 54, Issue 13, 7 June 2013, Pages 3131-3144
Polymer

Feature article
The physics and micro-mechanics of nano-voids and nano-particles in polymer combinations

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2013.03.035Get rights and content
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Abstract

In this article the role of voids or particulate inclusions of different sizes on mechanical properties and particularly on toughness in several polymers is discussed. With decreasing void sizes and intervoid distances, the influence of the interphase material around the voids becomes more important and characteristic changes in the nano- and micro-deformation mechanisms appear. These mechanisms are revealed by several techniques of electron microscopy within rubber modified polymers, nanocomposites and nanofibres respectively. Three nanoscopic toughness enhancing mechanisms are described in detail: thin layer yielding, nanovoid-modulated craze-formation, and the core flattening mechanism. The action of these mechanisms constitutes a distinct advantage of nanovoids over microvoids.

Keywords

Polymer combinations
Polymer nano-composites
Nano-/micromechanics
Electron microscopy

Cited by (0)

Goerg H. Michler received his M.Sc. degree in Physics at the University of Halle-Wittenberg. He started his work on polymers as a research scientist at the Academy Institute of Solid State Physics and Electron Microscopy in Halle (Saale) in cooperation with the chemical industry in Schkopau and Leuna. In 1978 he received a PhD in Physics for deformation studies of glassy and rubber-modified polymers and in 1987 the Habilitation for studies of crazes and craze-like deformations in polymers. In 1990 he was appointed Professor of Experimental Physics at the Technical University of Merseburg and in 1992 Professor of General Materials Science at the University Halle-Wittenberg. He was founder and Director of the Institute of Polymeric Materials. His research interests focus in the study of structure property correlations of different polymers and biomedical materials and particularly of nano- and micromechanical mechanisms of deformation and fracture by means of electron and atomic force microscopy. He is author of more than 250 papers and several books. His work has been awarded with the “Alexander von Humboldt – J.C. Mutis Prize” in Spain and the “Paul J. Flory Polymer Research Prize” in USA. He is presently Professor Emeritus and member of the boards of several societies in the field of polymeric materials and electron microscopy.

Henning Kausch-Blecken von Schmeling received a PhD in nuclear physics from the University of Göttingen (Germany) in 1960. Nevertheless, his first industrial engagement – and his entire professional career – was dedicated to the then relatively new science of macromolecules. Following 5 years of industrial experience Kausch spent 3 years as post-doc in Minneapolis and at the California Inst. of Technology in Pasadena and 7 years at the Battelle Institute in Frankfurt. In 1976 Kausch was nominated Professor of Polymers in the newly created Department of Materials Sciences of the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He founded the polymer laboratory which became well known for its innovative studies on the role of chain backbones in craze initiation, interdiffusion at interfaces and during high rates of loading. More than 20 PhD theses, some 200 publications and several books testify to his creative activity, for which he was awarded the Dr. honoris causa of the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg in 1998 the year of his retirement.Through his research and his multiple engagements in international professional societies as well as Regional Editor of the Advances in Polymer Science for more than 30 years Hans-Henning Kausch-Blecken von Schmeling has strongly promoted macromolecular science in Europe during this period.