Cromer, B. M. Coughlin, E. B. Lesser, A. J. Evaluation of a new processing method for improved nanocomposite dispersions <p>Herein, a new process referred to as melt-mastication (MM) is used for the first time and evaluated for dispersing nanoparticles in polymers. Compared to a conventional melt processing (CMP) technique, MM produces higher mixing torque and therefore shear in the melt during processing, resulting in the fragmentation of micrometer-scale agglomerates of exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets (xGnP) in polypropylene. The efficacy of MM compared to CMP is evaluated using quantitative stereological techniques. Stereology reveals a correlation between the steady state process torque and the spatial size distribution of agglomerates. Finally, a mechanism for agglomerate fragmentation is proposed and discussed with respect to the results.</p> Nanocomposites;Particle dispersion;Particle reinforcement;Stereological characterization 2016-12-09
    https://tandf.figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/Evaluation_of_a_new_processing_method_for_improved_nanocomposite_dispersions/4299674
10.6084/m9.figshare.4299674.v1