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Olgun Güven, has been working in the field of radiation chemistry and processing of polymers for 40+ years. He is the author and co-author of >350 papers published in peer-reviewed journals, several book chapters and 3 books. He had lectured in the graduate programs of universities and research centers from more than 10 countries and at home and abroad supervised more than 70 Ph.D. and M.S. theses. From 1966 to 2003 he was the technical officer in charge of radiation technology at the IAEA. He is the associate editor of the journal Radiation Physics and Chemistry |
Olgun Güven
Hacettepe University,Department of Chemistry, Beytepe, 06800, Ankara, Turkey
Resumo
The properties of polymers can be improved while manitaining their light weight by reinforcing them with proper fillers in the form of fibers or particles . The improvement can be achieved even at a relatively low filler content. Traditionally composites were reinforced with micron sized fillers. On the other hand nanotechnology alows the size of various fillers to go down to nanoscale giving rise to the development of a new class of composites called polymer nanocomposites (PNC). In general the properties of PNC are superior to composites with large size fillers. Three most important components in a typical PNC are: polymer matrix, nanoscale filler and interfacial region. The nature of matrix and filler interactions at the interface determine the ultimate properties of PNC. The poor compatibility between the matrix and nanofiller can be overcome by using interfacial materials or methods to enhance dispersion. One of the major problems of reinforcing polyolefins with natural fillers such as fibers and clays is the poor adhesion between the filler particles and the matrix as nonpolar polymers can hardly couple with the polar structures. In this presentation a selection of literature and some works from the author’s laboratory was chosen to highlight some of the issues related to preparation and properties of PNC. The emphasis will be given to the role of ionizing radiation to modify either the polymer matrix and/or the filler to enhance compatibility.
