Design and synthesis of metal oxide-polymer composites

Abstract

Recently, metal oxide-polymer composites have received significant attention in many industrial fields. The combination of metal oxides (commonly used TiO2, ZnO, Fe3O4, and Al2O3) with a polymer matrix governs to produce high-performance metal oxide-polymer composites by in situ polymerization, sol-gel method, solution blending, or melt blending. Design of the metal oxide-polymer composites is essential to meet requirements for tailored productions of the composite materials. Many design parameters such as metal oxide characteristics and alignment, polymer matrix structure, amount of metal oxide/polymer matrix, surface modifications, and production conditions considerably affect interactions between a metal oxide and polymer matrix. Good compatibility of metal oxide with polymer matrix through homogeneous dispersion of the metal oxide in the matrix provides synergistic effects on the properties of the composites. The authors represented the design and synthesis of the metal oxide-polymer composites in detail in this chapter. Enhanced mechanical, electrical, optical, magnetic, thermal, barrier, and antibacterial properties of the metal oxide-polymer composites were briefly mentioned depending on design parameters. © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.