Taylor & Francis Block Copolymer Nanocomposites

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the synthesis and characterization of nanocomposites based on block copolymers. Because of the self-assembly capability of block copolymers for the generation of nanostructures, besides their ability to nanostructure thermosetting matrices such as epoxy and polyester, binary or ternary nanocomposites can be prepared with different nanofillers such as nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes. The book starts with a review on nanocomposites based on block copolymers and nanoparticles synthesized with the use of surfactants, followed by a review on nanocomposites with metallic nanoparticles with polymer brushes and those with carbon nanotubes. A chapter is devoted to binary systems based on block copolymers and nanoparticles synthesized by sol-gel. A review on nanocomposites based on thermosetting matrices nanostructured with block copolymers (amphiphilic or chemically modified) is also presented for both epoxy and polyester resins. The work on ternary systems based on thermosetting matrices, block copolymers, and nanoparticles is presented next. The book concludes with a discussion on nanocomposites based on epoxy and block copolymers with azobenzene groups for optical purposes. Review "This book includes a wide variety of examples of block copolymer nanocomposites and their applications. It documents the enormous progress made in the field in order to use very simple strategies to tailor the surface of nanoparticles into a block copolymer. The chapters are supplemented by comprehensive bibliographies. The book will be immensely useful for polymer chemists, engineers, metallurgists, and all those who are interested in materials science."―Prof. Deodato Radic, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile About the Author Galder Kortaberria studied chemistry at the University of the Basque Country, Spain, from 1993 to 1998, with specialization in polymer chemistry. He obtained his doctorate cum laude in materials engineering from the Polytechnic School, University of the Basque Country, under the supervision of Prof. Iñaki Mondragon, in 2004. Then he obtained a permanent position at the Polytechnic School as an associate professor. As a senior member of the "Materials + Technologies" Group, Dr. Kortaberria’s research is focused on the synthesis and characterization of copolymeric matrix-based nanocomposites with nanoparticles, nanotubes, or other nanoentities. He has published more than 70 papers in high-impact journals and around 10 book chapters and presented more than 80 presentations at national and international meetings. Agnieszka Tercjak obtained her master’s degree in chemical technology engineering in 1995 and her PhD in 2000 from the Technical University of Gdańsk, Poland. Currently she is a senior researcher at the University of the Basque Country and professor of Master in Engineering of Renewable Materials and Engineering of Advanced Materials. Dr. Tercjak has published more than 95 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, 1 book, and 10 book chapters and has presented more than 110 presentations at national and international meetings.