ALIGNED NANOPARTICLE CHANNEL AND METHOD OF FABRICATING ALIGNED NANOPARTICLE CHANNEL BY APPLYING SHEAR FORCE TO IMMISCIBLE BINARY POLYMER-BLENDED NANOPARTICLE COMPOSITE

• US 20080160290A1
• Filed: 08/28/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute
• Original Assignee: Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute
• Inventors: Han, Dong Hee, Park, Su Dong, Kwon, Young Hwan
• Application Number:
  US11/846,452
• Publication Number:
  US 20080160290A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 428/327
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 30/00 Nanotechnology for materials or surface science, e.g. nanocomposites
• CPC Class Codes: C08J 3/212 and solid additives
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/254 Polymeric or resinous material

Abstract

A method of fabricating an aligned nanoparticle channel, including a first step of forming a polymer nanoparticle blended composite by dispersing nanoparticles in a first polymer; a second step of forming a binary polymer nanoparticle blended composite by melt-blending the polymer nanoparticle blended composite with a second polymer, which is immiscible with the first polymer, and then cooling the mixture; and a third step of forming an aligned nanoparticle channel by applying a shear force to the binary polymer nanoparticle blended composite such that the nanoparticles dispersed in the first polymer are aligned in a direction parallel to the shear force, and an aligned nanoparticle channel fabricated using the method.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating an aligned nanoparticle channel, comprising the steps of:

forming a polymer nanoparticle blended composite by dispersing nanoparticles in a first polymer;

forming a binary polymer nanoparticle blended composite by melt-blending the polymer nanoparticle blended composite with a second polymer, which is immiscible with the first polymer, and then cooling the mixture; and

forming an aligned nanoparticle channel by applying a shear force to the binary polymer nanoparticle blended composite such that the nanoparticles dispersed in the first polymer are aligned in a direction parallel to the shear force.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the polymer nanoparticle blended composite comprises:

preparing a dispersion solution by dissolving the first polymer in a nonsolventable solvent, adding a dispersant to the solution and then stirring the solution to which the dispersant is added; and

adding nanoparticles to the dispersion solution and then ultrasonically dispersing the dispersion solution to which the nanoparticles are added.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein, in the step of forming the aligned nanoparticle channel, the shear force is applied to the binary polymer nanoparticle blended composite at a temperature at which the viscosity ratio of the first polymer to the second polymer is in a range of 0.5˜

1.5.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the first polymer is formed of polystyrene, and the second polymer is formed of low density polyethylene.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the nanoparticle is one selected from among a carbon nanotube, copper, nano-carbon black, gold, silver, platinum, and a mixture thereof.

6. An aligned nanoparticle channel fabricated using the method according to claim 1.

7. An aligned nanoparticle channel fabricated using the method according to claim 5.