Nanofiller‐reinforced polymer nanocomposites

In this work, the technology of nano‐ and micro‐scale particle reinforcement concerning various polymeric fiber‐reinforced systems including polyamides (PAs), polyesters, polyurethanes (PUs), polypropylenes (pps), and high‐performance/temperature engineering polymers such as polyimide (PI), poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK), polyarylacetylene (PAA), and poly p‐phenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO) is reviewed. When the diameters of polymer fiber materials are shrunk from micrometers to submicrons or nanometers, there appear several unique characteristics such as very large surface area to volume ratio (this ratio for a nanofiber can be as large as 10³ times of that of a microfiber), flexibility in surface functionalities and superior mechanical performance (such as stiffness and tensile strength) compared to any other known form of the material. While nanoparticle reinforcement of fiber‐reinforced composites has been shown to be a possibility, much work remains to be performed in order to understand how nanoreinforcement results in dramatic changes in material properties. The understanding of these phenomena will facilitate their extension to the reinforcement of more complicated anisotropic structures and advanced polymeric composite systems. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.