Heat removal has become an increasingly crucial issue for microelectronic chips due to increasingly high speed and high performance. One solution is to increase the thermal conductivity of the corresponding dielectrics. However, traditional approach to adding solid heat conductive nanoparticles to polymer dielectrics led to a significant weight increase. Here we propose a dielectric polymer filled with heat conductive hollow nanoparticles to mitigate the weight gain. Our mesoscale simulation of heat conduction through this dielectric polymer composite microstructure using the phase-field spectral iterative perturbation method demonstrates the simultaneous achievement of enhanced effective thermal conductivity and the low density. It is shown that additional heat conductivity enhancement can be achieved by wrapping the hollow nanoparticles with graphene layers. The underlying mesoscale mechanism of such a microstructure design and the quantitative effect of interfacial thermal resistance will be discussed. This work is expected to stimulate future efforts to develop light-weight thermal conductive polymer nanocomposites.

The silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) exhibit unique and tunable plasmonic properties. The size and shape of these particles can manipulate their localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) property and their response to the local environment. The LSPR property of nanoparticles is exploited by their optical, chemical, and biological sensing. This is an interdisciplinary area that involves chemistry, biology, and materials science. In this paper, a polymer system is used with the optimization technique of blending two polymers. The two polymer composites polystyrene/poly (4-vinylpyridine) (PS/P4VP) (50:50) and (75:25) were used as found suitable by their previous morphological studies. The results of 50, 95, and 50, 150 nm thicknesses of silver nanoparticles deposited on PS/P4VP (50:50) and (75:25) were explored to observe their optical sensitivity. The nature of the polymer composite embedded with silver nanoparticles affects the size of the nanoparticle and its distribution in the matrix. The polymer composites used are found to have a uniform distribution of nanoparticles of various sizes. The optical properties of Ag nanoparticles embedded in suitable polymer composites for the development of the latest plasmonic applications, owing to their unique properties, were explored. The sensing capability of a particular polymer composite is found to depend on the size of the nanoparticle embedded in it. The optimum result has been found for silver nanoparticles of 150 nm thickness deposited on PS/P4VP (75:25).

Diamond-like Nanocomposites (DLN) is a newly member in amorphous carbon (a:C) family. It consists of two or more interpenetrated atomic scale network structures. The amorphous silicon oxide (a:SiO) is incorporated within diamond-like carbon (DLC) matrix i.e. a:CH and both the network is interpenetrated by Si-C bond. Hence, the internal stress of deposited DLN film decreases remarkably compare to DLC. The diamond-like properties have come due to deform tetrahedral carbon with sp³ configuration and high ratio of sp³ to sp² bond. The DLN has excellent mechanical, electrical, optical and tribological properties. Those properties of DLN could be varied over a wide range by changing deposition parameters, precursor and even post deposition treatment also. The range of properties are: Resistivity 10^-4 to 10¹⁴ Ωcm, hardness 10–22 GPa, coefficient of friction 0.03-0.2, wear factor 0.2-0.4 10^-7mm³/Nm, transmission Vis-far IR, modulus of elasticity 150-200 GPa, residual stress 200-300 Mpa, dielectric constant 3-9 and maximum operating temperature 600^°C in oxygen environment and 1200^°C in O₂ free air. Generally, the PECVD method is used to synthesize the DLN film. The most common procedures used for investigation of structure and composition of DLN films are Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), HRTEM, FESEM and X-ray photo electron spectroscopy (XPS). Interest in the coating technology has been expressed by nearly every industrial segment including automotive, aerospace, chemical processing, marine, energy, personal care, office equipment, electronics, biomedical and tool and die or in a single line from data to beer in all segment of life. In this review paper, characterization of diamond-like nanocomposites is discussed and subsequently different application areas are also elaborated.

Surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectrum has the characteristics of fast-detection, high-sensitivity and low-requirements for sample pretreatment. It plays a more and more important role in the detection of organic pollutants. In this study, MIL-101 and Au nanoparticles were prepared by hydrothermal method and aqueous solution reduction method respectively, and MIL-101/Au composite nanoparticles were prepared by electrostatic interaction. The SERS properties of the composite substrate were optimized by adjusting the size of Au nanoparticles and the surface distribution density of MIL-101 nanoparticles. The detection limit of Rhodamine 6G (R6G) for the composite substrate with the optimal ratio was investigated, which was as low as 10^–11 M. It is proved that MIL-101/Au composite nanoparticles have high sensitivity to probe molecules. When they are applied to the detection of persistent organic pollutants, the detection limit for fluoranthene can reach 10^–9 M and for 3,3’,4,4’-tetrachlorobiphenyl (PCB-77) can reach 10^–5 M.

Bagasse fiber from sugarcane waste is used with epoxy resin to make natural composites. The raw fibers are treated chemically to improve compatibility and adherence with the epoxy polymer. It’s anticipated that epoxy resin matrix composites reinforced with bagasse particles would work as a trustworthy replacement for conventional materials utilized in the building and automobile sectors. The amount and distribution of reinforcing particles inside the matrix are two factors that impact the composite’s strength. Furthermore, the precise proportion of reinforcing elements—roughly 20–30 weight percent—into the matrix plays a critical role in providing a noticeable boost in improving the properties of the composites. This research investigates the impact of reinforcing alkali-treated bagasse and untreated bagasse powder into an epoxy matrix on aspects of mechanical and morphological characteristics. The hand layup technique is used to create alkali-treated bagasse and untreated bagasse powder-reinforced epoxy composites. Composites are designed with six levels of reinforcement weight percentages (5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, and 30%). Microstructural analysis was performed using SEM and optical microscopes to assess the cohesion and dispersion of the reinforcing particles throughout the hybrid composites’ matrix phase. With reinforcement loading up to 20 wt%, the tensile strength, impact strength, and toughness of epoxy-alkali-treated bagasse and untreated bagasse powder-reinforced composites increased. In contrast, treated bagasse epoxy composites were superior to untreated epoxy composites in terms of efficacy. The results indicate that 20 wt% alkali bagasse powder provides better mechanical properties than other combinations.