A one step polymer-incorporation sol-gel process coupled with a surface modification and ambient pressure drying process was developed to synthesize silica-poly(vinylpyrrolidone) composites aerogels. The properties that were investigated were: hydrophobicity, mechanical strength and thermal conductivity at high temperatures. The authors envisioned the use of these polymer composites in energy saving areas with large scale production....
A series of polymer-matrix composites were synthesized by using a variety of carbon nanotubes (single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)) and a polymer matrix (either polystyrene (PS) or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)). Different surfactants and polymerization methods were also used in order to generate a wide range of different composites. These different composites were all tested for thermal and electrical conductivity and characterized ...