The growing incidences of orthopedic problems globally have created a huge demand for strong bioactive materials for bone tissue engineering. Over the years, studies have shown chemical, physical, and mechanical properties of biomaterials influence the cellular interactions at the material-tissue interface, which subsequently controls biological response to materials. Strong biomaterials with surface properties that actively direct cellular response hold the key for engineering the next generation orthopedic implants. With its unique properties graphene can be used to reinforce poly (ε-caprolactone) (PCL) to prepare strong and bioactive polymer nanocomposites for bone tissue regeneration. The thesis entitled ―Engineering bioactive and multifunctional graphene polymer composites for bone tissue regeneration” systematically studies the effect of different chemically functionalized and metal-graphene hybrid nanoparticles in PCL composites for bone tissue engineering. The thesis comprises of seven chapters. Chapter 1 is an outline review on the impact of graphene and graphene derived particles to prepare supporting substrates for tissue regeneration and the associated cell response to multifunctional graphene substrate. This chapter discusses how cells interact with different graphene based particles and the interplay between cells performance and multifunctional properties of graphene based substrates. Chapter 2 describes the role, if any, of the functionalization of graphene on mechanical properties, stem cell response and bacterial biofilm formation. PCL composites of graphene oxide (GO), reduced GO (RGO) and amine-functionalized GO (AGO) were prepared at different filler contents (1%, 3% and 5%). Although the addition of the nanoparticles to PCL markedly increased the storage modulus, this increase was higher for GO and AGO than with RGO. In vitro cell studies revealed that the AGO and GO particles significantly increased human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) proliferation. AGO was most effective in augmenting stem cell osteogenesis leading to mineralization. Bacterial studies revealed that interaction with functionalized GO induced bacterial cell death due to membrane damage which was further accentuated by amine groups in AGO. The synergistic effect of oxygen containing functional groups and amine groups on AGO-reinforced composites renders the optimal combination of improved modulus, favorable stem cell response and biofilm inhibition desired for orthopaedic applications. In Chapter 3, toward preparing strong multi-biofunctional materials, poly(ethylenimine) (PEI) conjugated graphene oxide (GO_PEI) was synthesized using poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) as spacer and incorporated in PCL at different fractions. GO_PEI significantly promoted proliferation and formation of focal adhesions in hMSCs on PCL. GO_PEI was highly potent in inducing stem cell osteogenesis leading to 90% increase in alkaline phosphatase activity and mineralization over neat PCL with 5% filler content and was 50% better than GO. Remarkably, 5% GO_PEI was as potent as soluble osteo-inductive factors. Increased adsorption of osteogenic factors due to the amine and oxygen containing functional groups on GO_PEI augment stem cell differentiation. GO_PEI was also highly efficient in imparting bactericidal activity with 85% reduction in counts of E. coli colonies compared to neat PCL at 5% filler content and was more than twice as efficient as GO. This may be attributed to the synergistic effect of the sharp edges of the particles along with the presence of the different chemical moieties. Thus, in contrast to using labile biomolecules, GO_PEI based polymer composites can be utilized to prepare bioactive resorbable biomaterials for fabricating orthopedic devices for fracture fixation and tissue engineering. Chapter 4 describes the preparation of hybrid nanoparticles of graphene sheets decorated with strontium metallic nanoparticles and its advantages in bone tissue engineering. Strontium-decorated reduced graphene oxide (RGO_Sr) nanoparticles were synthesized by facile reduction of graphene oxide and strontium nitrate. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy revealed that the hybrid particles were composed of RGO sheets decorated with 200 – 300 nm metallic strontium particles. Thermal gravimetric analysis further confirmed the composition of the hybrid particles as 22 wt% of strontium. Macroporous tissue scaffolds were prepared incorporating RGO_Sr particles in PCL. The PCL/RGO_Sr scaffolds were found to elute strontium ions in aqueous medium. Osteoblast proliferation and differentiation was significantly higher in the PCL scaffolds containing the RGO_Sr particles in contrast to neat PCL and PCL/RGO scaffolds. The increased biological activity can be attributed to the release of strontium ions from the hybrid nanoparticles. This study demonstrates that composites prepared using hybrid nanoparticles that elute strontium ions can be used to prepare scaffolds with osteoinductive property. These findings have important implications for designing the next generation of biomaterials for use in tissue regeneration. Chapter 5 discusses the use of hybrid graphene-silver particles (RGO_Ag) to reinforce PCL and compared with PCL/RGO and PCL/Ag composites containing RGO and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), respectively. RGO_Ag hybrid particles were well dispersed in the PCL matrix unlike the RGO and AgNPs due to enhanced exfoliation. RGO_Ag led to 77 % increase in the modulus of PCL and provided a conductive network for electron transfer. Electrical conductivity increased four orders of magnitude from 10-11 S/cm to 10-7 S/cm at 5 wt % filler that greatly exceeded the improvements with the use of RGO and AgNP in PCL. RGO_Ag particles reinforced in PCL showed sustained release of silver ions from the PCL matrix unlike the burst release from PCL/Ag. PCL/RGO_Ag and PCL/RGO composites were non-toxic to hMSCs and supported osteogenic differentiation unlike the PCL/Ag composites which were highly toxic at ≥3% filler content. The PCL/RGO_Ag composites exhibited good antibacterial effect due to a combination of silver ion release from the AgNPs and the mechanical rupture induced by the RGO in the hybrid nanoparticles. Thus, the synergistic effect of Ag and RGO in the PCL matrix uniquely yielded a multifunctional material for use in implantable biomedical devices and tissue engineering. Chapter 6 presents investigation of potential differences in the biological response to graphene in polymer composites in the form of 2D substrates and 3D scaffolds. Results showed that osteoblast response to graphene in polymer nanocomposites is markedly altered between 2D substrates and 3D scaffold due to the roughness induced by the sharp edges of graphene at the surface in 3D but not in 2D. Osteoblast organized into aggregates in 3D scaffolds in contrast to more well spread and randomly distributed cells on 2D discs due to the macro-porous architecture of the scaffolds. Increased cell-cell contact and altered cellular morphology led to significantly higher mineralization in 3D scaffolds compared to 2D. This study demonstrates that the cellular response to nanoparticles in composites can change markedly by varying the processing route. Chapter 7 summarizes the important results and future directions of the work. This chapter provides general conclusions arising from this study, and makes suggestions for future work designed to provide a greater understanding of the in vivo response in terms of bio-distribution of the released functionalized graphene from the scaffold or substrate must be assessed with special attention on their accumulation or excretion.

The biggest hurdle in success of gene and drug therapy is designing and preparation of suitable bio-nanomaterials to carry the desired nucleic acid and drug to the targeted site. The work described in the present thesis encompasses two different approaches for the delivery of bioactive oligo/polynucleotides and drugs in vitro and in vivo using either cationic lipids or their nanocomposites with different carbon nanomaterials. The idea of using carriers for oligo/polynucleotides and drugs came into existence because of numerous physiological barriers in pathway of delivery of naked oligo/polynucleotides or drugs which reduces the overall activity of these bioactives in biological systems. These barriers trigger scientific research toward the preparation of appropriate biomaterials which can overcome the physiological barriers and improve the activity of bioactive oligo/polynucleotides and drugs in cellular systems. Toward this end, the design and synthesis of different cationic lipids and carbon nanomaterials were undertaken as described in seven chapters of the thesis. A series of novel cationic lipids with structural variability was prepared and used for gene delivery in vitro. They were further tuned chemically to sustain delivery efficiency in high serum percentage during in vitro transfection. These serum compatible lipids were used to perform transfection of reporter gene plasmid and found to be more efficient compared to the some well known commercial products for the same purpose. Another series of novel lipids were synthesized for the targeted gene delivery in vitro. These tryptophan based cholesteryl lipids were used to prepare mixed liposomes. These mixed liposomes were highly efficient in targeting sigma receptor rich HEK293T over sigma receptor negative HeLa cells. Mixed liposomes were also prepared for selective targeting of αvβ3 and αvβ5 integrins in gene transfection protocol using a palmitoyl-RAFT-RGD4 template. A mixed liposomal formulation was developed to carry out anti-sense siRNA mediated knockdown of Smad-2 protein with better efficiency compared to some of the best known commercial products for the same purpose. These mixed liposomes were also highly efficient for regression via induction of p53 mediated apoptosis in xenograft tumors developed in nude mice. Carbon nanomaterials have been extensively explored as nanoscale gene/drug carriers for potential applications. But the challenge is to solubilize these highly hydrophobic materials in aqueous medium for use in biological systems. Although there are reports for covalent modifications of such nanomaterials but it could be done only with the loss of some beneficial features of these materials. Herein a non-covalent technique has been efficiently used to suspend single walled carbon nanotubes in water using biocompatible cationic lipids. These nanosuspensions were used to complex plasmid DNA and transfect them in vitro. They proved to be highly serum compatible DNA carriers which did not drop the efficiency even in very high percentage of serum. Similarly exfoliated graphene was modified with cationic lipid and serum components to improve IC50 of Tamoxifen citrate and Methotrexate to a considerable extent in vitro. The improved Methotrexate formulations were highly efficient for regression in size of xenograft tumors developed in nude mice. Thus, the present thesis entails generation of cationic lipids and carbon nanomaterials based nanocomposites which were not only highly biocompatible themselves but their efficiency was found many fold better compare to some of the best commercial delivery agents. These were useful for the delivery of various bioactive oligo/polynucleotides and drugs in vitro and in vivo.

The main motivation of this thesis is derived from the fact that physics of disordered systems like conjugated polymer has yet not achieved as concrete understanding as ordered and crystalline systems such as inorganic semiconductors. Through the work done in this thesis, several efforts have been made in order to understand basic charge transport (hopping, current injection) phenomena and photo-physical properties (photoluminescence quenching, absorption, photoconductivity) in conjugated polymer and their hybrid composites. The thesis consists of 7 chapters. Chapter 1 discusses the background knowledge and information of the general properties of conjugated polymers, quantum dots and their hybrid nanocomposites. Chapter 2 deals with the sample preparation and experimental techniques used in this thesis. Chapter 3 elaborates the temperature and field dependent anisotropic charge transport in polypyrrole. Chapter 4 presents an idea to probe and correlate disorder and transport properties using impedance and Raman spectroscopy. Chapter 5 mainly talks about the doping level dependent photophysical and electrical properties of poly(3-hexylthiophene). Chapter 6 reveals the charge transport phenomena in hybrid composites of poly(3,4-ethyldioxythiophene):polysterene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) and cadmium telluride quantum dots. Chapter 1: Conjugated polymers and their hybrid systems are easily processible and cost effective material having huge scope for advanced materials of the future. Although variable range hopping (VRH) is widely accepted to model charge transport in π-conjugated systems, but at very low temperatures, high fields, high carrier concentrations one need to explore other models. Conjugated polymers are anisotropic intrinsically. Therefore, anisotropic charge transport can provide basic insights about the physics of charge hopping. Quantum dots, and their hybrid nanocomposites with semiconducting polymers receiving a huge attention for light emission and photovoltaic purposes. It is important to learn about the charge injection,barrier heights, etc. in order to achieve efficient hybrid devices. Chapter 2: Synthesis of the samples, both conjugated polymers and quantum dots, and fabrication of hybrid devices is an important and integral part of this thesis. An Electropolymerization technique is used for making polymer samples on conducting substrates. This is quite interesting because one can tune doping level, disorder and thickness simultaneously. Hydrothermal process is adopted to get highly aqua-dispersible quantum dots. Samples are characterized by different techniques like Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy. Photoluminescence, UV-Vis absorption, transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy are used to explore several properties of the polymer and hybrid nanocomposites. Chapter 3: It is known that conjugated polymers are intrinsically one–dimensional materials. Therefore it is important to learn anisotropic behavior of these complex systems. Hence, a comparison of electronic transport to their morphology has been carried out and role of carrier density and disorder is discussed further. Both in-plane and out-of-plane charge transport is studied in electrochemically deposited polypyrrole on platinum. Strong anisotropy is observed in the system which is correlated to granular morphology. Field dependence of anisotropic conductivity is also explored. Field scaling analysis shows that all field dependent curves of conductance at different temperatures can fall on to single master curve. Glazman – Matveev model is used to describe nonlinear conduction in field dependence and nonlinearity exponent is estimated. Disorder and carrier density along with the morphological structure like length and orientation of polymer chains with stacking arrangement of different layers in PPy films play an important role in governing the anisotropy in transport properties. Chapter 4: Two different techniques, namely impedance and Raman spectroscopies are used to probe disorder and transport properties in the polypyrrole. An effort is made to correlate the transport properties to the morphology by probing disorder via two different spectroscopic techniques. Frequency dependence of both real and imaginary part has shown that disorder and inhomogeneity varies in different PPy devices, which thus affect the transport properties like conductivity and mobility. Mobility values along the thickness direction for each sample reveal the impact of disorder on out-of¬plane geometry. A circuit based on consideration of the distributed relaxation times, is successfully used to obtain the best fit for the Cole–Cole plot of various PPy devices. FWHM of the de-convoluted peaks of Raman spectra is attributed to the change in distribution of the conjugation length in the PPy films. Chapter 5: The main focus of this chapter is the qualitative exploration of different photo-physical and electrical properties of electropolymerized poly(3-hexylthiophene) and their dependence on doping level. Photoluminescence quenching, band edge shifting in absorption spectra, electrochromic effect, significant enhancement in photocurrent at optimum doping level, two relaxation behaviors in reactance spectra and presence of negative capacitance at low frequencies are distinct features which are observed in poly(3-hexylthiophene) in this work. Quenching in photoluminescence intensity is attributed to charge transfer occurring between polymer chains and dopant ions. Two semicircles in the Cole-Cole plots refer to two type of relaxation process occurring in bulk layer and at interface. Frequency response of capacitance at higher bias and lo side of frequency shows a negative capacitance due to the relaxation mechanism associated with the space-charge effect. Chapter 6: Synthesis of quantum dots and fabrication of hybrid devices is one of the catchy parts of this chapter. Huge quenching photoluminescence intensity and very high increment (~ 400 %) in photocurrent clearly depict the charge transfer at molecular level. Temperature dependent current–voltage characteristics show the absence of thermionic emission since the barrier height is more than the thermal energy of the carriers. Further analysis confirms that the charge carrier injection of ITO/PPCdTe3/Al device is controlled by tunneling processes. The hybrid system has shown a peculiar transition from direct tunneling to Fowler–Nordheim tunneling mechanism which is because of the change in shape of the barrier height from trapezoidal to triangular type with increase in applied electric field. Chapter 7: The conclusions of the different works presented in this thesis are coherently summarized in this thesis. Thoughts and prospective for future directions are also summed up.

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Les nanocomposites polymère intéressent depuis de nombreuses années la communauté scientifique, du fait, notamment, de leurs bonnes propriétés mécaniques. Il est établi que l'amélioration des propriétés mécaniques observées dans les nanocomposites est principalement due à des effets de structure (dispersion des particules) et à des effets d'interface (interactions particule/matrice et particule/particule). Cependant, de nombreux résultats expérimentaux restent difficiles à expliquer. Dans ce contexte, nous avons synthétisé des nanocomposites modèles constitués de nanoparticules de silice greffées de chaînes de polystyrène (PS) (ou de PS-b-poly(acrylate de tertio-butyle)) par polymérisation radicalaire contrôlée par les nitroxydes (NMP) et réparties dans une matrice de PS. Ces nanocomposites ont ensuite été caractérisés en couplant la diffusion de rayons X et la microscopie électronique à transmission. En variant la taille des chaînes de la matrice, nous sommes parvenus à obtenir différentes répartitions spatiales de particules allant de la dispersion totale à l'agrégation en passant par un état intermédiaire s'apparentant à un réseau connecté aux fractions volumiques élevées. Les propriétés mécaniques de ces nanocomposites ont été étudiées par des mesures de cisaillement aux faibles fréquences puis reliées aux différentes dispersions observées. Enfin, nous avons mesuré la dynamique locale et intermédiaire des chaînes de polymères greffées dans les matériaux préparés en couplant la diffusion quasiélastique des neutrons (rétrodiffusion et écho de spin) et la résonance magnétique nucléaire. Ces mesures ont ensuite été reliées aux propriétés mécaniques des nanocomposites. / Polymer nanocomposites interest for many years the scientific community, due in particular, to their good mechanical properties. It is established that the improvement of these properties observed in nanocomposites are mainly due to structural effects (particles dispersion) and interfacial effects (particle/matrix and particles/particles interactions). However, many experimental results are difficult to explain. In such a context, we have synthesized model nanocomposites based on silica nanoparticles grafted with polystyrene (PS) chains (or PS-b-poly(ter-butyl acrylate)) by nitroxide mediated polymerization and dispersed in a PS matrix. Then, these nanocomposites have been characterized by combining X-ray scattering and transmission electronic microscopy. By varying the length of the matrix chains, we have obtained different fillers structure going from individual nanoparticles dispersion to aggregate, up to an intermediate state (equivalent to an interconnected network for high volume fraction). Mechanical properties of these nanocomposites were studied by the mean of shear measurements at low frequency and linked to the different states of dispersion observed. Finally, we have measured local and intermediate dynamics of the grafted polymer chains by combining quasielastic neutron scattering (backscattering and spin echo) and nuclear magnetic resonance. Then, we have linked these measurements with the mechanical properties of the materials.

Cette thèse présente l’élaboration de thermodurcissables et de composites biosourcés synthétisés à partir d’huiles végétales époxydées (lin et soja) et d’alcool furfurylique (FA). La première partie de ce travail concerne l’étude de la polymérisation du FA en polyalcool furfurylique (PFA) (i) en solvants protiques polaires, (ii) en combinaison avec le bois et (iii) suivant l’ajout de nouveaux amorceurs. En solvant, les changements de structures observés ont été reliés aux propriétés thermomécaniques. Une autre modification de structure du PFA a été obtenue grâce au 2,5 diméthylfurane. Ce travail a permis d’obtenir une meilleure compréhension de la réactivité du FA au sein du bois et montre que les composites bois/PFA ont une densité et une résistance plus élevées que leurs homologues non modifiés. Enfin, l’amorçage des réactions du FA par l’acide lévulinique ou par le p-toluène sulfonylhydrazine permet de proposer deux nouveaux amorceurs, respectivement biosourcé et « latent ». La seconde partie de ce travail concerne l’élaboration d’une résine époxyde totalement biosourcée et synthétisée à partir d’huiles végétales époxydées. L’huile de lin et de soja ont été chacune copolymérisées avec un acide dicarboxylique. Un premier travail fondamental a consisté à corréler la réactivité de copolymérisation avec les structures des polymères obtenus puis à établir le lien avec les propriétés thermomécaniques. Ensuite, des nanocomposites ont été synthétisés à partir de ces résines époxydes et de sépiolite. Les différentes voies de dispersion et de modification de la sépiolite mises en œuvre conduisent à des niveaux de dispersion différents de la nanocharge au sein de la matrice. / The work presents the elaboration of biobased thermosets and composites synthesized from epoxidized vegetable oils (linseed and soybean) and furfuryl alcohol (FA). A first area of research focused on the study of the polymerisation of FA into polyfurfuryl alcohol (PFA) (i) in protic polar solvents, (ii) in combination with wood and (iii) in the presence of new reaction initiators. In presence of solvents, the observed structural changes have been linked to the thermomechanical properties. Another PFA structure modification was obtained with 2,5 dimethylfuran. This work allowed a better understanding of the reactivity of FA within the wood and shows that the obtained wood/PFA composites have higher density and resistance than their non-modified equivalents. Finally, the initiation of FA polymerization by levulinic acid and p-toluene sulfonylhydrazine, respectively biobased and « latent » initiators has been studied. The second topic of thesis concerns a new type of fully bio-based epoxy resin synthesized from epoxidized vegetable oils. Linseed and soybean oils have both been copolymerized with a dicarboxylic acid as curing agent. A first fundamental work was to correlate the reactivity of copolymerization with the polymer structure and to link them with thermomechanical properties. The obtained thermosets have been used to prepare nanocomposites with sepiolite. Different methods of dispersion and/or modification of sepiolite conduct to diverse morphologies of nanofiller dispersions into the matrix.

Les matériaux composites peuvent présenter des propriétés qu'aucun des composants individuels ne présente. En outre, à l'échelle du nanomètre les nanocomposites peuvent présenter de nouvelles propriétés par rapport à l'état massif ou à des macrocomposites des mêmes composants en raison d’effets de confinement et d’effets quantiques liés à la taille. Les nanocomposites semi-conducteur/métal sont très intéressants en raison de leurs uniques propriétés catalytiques et opto-électroniques et la possibilité de les ajuster facilement. Ce travail de thèse étudie les interactions spécifiques et les propriétés physiques qui se manifestent dans les films minces de ZnO et nanocomposites ZnO-Au synthétisés par pulvérisation magnétron réactive continue. Premièrement, il est observé qu’il est possible d'ajuster les propriétés microstructurales et optiques des couches de ZnO en réglant les paramètres expérimentaux. La croissance épitaxiale de ZnO sur saphir a été réalisée pour la première fois dans des conditions riches en oxygène sans assistance thermique. En outre, une étude des propriétés optiques met en évidence la relation étroite entre les propriétés optiques et de la chimie des défauts dans les couches minces de ZnO. Un modèle a été proposé pour expliquer la grande dispersion des valeurs de gap rencontrées dans la littérature. Deuxièmement, il a été possible de révéler l'influence profonde de l'incorporation de l'or dans la matrice de ZnO sur des propriétés importantes dans des films nanocomposites. En outre, la présence de défauts donneurs (accepteurs) au sein de la matrice ZnO se permet de réduire (oxyder) les nanoparticules d’or. Ce travail de recherche contribue à une meilleure compréhension des nanocomposites semi-conducteurs/métal et révèle le rôle important de l'état de la matrice semi-conductrice et de la surface des particules pour les propriétés finales du matériau / Composite materials can exhibit properties that none of the individual components show. Moreover, composites at the nanoscale can present new properties compared to the bulk state or to macro-composites due to confinement and quantum size effects. The semiconductor/metal nanocomposites are highly interesting due to their unique catalytic and optoelectronic properties and the possibility to tune them easily. This PhD work gives insight into the specific interactions and resulting physical properties occurring in ZnO and ZnO-Au nanocomposite films grown by reactive DC magnetron sputtering. The results can be summarized in two points: First, it was possible to tune the microstructural and optical properties of ZnO. Epitaxial growth of ZnO onto sapphire was achieved for the first time in O2-rich conditions without thermal assistance. Also, a study of the optical properties highlights the close relationship between the bandgap energy (E_g ) and the defect chemistry in ZnO films. A model was proposed to explain the large scatter of the E_g values reported in the literature. Second, the deep influence of the incorporation of gold into the ZnO matrix on important material properties was revealed. Moreover, the presence of donor (acceptor) defects in the matrix is found to give rise to the reduction (oxidation) of the Au nanoparticles. This research work contributes to a better understanding of semiconductor/metal nanocomposites revealing the key role of the state of the semiconductor matrix

Dan Beaty (1937-2002) was a prolific composer, pianist, researcher, educator, and writer. His large compositional output included chamber works, choral works, songs, orchestral pieces, electronic music, and keyboard works. Beaty was well versed in traditional Western music as well as the more avant-garde and perplexing idioms of the twentieth century. Beaty's compositions reflect the many fascinating, if not always popular, musical trends of his time. His music encompasses styles from serial to jazz, shows compositional influences from Arnold Schoenberg to Indonesian music, and demonstrates thought-provoking and highly intellectual craftsmanship. This document explores several of Beaty's songs through a discussion of the composer's life and compositional process. Songs included in this document are Three Weeks Songs, October, November, A Sappho Lyric, Love Song, That Night When Joy Began, and War Lyrics. This document was written to accompany the author's DMA Lecture-Recital at the University of North Texas. Unfortunately, Beaty's vocal music was never published and is mostly unknown. One goal of the project was to initiate interest in Beaty's songs. Through this document, Lecture-Recital, and additional performances, considerable strides have been made to bring Beaty's songs to new audiences throughout the United States. In addition, the author has received permission from the Beaty family to publish Dan Beaty's songs.

Cette étude porte sur le développement de modèles et de méthodes numériques pour prédire les propriétés électriques et mécaniques des nanocomposites polymères/graphènes.Dans une première partie, un modèle nonlinéaire de conduction électrique prenant en compte l’effet tunnel est introduit pour déterminer la conductivité effective de ces nanocomposites au travers d’une procédure d’homogénéisation numérique. Celle-ci, basée sur une formulation éléments finis a mis en évidence l’influence des paramètres microstructuraux sur la conductivité effective au travers d’une étude statistique.Ensuite, un modèle atomistique de l’interface polymère/graphène a été proposé pour valuer les propriétés de l'interface et de l'interphase. Les champs de contrainte et de déplacement ont été identifiés par une extension de la procédure d'Hardy-Murdoch à partir des simulations de mécanique moléculaire. À l'aide de ces champs, un modèle élastique continue avec des interfaces imparfaites a été identifié et comparé aux résultats des simulations de mécanique moléculaire. Finalement, le modèle atomistique a permis d’identifier un modèle de zone cohésive nonlinéaire pour modéliser la décohésion à l’interface polymère/graphène. Une procédure d’homogénéisation numérique par la méthode des éléments finis a été introduite pour estimer les propriétés mécaniques effectives dans le cadre des transformations finies. Les microstructures déformées ont été utilisées dans le modèle électrocinétique pour déterminer l’impact de la décohésion interfaciale sur la conductivité effective. / This work contributes to developing numerical methodologies for predicting the electrical and mechanical properties of graphene/polymer nanocomposites, which can provide a better view for the design of new materials.First, a nonlinear electrical conduction model taking into account the tunneling effect is introduced to determine the effective conductivity of the graphene/polymer nanocomposites through a numerical homogenization procedure. The influences of barrier height and microstructural parameters on the conductivity were demonstrated.Then, to characterize the properties of interphases and interfaces, we employed the Murdoch-Hardy procedure combined with the molecular dynamics method to study the mechanical properties of the graphene/polymer nanocomposites. The stiffness tensor components of the interphase, interface andnbulk polymer region are identified. Based on these fields, a continuous elastic model with imperfect interface has been identified and compared with the results of molecular dynamics simulations.Finally, the atomistic model was used to identify a nonlinear cohesive zone model to simulate the decohesion at the interface of polymer and graphene. A numerical homogenization procedure by finite element method was introduced to estimate the effective mechanical properties in the framework of the finite strains. The proposed mechanical modeling is finally extended to the finite strain problem to predict the evolution of percolation threshold under tension within the proposed electrical model.

La thèse détermine les principaux paramètres de la formation des structures de la phase conductrice de nanocomposites polymères chargés avec des nanotubes de carbone (NTC) ou des nanocharges combinées, pour étudier l'influence de la morphologie de la structure hétérogène du composite et l'interaction des nanocharges sur les propriétés électriques, thermophysiques et mécaniques des composites. Les trois types de systèmes polymères ont été étudiés, à savoir: 1) les systèmes ségrégés avec distribution ordonnée de nanocharges, 2) les mélanges polymère conducteur; 3) les composites avec des charges binaires où les nanotubes de carbone ont été combinés avec des composés organo-argileux modifiés (MOC) dans un cas et des nanoparticules métalliques d’autre part. Les résultats sur les composites polymères ségrégés chargés avec des NTC ont montré que dans de tels systèmes, la charge conductrice crée un réseau continu conducteur au sein de la matrice polymère. Cela conduit à un seuil de percolation ultra faible avec la valeur de φc~0,045vol.%. Il a été démontré que les systèmes conducteurs à base de mélanges de polymères ont un seuil de percolation inférieur en raison d'effet de double percolation. Il a été constaté que l'introduction simultanée de composés MOC et de NTC dans la matrice thermoplastique permet une meilleure répartition des nanotubes de carbone, ce qui empêche leur agrégation. Il en résulte une diminution du seuil de percolation des composites. Il a été démontré que la formation de la phase conductrice est plus efficace avec des charges mixtes CNT/nanométal en comparaison avec les charges individuelles / The thesis research field determines the main parameters, of the conductive phase structure formation in polymer nanocomposites filled with conductive fillers such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs) or combined nanofillers. The influence of the morphology of the heterogeneous structure of the composite and interaction of nanofillers on the electrical, thermophysical and mechanical properties of the composites was studied. The three types of polymer systems filled with carbon nanotubes have been investigated, namely: 1) segregated systems with ordered distribution of the nanofiller; 2) conductive polymer blends; 3) composites with binary fillers in which carbon nanotubes have been combined with organo-modified clay (OMC) in one case and with metal nanoparticles in another case. The investigation of the segregated polymer composites filled with CNTs has shown that the conducting filler creates continuous conductive framework inside the polymer matrix. This provides the presence of ultralow percolation threshold with the value of φc~0.045vol.%. Conductive polymer blends have demonstrated a lower percolation threshold in comparison with individually filled polymers due to a double percolation effect. It has been found that the simultaneous introduction of OMC and CNTs into thermoplastic matrix provides a better distribution of carbon nanotubes, preventing their aggregation and decreasing the percolation threshold. It has been shown that the formation of the conducting phase is more effective in the polymeric matrix with combined nanofillers CNT/nanometal in comparison with individual fillers and the higher conductivity of such conductive system is due to metallic filler content