I have examined three different topological forms of a material modifier. The modifier is silicone and the three topological forms are cyclic, linear tethers and networked siloxane bonds in the form of a nanoparticulate. Often silicones, or siloxanes, are added to a material because of its unique properties that are related to its inorganic or inorganic-organic hybrid character. This dissertation addresses either the synthesis of silicones for material modification or the effect of the adding silicones to a variety of substrates and polymeric systems. Chapters 2 and 3 present research focused on the first topological form, cyclic PDMS. The synthesis of cyclic polymers is very important to the synthesis and subsequent characterization of cyclic containing multi-component materials. Cyclic PDMS is formed via ring-chain depolymerization and bimolecular coupling and the unique issues associated with the formation, purification and analysis of cyclic polymer topologies. The goal of the work described in these chapters was to find a straightforward high-yield route to form large cycles of PDMS in a relatively high purity. Chapter 4 focuses on the modification of the next topological form, linear polymers as tethers for surface modification and presents a novel concept for surface-modifying compounds; the incorporation of an ionic-reactive functionality into PDMS is presented. The idea being its ionic character will increase affinity for the surface, surface coverage and levelness, while the subsequent reactive fixation will permanently modify the surface to improve retention and fastness. The use of such chemistry has not been applied for surface modification protocols. Chapters 5, 6 and 7 discuss the characterization of systems with the third topological form incorporated. They include differences in the viscoelastic behavior of PVAc/silica nanocomposites and the neat PVAc matrix, relating those differences to polymer dynamics and structure as determined by several solid-state NMR experiments. The latter two chapters pertain to PVAc/silica nanocomposites with PDMS surface treatments. Specifically, evaluating how polymer dynamics and structure changes particularly at the interfaceinterphase with various PDMS surface treatments having different topologies at the surface.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:21:08Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 4018152 bytes, checksum: 7560bbf38d03b95122bd3a1ec4fe0fec (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-09-19 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The main application of calcium phosphates is as biomaterials, which are used as graft or bone implants. The preparation of mesoporous bioceramics allowed the use of these materials as drug carriers, as drugs incorporated into porous structure would be subsequently released upon grafting/implantation into the surrounding tissue in a controlled manner, with well-established kinetics. Improved chemical stability, particulary toward acids is a desirable feature of these biomaterials, as calcium phosphates dissolve at pH<4.00. The objectives of this work included the synthesis, characterization and application of calcium phosphate biomaterials, i.e., mesoporous hydroxyapatites and monetite/silica nanocomposites. The mesoporous hydroxyapatite was studied as drug carriers. The stability of the nanocomposites, prepared via the sol-gel method by varying the content of TEOS, were investigated with respect to chemical (acid) and thermal stability, including a detailed study on the thermal decomposition kinetics of for the second mass loss of monetite and the nanocomposite CaPSil2. Among the twenty one porous hydroxyapatites prepared using two cationic surfactants, the hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide and myristyltrimethylammonium bromide and sodium dodecyl sulfate as anionic surfactant, at various concentrations, heating rates, and calcination temperatures, only HA-MTAB-60-673/5 was mesoporous, whereas the remaining one were nanoporous, as indicated by N2 adsorption isotherms. HA-MTAB-60-673/5 was forwarded to drug uptake and release studies. This material was synthesized using 60 mmol.dm-3 myristyltrimethylammonium bromide as surfactant; the hybrid mesostructure intermediate was heated at 5 K.min-1 to 673 K and calcinated isothermally at 673 K for 6 h under O2 to yield HA-MTAB-60-673/5 with surface area of 89 m2.g-1, pore volume of 0,56 cm3.g-1, and average pore diameter of 23.96 nm. Increasing calcination heating rate did not increase crystallinity. The solid was able to uptake the antibiotic benzyl penicillin-G in a 2012 mg.g-1 ratio (drug/support) in 10 min, which was ~ 9-fold greater than that of precursor hydroxyapatite. The drug release profile followed the Higuchi model with the release of 52% of the drug in a time of 41 h. The covalent incorporation of silica onto the monetite surface yielded four monetite/silica nanocomposites that had unit cell volume and crystallinity reduced as silica content increased. Increased immobilization reduced Q3 species, as shown by 29Si NMR, and contributed substantially to mass loss on TG studies. Calcium phosphate/silica nanocomposites were more stable toward acid dissolution than the respective phosphate precursor, particularly at pH<4.00. The kinetics of the second mass loss stage of the thermal decomposition of monetite and CaPSil2 was studied by non-isothermal methods. FWO method provided activation energies (Ea) of 200.87 and 228.14 kJ.mol-1 and Coats-Redfern method provided activation energies (Ea) of 178.43 and 165.84 kJ.mol-1 and pre-exponential factors (A) of 9.53 x 1013 and 1.16 x 1013 s-1 for monetite and CaPSil2, respectively. A good description of experimental data was achieved by using the Avrami-Erofeev nucleation model (A2). / A principal aplicação dos fosfatos de cálcio é como biomateriais, para serem usados como enxerto ou implante ósseo. A obtenção de biocerâmicas mesoporosas permitiu o uso destes materiais como carreadores de fármacos, que são incorporados à estrutura porosa para serem subsequentemente liberados de forma controlada do enxerto ou implante ósseo para o tecido adjacente e com uma cinética bem estabelecida. Outra característica desejável aos biomateriais é possuir uma boa estabilidade química para não serem dissolvidos em meios ácidos, particularmente em pH<4,00. Os objetivos deste trabalho incluíram a síntese, caracterização e aplicação de biomateriais de fosfatos de cálcio, como hidroxiapatitas mesoporosas e nanocompósitos de monetita/sílica. A hidroxiapatita mesoporosa foi avaliada em ensaios de liberação de fármaco. A estabilidade dos nanocompósitos, preparados pelo método sol-gel, variando a concentração do TEOS nas sínteses, foi investigada com respeito à estabilidade química em sistemas ácidos, incluindo um estudo detalhado da cinética de decomposição térmica da segunda etapa de perda de massa da monetita e do nanocompósito CaPSil2. Das vinte e uma hidroxiapatitas porosas preparadas usando dois surfactantes catiônicos, o brometo de hexadeciltrimetilamônio e o brometo de miristiltrimetilamônio e o surfactante aniônico dodecilsulfato de sódio, variando-se as concentrações, as razões de aquecimento e as temperaturas de calcinação, somente a amostra HA-MTAB-60-673/5 foi mesoporosa, enquanto as demais foram nanoporosas, como indicaram as isotermas de adsorção de N2. A matriz HA-MTAB-60-673/5 foi aplicada em ensaios de liberação controlada de fármaco. Este material foi sintetizado usando o surfactante brometo de miristiltrimetilamônio na concentração de 60 mmol.dm-3; a mesoestrutura híbrida intermediária foi calcinada a uma razão de aquecimento de 5 K.min-1, na temperatura de 673 K por 6 h em condições isotérmicas e em O2, resultando na HAMTAB- 60-673/5 com área superficial de 89 m2.g-1, volume de poro de 0.56 cm3.g-1 e diâmetro médio de poro de 23.96 nm. As hidroxiapatitas nanoporosas apresentaram uma redução na cristalinidade. A matriz mesoporosa foi aplicada na liberação controlada do antibiótico benzil penicilina-G, tendo uma retenção (Nf) de 2012 mg.g-1 (fármaco/suporte) em 10 min, que foi aproximadamente nove vezes maior que a hidroxiapatita precursora. O perfil de liberação seguiu o modelo de Higuchi, com uma liberação de 52% do fármaco em um tempo de 41 h. A incorporação covalente da sílica na superfície da monetita resultou em quatro nanocompósitos de monetita/sílica com volume de célula unitária reduzido e menos cristalinos à medida que aumenta a quantidade sílica nas estruturas dos sólidos. O aumento da imobilização reduziu as espécies Q3, conforme RMN de 29Si, que contribuíram substancialmente para a perda de massa observada pela TG. Pelos ensaios de estabilidade química, os nanocompósitos de fosfato de cálcio e sílica tornaram-se mais estáveis quimicamente em relação ao fosfato precursor, particularmente em pH<4.00. A cinética de decomposição térmica da segunda etapa de perda de massa da monetita e CaPSil2 foi estudada por métodos não-isotérmicos. O FWO forneceu uma energia de ativação (Ea) de 200,87 e 228,14 kJ.mol-1 e o método de Coats-Redfern resultou em Ea de 178,43 e 165,84 kJ.mol-1 e fator pré-exponencial (A) de 9,53.1013 e 1,16.1013 s-1, para monetita e CaPSil2, respectivamente. Uma boa descrição dos dados experimentais foi obtida ao empregar o modelo de nucleação (A2) de Avrami-Erofeev.

High voltage rotating machines play a significant role in generation and use of electrical energy as the demand for power continues to increase. However, one of the main causes for down times in high voltage rotating machines is related to problems with the winding insulation. The utilities want to reduce costs through longer maintenance intervals and a higher lifetime of the machines. These demands create a challenge for the producers of winding insulations, the manufacturers of high voltage rotating machines and the utilities to develop new insulation materials which can improve the life of the equipment and reduce the maintenance cost. The advent of nanotechnology in recent times has heralded a new era in materials technology by creating opportunities to significantly enhance the properties of existing conventional materials. Polymer nanocomposites belong to one such class of materials that exhibit unique combinations of physical, mechanical and thermal properties which are advantageous as compared to the traditional polymers or their composites. Even though they show tremendous promise for dielectric/electrical insulation applications, there are no studies relating to the long term performance as well as life estimation of the nanocomposites. Considering this, an attempt is made to generate an understanding on the feasibility of these nanocomposites for electrical insulation applications. An epoxy based nanocomposite system is chosen for this study along with alumina (Al2O3) and silica (SiO2) as the nanofillers. The first and the foremost requirement for studies on polymer nanocomposites is to achieve a uniform dispersion of nanoparticles in the polymer matrix, as nanoparticles are known to agglomerate and form large particle sizes. A laboratory based direct dispersion method is used to process epoxy nanocomposites in order to get well dispersed samples. A detailed microscopy analysis of the filler dispersion using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) has been carried out to check the dispersion of the nanofiller in the polymer. An attempt is made to characterize and analyze the interaction dynamics at the interface regions in the epoxy nanocomposite by glass transition temperature (Tg) measurements and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy studies. The values of Tg for the nanocomposites studied decreases at 0.1 wt% filler loading and then starts to increase gradually with increase in filler loading. This Tg variation suggests that there is certainly an interaction between the epoxy chains and the nanoparticles. Also no new chemical bonds were observed in the spectra of epoxy nanocomposite as compared to unfilled epoxy. But changes were observed in the peak intensity and width of the –OH band in the spectrum of epoxy nanocomposite. This change was due to the formation of the hydrogen bonding between the epoxy and the nanofiller. The thermal conductivity of the epoxy alumina and the epoxy silica nanocomposites increased even with the addition of 0.1 wt% of the filler. This increase in thermal conductivity is one of the factors that make these nanocomposites a better option for electrical insulation applications. The dielectric properties of epoxy nanocomposites obtained in this investigation also reveal few interesting behaviors which are found to be unique and advantageous as compared to similar properties of unfilled materials. It is observed that the addition of fillers of certain loadings of nanoparticles to epoxy results in the nanocomposite permittivity value to be lower than that of the unfilled epoxy over the entire range of frequencies [10-2-106 Hz] considered in this study. This reduction has been attributed to the inhibition of polymer chain mobility caused by the addition of the nanoparticles. The tan values are almost the same or lower as compared to the unfilled epoxy for the different filler loadings considered. This behavior is probably due to the influence of the interface as the strong bonding at the interface will make the interface very stable with fewer defects apart from acting as charge trapping centres. From a practical application point of view, the surface discharge resistant characteristics of the materials are very important and this property has also been evaluated. The resistance to surface discharge is measured in the form of roughness on the surface of the material caused by the discharges. A significant enhancement in the discharge resistance has been observed for nanocomposites as compared to unfilled epoxy/ microcomposites, especially at longer exposure durations. The partial discharge (PD) measurements were carried out at regular intervals of time and it is observed that the PD magnitude reduced with discharge duration in the case of epoxy alumina nanocomposites. An attempt was made to understand the chemical changes on the surface by conducting the FTIR studies on the aged surface. For all electrical insulation applications, materials having higher values of dielectric strengths are always desired and necessary. So AC breakdown studies have also been conducted. The AC breakdown strength shows a decreasing trend up to a certain filler loading and then an increase at 5 wt% filler loading for epoxy alumina nanocomposites. It has been also observed that the type of filler as well as the thickness of the filler influences the breakdown strength. The AC dielectric strength of microcomposites are observed to be lower than the nanocomposites. Extensive research by long term aging studies and life estimation are needed before these new nanocomposites can be put into useful service. So long term aging studies under combined electrical and thermal stresses have been carried out on unfilled epoxy and epoxy alumina nanocomposite samples of filler loading 5 wt%. The important dielectric parameters like pemittivity, tan  and volume resistivity were measured before and after aging to understand the performance of the material under study. The leakage current was measured at regular intervals and tan  values were calculated with duration of aging. It was observed that the tan  values increased drastically for unfilled epoxy for the aging duration considered as compared to epoxy alumina nanocomposites. The life estimation of unfilled epoxy as well as epoxy nanocomposites were also performed by subjecting the samples to different stress levels of 6 kV/mm, 7 kV/mm and 8 kV/mm at 60 oC. It is observed that the epoxy alumina nanocomposite has an enhanced life which is nine times the life of the unfilled epoxy. These results obtained for the nanocomposites enable us to design a better material with improved dielectric strength, dielectric properties, thermal conductivity, resistance to surface discharge degradation and enhanced life without sacrificing the flexibility in the end product and the ease of processing. Dry type transformers and stator winding insulation need to be cast with the above material developed and tested before practically implementing these in the actual application.