Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) has been widely used in fibre and paper industries. Due to its excellent biocompatibility, biodegradability, water solubility and gas permeability, PVA has recently attracted enormous interest in special applications such as biochemical, biomedical and environmental-friendly packaging materials. However, its poor thermal aging resistance, miserable solvent resistance and insufficient mechanical property have greatly restricted PVA’s further applications. / To overcome these drawbacks of PVA, in the present study, silica nanoparticles are introduced into PVA matrix to prepare a polyvinyl alcohol/silica (PVA/SiO²) nanocomposite by incorporating self-assembly and solution compounding techniques. Different from other conventional processes for preparing nanocomposites such as sol-gel process, intercalation and physical blending, the process developed in this study is simple, universal, low cost, yet effective, and easy to be scaled up for industrial exploitation. / Thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2006.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/267233 |
| Creators | Peng, Zheng. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | copyright under review |
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