Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Yükseköğretim Kurumları Destekli Proje, 2020 - 2021
"Polymer-nanoclay composites are widely utilized especially in automotive and biomedical applications. Thanks to unique properties of nanoclays, small percentage of reinforcement [1], [2], [11]–[20], [3], [21]–[30], [4], [31]–[33], [5]–[10] addition leads to remarkable improvements compared to conventional composites. The other important benefit of nanoclays is that they are inexpensive and abundant in nature. Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PvP) [2], [15], [18], [34]–[38] is a water soluble, nontoxic and biocompatible polymer. Because of these properties, it is widely utilized in biomedical field as drug delivery agent and drug carrier. However, its mechanical properties are not impressive. Tensile strength and elastic modulus of PVP is just 5-7 MPa and 100-120 MPa, respectively [15], [34], [37]. In addition to it, PvP is highly brittle that its maximum strain value at tensile tests is just 2-6%. These inferior mechanical properties inhibits usage of PVP for mechanical applications. In this project, it is aimed to produce PvP-nanoclay nanocomposites by overcoming poor mechanical properties of PvP. For this reason, different types of nanoclays having diverse morphologies such as Montmorrilonite (three-layered silicate), Bentonite (three-layered silicate combined with micrometer scale of macro-grains, mainly quartz) are going to be investigated. Literature studies show that surface compatibility of composite constituents are crucial to achieve superior mechanical properties. Therefore, different surface modifications (such as hydrophilic and hydrophobic) of these nanoclays are going to be explored. At the end of the study, it is aimed to propose an optimal type, concentration and surface modification of nanoclay in PvP matrix leading to improved mechanical performance. This nanocomposite could be named as ‘green nanocomposite’ as its constituents are biocompatible and nontoxic. Possible engineering applications for this particular nanocomposite could be in prosthetics, dental implants, automobile body parts, textile industry and biocompatible medical devices."