Features of Structural Organization of Nanodiamonds in the Polyethylene Glycol Matrix

Authors Е.А. Lysenkov1, V.V. Klepko2 , I.P. Lysenkova1
Affiliations

1Petro Mohyla Black Sea National University, 10, 68 Desantnykiv St., 54003 Mykolayiv, Ukraine

2Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry NAS of Ukraine, 48, Kharkiv highway, 02160 Kyiv, Ukraine

Е-mail ealysenkov@ukr.net
Issue Volume 12, Year 2020, Number 4
Dates Received 14 April 2020; revised manuscript received 15 August 2020; published online 25 August 2020
Citation Е.А. Lysenkov, V.V. Klepko, I.P. Lysenkova, J. Nano- Electron. Phys. 12 No 4, 04006 (2020)
DOI https://doi.org/10.21272/jnep.12(4).04006
PACS Number(s) 61.46.Hk, 81.07.Bc, 61.05.cf
Keywords Nanodiamonds, Nanocomposites (9) , Polyethylene glycol, X-ray diffraction (19) , Fractal structures.
Annotation

Polymeric nanocomposites containing nanodiamonds are attractive multifunctional materials with a growing range of applications. Since the microstructure of the system determines its properties, it is an important task to establish the features of structure formation of nanodiamonds in the polymer matrix. The structural features of nanocomposites based on polyethylene glycol (PEG) and ultradispersed nanodiamonds (UDNDs) were investigated using the methods of wide-angle and small-angle X-ray scattering. Systems based on nanodiamonds of detonation synthesis and crystalline PEG were prepared by ultrasonic dispersion in melt. The studied UDNDs are found to be polydispersed particles with a narrow size distribution. The average radius of the UDNDs primary particles is 20 nm. It is shown that as the content of nano-diamonds in the system increases, the aggregation processes increase. The structure of such systems is well described within the model with multilevel fractal aggregation. Fractal analysis identified the type of fractal aggregates of each structural level and determined their sizes. Depending on the content of the filler in the system, particles of UDNDs form different types of aggregates. At low filler content, dense mass fractal aggregates and surface aggregates with a smooth surface are formed. At high contents, dense aggregates of surface-fractal type with a rough surface are formed. It is established that aggregates with an average size of 60-75 nm are formed at the first structural level, and aggregates with an average size of 225-240 nm are formed at the second level.

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