Production of nanocomposites

This report summarises the work done during 2002 towards the production of polymer-based nanocomposite materials. Two other reports have been published during the year, and these present the work in more detail. References to these reports are given. In addition, a presentation was made at the International conference on Nanostructured Materials, July 2002. During this year most emphasis has been placed on synthesis of ferrite nanoparticles with a range of compositions, and preliminary experiments have been made to integrate these into an acrylic polymer matrix. Most recently an apparatus for ultra-violet curing of polymers has been constructed, and this will be tested before the end of 2002. The focus next year will be to optimise the polymer matrix and functionalisation of the nanoparticle surfaces. Initial measurements of the microwave properties of the samples produced have been made. The experiments were successful, but show that the properties of the materials made to date are not those desired.