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Impact and tensile energies of fracture in polymer-clay nanocomposites

This paper answers some important unresolved issues, debated internationally, concerning toughness of polymer-clay nanocomposites (PCNs). It clarifies for the first time the roles of glass transition temperature, nanostructure and surfactant degradation in affecting toughness, and highlights necessity of assessing impact strength which is often overlooked by researchers in the field. These new fundamental findings were obtained from systematic studies of different polymers, clays, nanostructures and testing methods. PCNs will account for 58% of total nanocomposite consumption in 2016 ($2.4 billion, http://www.bccresearch.com/market-research/nanotechnology/nanocomposites-global-markets-nan021e.html). Understanding toughness, a crucial parameter in industrial applications, will help enhance their performance and therefore market size.