In this study, we investigate how the initial solvent concentration can influence the final structure and property of the polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). To produce the PNCs, nanoparticles (NPs) and polymers are first required to disperse in a good solvent and then the dispersing solvent quickly evaporates. Previous studies found that controlling the evaporation rate of solvents or drying conditions of solution can change the structure of PNCs; however, the colloidal stability of the NP-polymer mixtures depending on the solvent concentrations has not been much considered. In the NP-polymer colloidal mixture as a precursor system of PNC, the microstructure of the NP dispersion is determined by the net interaction between particles, which may sensitively vary depending on the polymer/solvent concentration. The evaporation of the solvent accompanying the PNC manufacturing process results in a continuous change in the component concentration, which means that the interaction between particles can be continuously changed. We found that the varying initial concentrations in NP-polymer mixtures with different amount of the solvent indeed changes the initial dispersion state of the NPs, which ultimately determined the final microstructure and the physical properties of the PNCs.

在这项研究中，我们研究了初始溶剂浓度如何影响聚合物纳米复合材料 (PNC) 的最终结构和性能。为了生产 PNC，首先需要将纳米颗粒 (NP) 和聚合物分散在良好的溶剂中，然后分散溶剂迅速蒸发。以往的研究发现，控制溶剂的蒸发速率或溶液的干燥条件可以改变PNCs的结构；然而，取决于溶剂浓度的 NP-聚合物混合物的胶体稳定性并未得到太多考虑。在作为 PNC 前体体系的 NP-聚合物胶体混合物中，NP 分散体的微观结构由颗粒之间的净相互作用决定，该相互作用可能会因聚合物/溶剂浓度而敏感地变化。PNC制造过程伴随的溶剂蒸发导致组分浓度不断变化，这意味着颗粒之间的相互作用可以不断变化。我们发现，具有不同溶剂量的 NP-聚合物混合物中不同的初始浓度确实改变了 NPs 的初始分散状态，这最终决定了 PNCs 的最终微观结构和物理性质。