In this article, we describe the fabrication by melt mixing of graphene‐polypropylene nanocomposites and present the effect of graphene addition on some selected properties of polypropylene (PP). The graphene nanosheets (GNs) used as nano‐reinforcing agents were obtained through chemical reduction of graphene oxide by hydrazine hydrate. GNs were characterized and successfully dispersed into PP matrix to produce PP/GNs nanocomposites. The effects of GNs content on thermal, mechanical, and rheological properties were reported, and the obtained results were discussed in terms of morphology and state of dispersion and distribution of the GNs within the polymer matrix. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction of the nanocomposites has shown a relatively good dispersion of GNs in the polymer matrix, with the presence of only few aggregates. Increasing GNs content resulted in a significant increase in both mechanical and thermal properties with only few percent of GNs loading. Rheological behavior of the PP/GNs nanocomposites showed a Maxwellian‐like behavior for low GNs concentrations and a viscoelastic solid‐like behavior for GNs content exceeding the concentration of the percolation threshold. POLYM. COMPOS., 2012. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers

Some biological properties of eight dendrimers incorporating both phosphorus linkages and viologen units within their cascade structure or at the periphery were investigated for the first time. In particular cytotoxicity, hemotoxicity, and antimicrobial and antifungal activity of these new macromolecules were examined. Even if for example all these species exhibited good antimicrobial properties, it was demonstrated that their behavior strongly depends on several parameters as their size and molecular weight, the number of viologen units and the nature of the terminal groups.

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Polypropylene/clay nanocomposites are attractive candidates for applications requiring good barrier properties because of the inherent features of the polymer matrix. To assess their potential, systematic research relating the barrier performance to the structural characteristics of polypropylene/montmorillonite samples has been conducted. The nanocomposites have been tested in the presence of helium, water vapor, toluene, and methanol, and the unmodified matrix has been found to exhibit better properties than its mixtures with the compatibilizer and/or clay. The method for the interpretation of the results proposed in this study considers the composition of the samples, the morphology of the semicrystalline polymer matrix, and the state of dispersion/exfoliation of the clay layers, along with the specific interactions between the solvent molecules and the system components. In this way, several points have been identified for understanding and improving the performance of the nanocomposites.

To improve interactions between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix, multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs) were successfully coated with amphiphilic polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) using an ultrasonication treatment performed in aqueous solution. It was found that PVP chains could be attached noncovalently onto the nanotubes' surface, enabling a stable dispersion of MWCNTs in both water and N,N‐dimethylformamide. PVP‐coated MWCNTs/PVDF nanocomposite films were prepared by a solution casting method. The strong specific dipolar interaction between the PVP's carbonyl group (CO) and the PVDF's fluorine group CF2 results in high compatibility between PVP and PVDF, helping PVP‐coated MWCNTs to be homogenously dispersed within PVDF. Fourier transform infrared and X‐ray diffraction characterization revealed that the as‐prepared nanocomposite PVDF films exhibit a purely β‐polymorph even at a very low content of PVP‐wrapped MWCNTs (0.1 wt%) while this phase is totally absent in the corresponding unmodified MWCNTs/PVDF nanocomposites. A possible mechanism of β‐phase formation in PVP‐coated MWCNTs/PVDF nanocomposites has been discussed. Furthermore, the tensile properties of PVDF nanocomposites as function of the content in PVP‐coated MWCNTs were also studied. Results shows that the addition of 2.0 wt% of PVP‐coated MWCNTs lead to a 168% increase in Young's modulus and a 120% in tensile strength. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2013. © 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers