The use of fillers in both thermoplastic and thermoset polymers has been common. The practice of filling polymers is motivated both by cost reduction and by the need to obtain altered or enhanced properties. Nanostructured dielectric materials have demonstrated advantages over micro-filled polymer dielectrics. However, this is a need to improve these nanocomposites such that they can be adapted for use in such situations as electrical insulation for low or medium voltage cables.

In photoinitiated cationic ring-opening polymerization, the polymerizable substrate is subjected to irradiation with light for a brief period during which the photopolymerization must proceed essentially to completion. Consequently, only monomers that undergo very high rates of polymerization may be employed. Certain epoxide monomers display high reactivity in photoinitiated cationic polymerization and are suitable for such uses while most other undergo sluggish reaction and are not usable.

There are two basic classes of adhesives in widespread current use. The first class is pressure sensitive adhesives, such as are employed in adhesive tapes. The second class is reactive adhesives, used primarily for structural purposes. A long-standing problem with these types of adhesives is that they are unable of obtaining both a long working life and a rapid cure time.

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes have been produced by several different methods, including chemical vapor deposition and laser ablation. These nanotubes are either grown as a layer of aligned nanotubes or as intertwined, randomly oriented bundles of nanotubes. Carbon nanotubes have many potential applications due to their mechanical, electrical, and eletronic properties. However, the difficulty in asembling the nanotubes into desired complex architectures and patterns hinder some applications. This invention is directed to a carbon nanotube foam.

Block copolymers are polymers whose molecular chains consist of incompatible segments that can self-assemble to form separated phases or microdomains. The versatile properties of block copolymers are determined by their phase-separated microdomains, generating a variety of applications in biomedical materials, engineering thermoplastics and elastomers, and optical and electrical materials. This invention is directed to a novel method of assembling and controlling the properties of block copolymers.

Polymers play an important role in electrical insulating and field grading technology because of their high electrical strength, ease of fabrication, low cost and simple maintenance. Conventionally, additives have been mixed into polymer matrices to improve their resistance to degradation, to modify mechanical and thermomechanical properties, and to improve electrical properties such as high-field stability. However, concentional additives have a negative effect on electrical properties.

Routine, nondestructive inspectsions of aircraft components take place at periodic intervals before and during operation of an aircarft to ensure safety of flight. These mandated inspections focus on damage caused by impact, flight induced stress, or manufacturing defect. Currently, most of these inspections are time consuming, expensive, and result in significant downtime of the aircraft. This invention is directed to nanosensors that can detect structural change in aircraft components.

This invention is directed to a new, inexpensive analytical instrument that can be used to study and evaluate such essential parameters as light intensity, photoinitiator concentration, and monomer reactivity in a wide variety of UV photopolymerization curing applications. The device provides real-time information as the sample proceeds through the photoreactive phase. Through the direct, continuous, and remote monitoring of the sample using optical pyrometery, the temperature of the monomer undergoing photopolymerization can be obtained as a function of time.

There is an increasing interest in using nanoparticles as building blocks for well-defined structures that have practical applications owing to the various novel properties of nanoparticles. However, their assembly is a challenging task. Methods based on surface functionalization, andor template patterning have been used for this purpose, but both of these processes can be rather complicated. Thus, there is a continuing need for a simple method for synthesizing high aspect ratio microstructures constituted of nanoparticle building blocks.

For most types of gelatin-based imaging elements, surface abrasion and scratching results in reduction of image quality. Thus, processing the image and, later, casual handling of the image can easily mark or disfigure the image. There is, therefore, a need for an imaging element having improved scratch resistance over materials currently used.