Timing, hosts and locations of (grouped) events of NanoImpactNet

2.9 Project Management (WP9)
This work package covers the management and coordination of
the project. All planned activities will be closely monitored and if
necessary, corrections will be performed. The coordinator will be
responsible of coordinating the overall running of the whole
project and, with the help of the Project Management Team, will
ensure that all planned activities are pursued.
3 Current status of the project
Nanopolytox is a 3-year project which started in May 2010; the
advances on the project for the last 18 months will be described
below.
3.1 Synthesis and characterization of NM
The main goal of WP1 was to synthesize and characterize the
nanomaterials to be used for the development of the whole
project.
The syntheses of the selected nanomaterials (MWCNT, nanoclays
and metal oxide nanoparticles) have been carried out following
different methods. MWCNT were synthesized by catalytic chemical
vapor deposition (CCVD) processes at high temperatures obtaining
CNT with high purities. The synthesis of MWCNT with different
surface properties (hydrophobic, amphiphatic and hydrophilic)
was performed using wet chemistry procedures. The synthesis of
nanoclays (two types of nanoclays with different particle size) was
carried out by a two step wet chemistry procedure: Purification of
the natural occurring clays and subsequent ion exchange reaction
to modify the nanoclays with three different content or structure
of quaternary ammonium salts. Furthermore, metal oxide
nanoparticles (SiO 2, TiO 2 and ZnO NP) were synthesized by the
flame spray pyrolysis process which relies on the direct
introduction of liquid raw materials into a flame. Metal oxide NP
have been functionalized by wet chemistry leading to NP with
different surface properties (hydrophobic, amphiphatic and
hydrophilic). The physico-chemical characterization of all the
nanomaterials synthesized was carried out using the following
analytical techniques: Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM),
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses and X-Ray Scattering
techniques (XRS and XRD) and to determine the size
crystallography and geometry of the nanomaterials, Dynamic Light
Scattering (DLS) measurements to determine the hydrodynamic
radius in solution, and BET analyses for the porosity and surface
area determination. The chemical characterization included
determination of the chemical composition of nanomaterials, their
surface functionalities and their stability using Inductively Coupled
Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Fourier Transform Infrared
Spectroscopy (FTIR), Ultraviolet-visible Spectroscopy (UV-vis) and
ζ-potential, respectively. The data collected was included in the
technical card which will be the ID of the nanomaterials through all
their life cycle.
3.2 Development of polymer nanocomposites
Polymeric matrices have been selected for the studies of this
project; the matrices selected were Polypropylene (PP), Ethyl Vinyl
NanoSafetyCluster - Compendium 2012
Acetate (EVA) and Polyamide 6 (PA6). Three polymeric matrices
with different polarities were chosen to amplify the range of
application of the polymeric nanocomposites. The nanomaterials
obtained from WP1 were then incorporated into the polymeric
matrices by extrusion processes and subsequently injected to
obtain the polymeric nanocomposite demonstrators. The
compatibilization and dispersibility of the nanomaterials in the
polymeric matrices were evaluated by microscopy analysis (SEM).
ICP-MS and TGA analysis were used to determine the
concentration of nanomaterial in the polymeric matrices after each
step of processing (extrusion and injection). Furthermore, physical
characterization of the polymer nanocomposite demonstrators
was focused on mechanical properties and thermal resistance
determination (DMA, Dynamometric tests, HDT and VICAT, DSC).
The results obtained showed that some polymers nanocomposites
presented improved properties. However, further characterization
analyses are in progress in order to establish relationships between
dispersibility of the nanomaterials in the polymeric matrices and
the physical properties obtained.
Nanocomposites
PA6- 3% MWCNT
Compendium of Projects in the European NanoSafety Cluster 163
MWCNT
+
PA6
Extrusion
3.3 Weathering of polymer nanocomposites
Injection
The climatic chambers were tailored for the weathering tests to be
done within the Nanopolytox project. The demonstrators
developed in WP2 and the raw nanomaterials, including
unmodified polymers were (and still are being) submitted to the
selected aging conditions and the potential releases of
nanomaterials from the polymeric matrices during ageing
processes are collected and quantified.
Therefore, raw nanomaterials and nanocomposites were (and are
being) exposed to an accelerated aging in weathering chambers
for 1000h and combining climate and sunlight radiation, under the
modified normative ISO 4892-2. The nanomaterials released from
the polymeric matrices during ageing are extracted from the
collected water by freeze-drying (lyophilisation) and then
quantified by ICPMS and further analyzed by other analytical
techniques (BET, FTIR, TGA, ICP-MS, DSC) to determine their
physico-chemical properties.
Aged nanomaterials in the powder form after being submitted to
the whole process of ageing were dried and analyzed. After aging,
all the nanomaterials except for nanoclays showed alterations
compare to the corresponding non-aged nanomaterial. The main
difference is the hydration of all the nanomaterials. Furthermore,
in some cases, FT-IR indicates the modification of nanomaterial
surface chemistry. FT-IR results were supported by the results
obtained by BET analyses showing, for those nanomaterials with
modified surface chemistries, a significant change in the surface
area, pore volume and/or pore diameter of the material. For
functionalized nanomaterials, a gain in surface area values
indicates a loss of functional groups on the surface of the
nanomaterial or a decrease in particle size. However, further