Recent Prospects in the Inline Monitoring of Nanocomposites and Nanocoatings by Optical Technologies.
Nanostructured materials have emerged as a key research field in order to confer materials with unique or enhanced properties. The performance of nanocomposites depends on a number of parameters, but the suitable dispersion of nanoparticles remains the key in order to obtain the full nanocomposites' potential in terms of, e.g., flame retardance, mechanical, barrier, thermal properties, etc. Likewise, the performance of nanocoatings to obtain, for example, tailored surface affinity with selected liquids (e.g., for self-cleaning ability or anti-fog properties), protective effects against flame propagation, ultra violet (UV) radiation or gas permeation, is highly dependent on the nanocoating's thickness and homogeneity. In terms of recent advances in the monitoring of nanocomposites and nanocoatings, this review discusses commonly-used offline characterization approaches, as well as promising inline systems. All in all, having good control over both the dispersion and thickness of these materials would help with reaching optimal and consistent properties to allow nanocomposites to extend their use.
Innovació i Recerca Industrial i Sostenible (IRIS), Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia, Avda. Carl Friedrich Gauss 11, Castelldefels, Barcelona 08860, Spain. ebugnicourt@iris.cat.
Elodie
E
Bugnicourt
IRIS Advanced Engineering, NexusUCD, University College Dublin, Blocks 9 &10 Belfield Office Park Belfield, Dublin D04 V2N9, Ireland. tkehoe@iris.cat.
Timothy
T
Kehoe
Instituto Tecnológico del Embalaje, Transporte Y Logística, Parque Tecnológico, C/Albert Einstein, 1, Paterna, Valencia 46980, Spain. marcos.latorre@itene.com.
Marcos
M
Latorre
Innovació i Recerca Industrial i Sostenible (IRIS), Parc Mediterrani de la Tecnologia, Avda. Carl Friedrich Gauss 11, Castelldefels, Barcelona 08860, Spain. cserrano@iris.cat.
Cristina
C
Serrano
IRIS Advanced Engineering, NexusUCD, University College Dublin, Blocks 9 &10 Belfield Office Park Belfield, Dublin D04 V2N9, Ireland. sphilippe@iris.cat.
Séverine
S
Philippe
Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Strasse 35, Freising 85354, Germany. markus.schmid@ivv.fraunhofer.de.|Chair of Food Packaging Technology, Technische Universität München, Weihenstephaner Steig 22, Freising 85354, Germany. markus.schmid@ivv.fraunhofer.de.
Markus
M
Schmid
dispersion; ellipsometry; inline monitoring; nanocoatings; nanocomposites; spectral reflectance; spectroscopy; thickness