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Letter

Nature Materials 6, 278–282 (1 April 2007) | doi:10.1038/nmat1870

Model polymer nanocomposites provide an understanding of confinement effects in real nanocomposites

Perla Rittigstein , Rodney D. Priestley , Linda J. Broadbelt & John M. Torkelson

Owing to the improvement of properties including conductivity, toughness and permeability, polymer nanocomposites are slated for applications ranging from membranes to fuel cells. The enhancement of polymer properties by the addition of inorganic nanoparticles is a complex function of interfacial interactions, interfacial area and the distribution of inter-nanofiller distances.