Particle Surface Modification for Improved Properties and Applications

Advancing requirements for composites having enhanced chemical, mechanical and physical properties are being met by molecular modifications of  both  filler particles and the matrix they are placed in. The presenter has enjoyed making successful contributions to a wide variety of technical problems by employing various chemical principles for particle synthesis and surface modification. Both synthetic and physical chemical deposition processes have been developed to prepare 1) core-shell composite particles, and 2) molecularly functionalized particle surfaces employing a variety to analytical techniques. The compositions, sizes and shapes of the obtained solids vary widely. Examples will be cited of improved properties of a) medical imaging and lighting phosphors, b) abrasives for wafer polishing during chip manufacture, c) optical limiting carbon and metallic nanoparticles, d) energy saving copy machine composites, e) injectables for in vivo treatment of some overdosed chemicals and f) microcapsules for national security use.