Surface Area Effects in Hydroxyapatite/Poly(ε-caprolactone) Nanocomposites

In order to understand the contribution of nanoparticle surface area to the properties of nanocomposite materials, hydroxyapatite nanoparticles with different specific surface areas (60 m(2) . g(-1) and 111 m(2). g(-1)) were synthesized using reverse microemulsion and processed into nanocomposites. Experimental results indicated that the thermomechanical reinforcement did show a dependence on nanoparticle surface area, although the transition temperatures did not. The reinforcement trends were dependent on temperature, suggesting that the nanoparticles had a greater impact on the amorphous polymer chains. The reinforcement above T-g may be plotted against nanoparticle surface area to obtain a single reinforcement trend, suggesting that surface area is a general parameter for nanocomposite property control.