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Referring to the total surface existing in wheat dough, gluten–starch interfaces are a major component. However, their impact on dough rheology is largely unclear. Common viewpoints, based on starch surface modifications or reconstitution experiments, failed to show unambiguous relations of interface characteristics and dough rheology. Observing hybrid artificial dough systems with defined particle surface functionalization gives a new perspective. Since surface functionalization standardizes particle–polymer interfaces, the impact on rheology becomes clearly transferable and thus, contributes to a better understanding of gluten–starch interfaces. Based on this perspective, the effect of particle/starch surface functionality is discussed in relation to the rheological properties of natural wheat dough and modified gluten–starch systems. A competitive relation of starch and gluten for intermolecular interactions with the network‐forming polymer becomes apparent during network development by adsorption phenomena. This gluten–starch adhesiveness delays the beginning of non‐linearity under large deformations, thus contributing to a high deformability of dough. Consequently, starch surface functionality affects the mechanical properties, starting from network formation and ending with the thermal fixation of structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Car tires, sealing caulk and high-voltage cable insulators are prime examples of commercially available and widely used composites of polymers containing nanostructured particles. In fact, myriads of applications can be realized but the usefulness of such nanocomposites depends heavily on composition, morphology, concentration and dispersion homogeneity of the nanoparticle filler in the polymer matrix. Optimizing these characteristics while ensuring economically feasible fabrication, determines the extent to which new products integrate nanocomposites. This review discusses challenges and manufacturing options of polymer nanocomposites and, in particular, which and how much nanoparticle fillers improve electrical/thermal conductivity, dielectric permittivity, gas permeability, magnetization and mechanical stability by critically reviewing and classifying over 280 peer-reviewed articles. Lastly, the economic, environmental and health implications associated with these materials are highlighted.

Over the past three decades, mixed-matrix membranes (MMMs), comprising an inorganic filler phase embedded in a polymer matrix, have emerged as a promising alternative to overcome limitations of conventional polymer and inorganic membranes. However, while much effort has been devoted to MMMs in practice, their modeling is largely based on early theories for transport in composites. These theories consider uniform transport properties and driving force, and thus models for the permeability in MMMs often perform unsatisfactorily when compared to experimental permeation data. In this work, we review existing theories for permeation in MMMs and discuss their fundamental assumptions and limitations with the aim of providing future directions permitting new models to consider realistic MMM operating conditions. Furthermore, we compare predictions of popular permeation models against available experimental and simulation-based permeation data, and discuss the suitability of these models for predicting MMM permeability under typical operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]