Advances in polymeric nanocomposites for automotive applications: A review

The relevance of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) in the automobile industry has been booming for the last few decades because this kind of material can fulfill the need for lightweight vehicles, and that leads to low gasoline intake and drain gas emission. This review covers the fundamental aspects of polymer-based nanocomposites and their application in the automotive sector. Following an introduction that comprises the need for PNCs and their rewards over traditional materials for instance, excellent thermal and mechanical strength, eco-friendliness, affordable corrosion resistance, low density, and so on. In addition, the review also covers how these composites can be useful in automotive sector applications. Apart from this, the second section covers the different synthetic approaches (solution casting, melt blending, electrodeposition, electrospinning, in-situ polymerization, and others) for the manufacturing of PNCs and their characterizations using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, and other techniques. Afterward, the applications of PNCs in different parts of vehicles such as automotive coatings, tires, glasses, and inner parts of the vehicles, extra will be discussed. Finally, discussions related to key areas of PNCs and future perspectives are explained.