  The polymer nanocomposites find applications in diverse areas ranging from
smart materials to bioengineering. They are developed by dispersion of
nanomaterials in a bulk phase of a polymeric material. Although several methods
facilitate efficient dispersion of nanomaterials in a bulk polymer matrix to
create nanocomposites, majority of them follows heat, beat and treat processes.
These processes are high energy demanding processes. Moreover, the challenge
increases when nanomaterials need to be dispersed in a viscous polymeric
material. This results in spatial heterogeneity in the dispersion of
nanomaterials, eventually leading to compromised mechanical properties of a
nanocomposite. Therefore, in the current work, we propose an in-situ, on-step
fabrication process of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) nanocomposites. Electrospun
polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers are homogenously dispersed in a PDMS matrix
to create a high strength, transparent PDMS nanocomposite. The homogenous
dispersion of nanofibers in PDMS matrix is characterised by scanning electron
microscopy (SEM), confocal imaging and rheological studies. Further, the
prepared PDMS nanocomposite exhibits improved mechanical strength and
comparable optical transparency in comparison to native PDMS. Hence, the
fabricated PDMS nanocomposites, being resistant to mechanical stress and
optically transparent, will find applications as transdermal patches, flexible
electronics, microfluidic devices and others.
