Polymer nanocomposites, a representative class of nanostructured materials have the potential to show superior multi-functional properties even at low filler loadings compared to conventional macro- and micro-composites. This is often attributed to the availability of large numbers of nanoparticles with huge interfacial areas and the confinement of polymer matrix chains at the nano-level. These characteristics of the nano-reinforcements, if fully exploited, will result in the achievement of multi-functional (that is, unique combinations of mechanical, physical, optical, electrical,...