• Carbon letters
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.325-331
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• 2010

This study investigates the effect of filler content (wt%), presence of interphase and agglomerates on the effective Young's modulus of polypropylene (PP) based nanocomposites reinforced with exfoliated graphite nanoplatelets ($xGnP^{TM}$) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The Young's modulus of the composites is determined using tensile testing based on ASTM D638. The reinforcement/polymer interphase is characterized in terms of width and mechanical properties using atomic force microscopy which is also used to investigate the presence and size of agglomerates. It is found that the interphase has an average width of ~30 nm and modulus in the range of 5 to 12 GPa. The Halpin-Tsai micromechanical model is modified to account for the effect of interphase and filler agglomerates and the model predictions for the effective modulus of the composites are compared to the experimental data. The presented results highlight the need of considering various experimentally observed filler characteristics such as agglomerate size and aspect ratio and presence and properties of interphase in the micromechanical models in order to develop better design tools to fabricate multifunctional polymer nanocomposites with engineered properties.

• Proceedings of the Computational Structural Engineering Institute Conference
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• 2007.04a
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• pp.421-426
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• 2007

A parametric study to investigate the effects of composition variables on the glass transition and mechanical properties of CNT-based nanocomposites was performed using molecular dynamics simulations. In this study, matrix chain length and CNT length were chosen as the candidate characteristic parameters. In order to understand the effect of both parameters in detail, three sample sets having different chain lengths with the same CNT configuration and two sample sets having different CNT lengths with same chain length were prepared. Other parameters such as volume fraction and density were fixed to enable rigorous comparisons. Amorphous polyethylene is used as matrix polymer and (10,0) zigzag CNT is embedded into the matrix to reinforce polymer matrix. As a result, longer polymer chain length of matrix solely increased glass transition temperature but no reinforcing enhancement was observed. CNT length showed similar increase with little enhancement of elastic modulus. In addition to this, nanocomposites showed temperature-dependent elastic modulus jump passing thorough the glass transition region agrees well with experimental results.

• Proceedings of the Polymer Society of Korea Conference
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• 2006.10a
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• pp.219-219
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• 2006

This study focuses on the effects of dispersion method of a nanoparticle in a polymer matrix such as melt mixing, solution blending, and in-situ polymerization on the physical properties of the nanocomposites. Introduction of a nanoparticle to a polymer resulted in some unusual physical properties. In some cases the nanoparticle played a role of a nucleating agent, leading to decreasing induction time to crystallization. In addition, the dispersion state of the nanoparticle in the polymer matrix also had a significant influence on the physical properties of the nanocomposites. Hence the method of introducing the nanoparticle to the polymer made contribution to the rheological properties of the nanocomposite systems.

• Composites Research
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.323-330
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• 2017

In this study, multiscale analysis in which the information obtained from molecular dynamics simulation is applied to the continuum mechanics level is conducted to investigate the effects of clustering of silicon carbide nanoparticles reinforced into polypropylene matrix on mechanical behavior of nanocomposites. The elastic behavior of polymer nanocomposites is observed for various states of nanoparticulate agglomeration according to the model reflecting the degradation of interphase properties. In addition, factors which mainly affect the mechanical behavior of the nanocomposites are identified, and new index 'clustering density' is defined. The correlation between the clustering density and the elastic modulus of nanocomposites is understood. As the clustering density increases, the interfacial effect decreased and finally the improvement of mechanical properties is suppressed. By considering the random distribution of the nanoparticles, the range of elastic modulus of nanocomposites for same value of clustering density can be investigated. The correlation can be expressed in the form of exponential function, and the mechanical behavior of the polymer nanocomposites can be effectively predicted by using the nanoparticulate clustering density.

• Polymer Science and Technology
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.525-529
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• 2014

• Polymer Science and Technology
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.561-577
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• 2006

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.201-205
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• 2004

• 한국포장학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.17-53
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• 2006

• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.112-117
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• 2011

Recently, high growth potential of barrier materials industry including high performance packing materials was expected with increasing the national income and well-being culture. As high barrier materials, polymer nanocomposites have considerable attractions due to their excellent physical properties compared to conventional composite materials. In general, polymer nanocomposites were consisted of polymer matrix and inorganic fillers, such as layered silicate, carbon nanotubes, and metal- or inorganic nanoparticles. Among these materials, layered silicate which was called as the clay was usually used as nano-fillers because of naturally abundant and most economical and structural properties. Clay-reinforced polymer nanocomposites have various advantages, such as high strength, flammability, gas barrier property, abrasion resistance, and low shrinkage and used for automotive and packing materials. Therefore, in this paper, we focused on the need of gas barrier materials and materials-related technologies.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.767-773
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• 2014

Rheological and electrical properties of polystyrene (PS)/carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites via coagulated precipitation were investigated. Chemical modification and surfactant wrapping of CNT to improve the dispersion of CNTs may reduce the intrinsic properties of pristine CNT. To avoid this problem, PS and CNTs were dissolved and dispersed in dimethylformamide and then PS/CNT nanocomposites were prepared by the coagulated precipitation of CNT-dispersed PS solution in water. The coagulated precipitation method was highly effective enhancing the electrical conductivity of nanocomposites. Furthermore, the effect of adding poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) crosslinked particles to PS matrix on the rheological and electrical properties was investigated. With the addition of the crosslinked particles, the electrical percolation threshold of CNT reduced to 0.25 wt% and electrical conductivity increased further. It is speculated that CNTs in the volume occupied by crosslinked particles helped electrical pathway formation.