nl5b01859_si_001.pdf (2.06 MB)
Enhanced Glassy State Mechanical Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites via Supramolecular Interactions
journal contribution
posted on 2015-08-12, 00:00 authored by Amir Hashemi, Nicolas Jouault, Gregory A. Williams, Dan Zhao, Kevin J. Cheng, Jeffrey W. Kysar, Zhibin Guan, Sanat K. KumarIt is now well accepted that the
addition of nanoparticles (NPs) can strongly affect the thermomechanical
properties of the polymers into which they are incorporated. In the
solid (glassy) state, previous work has implied that optimal mechanical
properties are achieved when the NPs are well dispersed in the matrix
and when there is strong interfacial binding between the grafted NPs
and the polymer matrix. Here we provide strong evidence supporting
the importance of intermolecular interactions through the use of NPs
grafted with polymers that can hydrogen bond with the matrix, yielding
to significant improvements in the measured mechanical properties.
Our finding thus supports the previously implied central role of strong
interfacial binding in optimizing the mechanical properties of polymer
nanocomposites.