Unraveling the Mechanism of Nanoscale Mechanical Reinforcement in Glassy Polymer Nanocomposites
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
- Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)
The mechanical reinforcement of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) above the glass transition temperature, Tg, has been extensively researched. However, not much is known about the origin of this effect below Tg. In this paper, we unravel the mechanism of PNC reinforcement within the glassy state by directly probing nanoscale mechanical properties with atomic force microscopy and macroscopic properties with Brillouin light scattering. Our results unambiguously show that the "glassy" Young's modulus in the interfacial polymer layer of PNCs is two-times higher than in the bulk polymer, which results in significant reinforcement below Tg. We ascribe this phenomenon to a high stretching of the chains within the interfacial layer. Since the interfacial chain packing is essentially temperature independent, these findings provide a new insight into the mechanical reinforcement of PNCs also above Tg.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1271894
- Journal Information:
- Nano Letters, Journal Name: Nano Letters Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 16; ISSN 1530-6984
- Publisher:
- American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Interplay between local dynamics and mechanical reinforcement in glassy polymer nanocomposites
Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of Glassy Nanocomposites by Tuning Polymer Molecular Weight
Addition of Short Polymer Chains Mechanically Reinforces Glassy Poly(2-vinylpyridine)–Silica Nanoparticle Nanocomposites
Journal Article
·
Thu Nov 16 19:00:00 EST 2017
· Physical Review Materials
·
OSTI ID:1410906
Enhancing the Mechanical Properties of Glassy Nanocomposites by Tuning Polymer Molecular Weight
Journal Article
·
Mon Sep 10 20:00:00 EDT 2018
· ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
·
OSTI ID:1476416
Addition of Short Polymer Chains Mechanically Reinforces Glassy Poly(2-vinylpyridine)–Silica Nanoparticle Nanocomposites
Journal Article
·
Sun Mar 22 20:00:00 EDT 2020
· ACS Applied Nano Materials
·
OSTI ID:1608195