Interphase effects on elastic properties of polymer nanocomposites reinforced by carbon nanocones

Abstract

In this paper, interfacial and elastic properties of polymer-based nanocomposites reinforced by carbon nanocones (CNCs) are investigated. The CNCs are transitional structures from graphene to carbon nanotubes and, depending on their apex angles, show either more graphene or more nanotube behavior. Due to the importance of the interphase layer and its impact on the elastic properties of nanocomposites, the molecular dynamics method is used to investigate the behavior of polyethylene polymer in the interface of the CNCs. The MD simulation results reveal that there are two distinct interphase layers, i. e. the inner interphase region inside the CNCs and the outer interphase region outside the CNCs. While the outer interphase regions are the same in all cases, the size and properties of the inner interphase depend on the geometries of CNCs. Using the results of MD simulations, the finite element method is used to simulate CNC-reinforced polyethylene nanocomposites in larger dimensions. In finite element modeling, the effects of different orientations of nanofillers, various volume fractions, and geometrical parameters of the CNCs are studied.