Molecular dynamics simulations of single-walled carbon nanotubes and polynylon66

Abstract

Polynylon66, as a kind of important engineering plastics, is widely used in various fields. In this work, we studied the interfacial interactions between polynylon66 and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The results showed that the polynylon66 could interact with the SWCNTs and the mechanism of interfacial interaction between polynylon66 and SWCNTs was also discussed. Furthermore, the morphology of polynylon66 adsorbed to the surface of SWCNTs was investigated by the radius of gyration. Influence factors such as the initial angle between polynylon66 chain and nanotube axis, SWCNT radius and length of polynylon66 on interfacial adhesion of single-walled carbon nanotube-polymer and the radius of gyration of the polymers were studied. These results will help to better understand the interfacial interaction between polymer and carbon nanotube (CNT) and also guide the fabrication of high performance polymer/carbon nanotube nanocomposites.