Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-10-2023

Department

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Abstract

In this work, a characterization study of the interfacial interaction between different types of graphene nanoplatelets and an epoxy matrix is computationally performed. To quantify the discrete mutual graphene–epoxy “interfacial interaction energy” (IIE) within the nanocomposite, molecular dynamics simulations with a reactive force field are performed on a localized model of the suggested nanocomposite. Pull-out molecular dynamics simulations are also performed to predict the interfacial shear strength between the two constituents. The results indicate a significant increase in interfacial adhesion of functionalized nanoplatelets with the hosting epoxy matrix relative to virgin graphene nanoplatelets. The obtained results also demonstrate a dramatic increase in the interfacial interaction energy (IIE) (up to 570.0%) of the functionalized graphene/epoxy nanocomposites relative to the unmodified graphene/epoxy nanocomposites. In the same context, the surface functionalization of graphene nanoplatelets with the polymer matrix leads to a significant increase in the interfacial shear strength (ISS) (up to 750 times). The reported findings in this paper are essential and critical to producing the next generation of lightweight and ultra-strong polymer-based nanocomposite structural materials.

Publisher's Statement

© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.3390/nano13020287

Publication Title

Nanomaterials

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Version

Publisher's PDF

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.