Stiffness Enhancement in Nacre-Inspired Nanocomposites due to Nanoconfinement.

ABSTRACT: Layered assemblies of polymers and graphene derivatives employ nacre's tested strategy of intercalating soft organic layers with hard crystalline domains. These layered systems commonly display elastic properties that exceed simple mixture rule predictions, but the molecular origins of this phenomenon are not well understood. Here we address this issue by quantifying the elastic behavior of nanoconfined polymer layers on a model layered graphene-polymer nanocomposite. Using a novel, validated coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation approach, here we clearly show that the elastic properties of layered nanocomposites cannot be described by volume fraction considerations alone and depend strongly on both interfacial energy and nanostructure. We quantify the relative importance of polymer

SUBMITTER: Shao C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4653650 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature