Self-Assembly of Block Copolymer Chains To Promote the Dispersion of Nanoparticles in Polymer Nanocomposites.

ABSTRACT: In this paper we adopt molecular dynamics simulations to study the amphiphilic AB block copolymer (BCP) mediated nanoparticle (NP) dispersion in polymer nanocomposites (PNCs), with the A-block being compatible with the NPs and the B-block being miscible with the polymer matrix. The effects of the number and components of BCP, as well as the interaction strength between A-block and NPs on the spatial organization of NPs, are explored. We find that the increase of the fraction of the A-block brings different dispersion effect to NPs than that of B-block. We also find that the best dispersion state of the NPs occurs in the case of a moderate interaction strength between the A-block and the NPs. Meanwhile, the stress-strain behavior is probed. Our simulation results verify that adopting BCP is

SUBMITTER: Liu J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5632811 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature