Interfacial energy between carbon nanotubes and polymers measured from nanoscale peel tests in the atomic force microscope

Abstract

This document has been made available through Purdue e-Pubs, a service of the Purdue University Libraries. Please contact epubs@purdue.edu for additional information.Strus, Mark C.; Cano, Camilo I.; Pipes, R. Byron; Nguyen, Cattien V.; and Raman, Arvind, "Interfacial energy between carbon nanotubes and polymers measured from nanoscale peel tests in the atomic force microscope" (2009 b s t r a c tThe future development of polymer composite materials with nanotubes or nanoscale fibers requires the ability to understand and improve the interfacial bonding at the nanotube-polymer matrix interface. In recent work [Strus MC, Zalamea L, Raman A, Pipes RB, Nguyen CV, Stach EA. Peeling force spectroscopy: exposing the adhesive nanomechanics of one-dimensional nanostructures. Nano Lett 2008;8(2):544-50], it has been shown that a new mode in the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), peeling force spectroscopy, can be used to understand the adhesive mechanics of carbon nanotubes peeled from a surface. In the present work, we demonstrate how AFM peeling force spectroscopy can be used to distinguish between elastic and interfacial components during a nanoscale peel test, thus enabling the direct measurement of interfacial energy between an individual nanotube or nanofiber and a given material surface. The proposed method provides a convenient experimental framework to quickly screen different combinations of polymers and functionalized nanotubes for optimal interfacial strength.Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A review on the role of interface in mechanical, thermal, and electrical properties of polymer composites

“…Based on a proposed theoretical model, each of these configurations represent specific kind of involved energy in separating the nanotube from the substrate and the applied work in s-shape mode will mostly change the interfacial energies of constituents. Although this technique is useful for interaction measurement, it cannot measure the interfacial energy per unit area due to difficulty of measuring the contact area during this process [112,116].…”

“…Fig. 10 The s-shape and arcshape CNT configuration on the substrate [112,116] An et al incorporated functionalized rod-shaped silicates known as attapulgite (ATT) into the polyimide (PI) films. For that the fillers' surface was grafted with polymer chains similar to the matrix.…”

Deformation of nanotubes in peeling contact with flat substrate: An in situ electron microscopy nanomechanical study

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Direct and quantitative experimental measurements of nanotube-substrate adhesion interactions demand the mechanical separation or peeling of individual nanotubes from the contacting substrates. The simultaneous measurements of the nanotube peeling deformation and the corresponding peeling force with adequate spatial and force resolutions are quite challenging at the nanoscale.…”

“…4,6 In their measurements, a CNT was attached to a tipless AFM cantilever. The CNT was controlled to first make contact with the substrate and then was gradually lifted from the contacting substrate.…”

Dynamic stiffness of the contact between a carbon nanotube and a flat substrate in a peeling geometry

“…For example, the AFM has been successfully used to characterize the adhesion of one dimensional nano-object, such as carbon nanotubes [3][4][5][6] . In particular, in peeling experiments, one measures the force while the nanotube is pulled from a flat substrate [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] . The force versus distance curve displays a signature specific to this peeling process, and can be used to extract the energy of adhesion between the nano-object and the surface.…”