Analysis of critical interfacial shear strength between polymer matrix and carbon nanotubes and its impact on the tensile strength of nanocomposites

This paper focuses on the critical interfacial shear strength (tau(c) ) and interfacial shear strength (T) between polymer matrix and carbon nanotubes (CNT) in nanocomposites, which divide the interphase region to two zones: tau < tau(c) near the polymer matrix and T tau(c) beside the CNT. tau(c) is defined by CNT properties and a model is developed to consider the roles of tau and tau(c) in the tensile strength of nanocomposites. Numerous experimental data for various samples and the parametric examines are applied to approve the developed approach. The high aspect ratio of CNT (thin and long CNT) produces a low tau(c) , but the CNT strength directly influences the tau(c) . The suitable agreement between experimental data and calculations for all samples and the proper roles of all parameters in the tensile strength of nanocomposites confirm the developed model. Low tau(c) and high tau cause a high nanocomposite strength, but the strength of nanocomposites largely increases when tau> 5 tau(c) . (c) 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY -NC -ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).