Volume 13, Issue 2, 2004

Spectral response and effective viscoelastic properties of MWNT-reinforced polycarbonate

F. T. Fisher^*1, A. Eitan², R. Andrews³, L. S. Schadler², and L. C. Brinson¹

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208
²Materials Science and Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180
³Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40511

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030
email: ffisher@stevens.edu

(Received 9/03; accepted 1/04)

Abstract

The impact of embedded carbon nanotubes on the effective viscoelastic response of a nanotube-reinforced polycarbonate system is characterized by studying the temperature- and frequency-dependent behaviour of the material. Macroscale experimental results demonstrate that the effective relaxation spectra of the samples is consistent with non-bulk polymer regions of restricted molecular mobility. Such low mobility regions are attributed to localized nanoscale interactions between the nanotubes and individual polymer chains.

Keywords: carbon nanotubes, reinforced polymers, viscoelasticity, relaxation spectra