Computational micromechanics analysis of the effects of interphase regions and bundle packing on the effective electrical properties of carbon nanotube-polymer nanocomposites
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abstract
Computational micromechanics techniques are applied towards determining the effective electrical conductivity of carbon nanotube-polymer nanocomposites containing bundles of SWCNTs at a wide range of SWCNT volume fractions above and below the observed percolation concentrations. The model is applied for fully aligned nanotube bundle orientations in order to elucidated the relative impact of clustering and nanoscale effects on the effective electrical conductivity of nanocomposites. Nanocomposites consisting of aligned, well-dispersed and clustered/bundled SWCNTs are studied to indicate the influence of clustering on the effective electrical conductivity. A parametric study in terms of interphase thickness and interphase conductivity for both the well-dispersed and clustered arrangements is conducted to allow for the assessment of both the independent influence of the interphase layer and of the combined effects of clustering and interphase regions on the effective electrical conductivity of nanocomposites with aligned SWCNTs. The resulting nanocomposite electrical conductivities are discussed in terms of two mechanisms proposed in the literature for the low volume fraction electrical percolation observed in nanocomposites. Copyright 2009 by Gary D. Seidel.
