| This is a systematic study of several key factors (e.g. materials, functionalization, dispersion, and concentration) and their influence on the mechanical properties of nanocomposites. A simple hot-pultrusion method was developed to continuously draw low-density polyethylene nanomaterial threads with lengths of the order of meters and micron range diameters. Mechanical properties such as ultimate strength, stiffness, strain to failure, and toughness were tested. Specifically, materials such as carbon nanotubes and cadmium sulfide nanoparticles were investigated at various concentrations. The effect of chemical functionalization was explored and compared with pristine samples. Data results revealed the degrading effects of the processing method as compared to the unprocessed control sample. However, compared to a secondary control sample which underwent the same processing method, the nanocomposites exhibited an improvement in material properties proportional to nanomaterial concentration. The results are expected to provide insight on the interaction between both 1-dimensional and 0-dimensional nanoscale fillers and polymers. |
