Events
Materials colloquium: Adhesion at the nanoscale; are carbon nanotubes sticky?
| Date: | Wednesday 18 October 2006 16:00 - 17:00 |
| Location: | UPC (Engineering 148) |
Speaker: Dr. Asa Barber
Carbon nanotubes present a wonderful example of a nanomaterial with mechanical properties that exceed typical engineering fibres commonly used in polymer composites. The reinforcing effect of a fibre is critically dependent on the interfacial adhesion formed between the fibre and the surrounding polymer matrix. However, the measurement of this adhesion, and thus the efficiency of carbon nanotube reinforcement within a polymer matrix, is challenging due to the small interfacial areas involved. Efforts to understand adhesion in bulk carbon nanotubes composites are hindered by processing difficulties such as maintaining a good dispersion and alignment of carbon nanotubes. A far more effective way is to test the adhesion between an individual nanotube embedded within a polymer matrix.
This talk details the power of advanced electron and scanning probe microscopy techniques in assessing the interfacial adhesion between individual carbon nanotubes and polymers. Manipulation and nanomechanical testing reveal surprising effects at the nanoscale which are indicative of unique polymer properties within the interfacial region. Further studies into the wetting of carbon nanotubes surfaces are examined and future potential for other fibrous nanomaterials are considered.
