Filler networking in the highly nanofilled systems

Abstract

Filler networking is considered as the most important parameter in controlling the mechanical and rheological properties of highly filled systems. Besides, the interparticle distance as a function of filler size and concentration seems to be the main parameter to govern the filler network strength or filler–filler interaction. In this article, considering the importance of filler networking, estimation of the interparticle distance for different values of filler size and concentration, investigation of the architecture of filler network in the nanocomposite for various filler sizes as well as analysis of the effects of filler size and concentration on the dynamic behavior of the filler networks are discussed and atomic force microscopic imaging is used to investigate the filler network parameters. In addition to the proposed filler network structure, the results suggest that the rheological properties of nanocomposites in the linear region could be related to the interparticle distance independent of filler size and concentration. On the other hand, by studying the linear and nonlinear viscoelastic properties of these highly filled systems, the results indicate that an increase in loss and storage modulus would occur by increasing the filler concentration and reducing the filler size.