| Interphase effect in polymer and polymer nanocomposites has been well documented in a variety of studies. As the properties of the interphase region are indicated in a lot of the experiments, the quantitative description of the properties with accuracy, however, is rarely seen in the literatures. With the help of the state-of-art modeling and simulation techniques including finite element analysis (FEA) approaches, the properties of the interphase are predicted based on the data collected from the measurement performed on the polymer and polymer nanocomposites. The impact of the interphase to three types of the properties of the polymer and polymer nanocomposites is studied, namely, mechanical properties measured by the nanoindentation on polymer thin films coated on inorganic substrate, viscoelastic properties of the glassy polymer nanocomposites, and the dielectric relaxation and breakdown behavior of the polymer nanodielectrics. The modeling work presented in this study provides insights into the underlying physics of the interphase effect as well as prototype models for the optimal design of polymer composites. |
