Studying Twin Samples Provides Evidence for a Unique Structure-Determining Parameter in Simplifed Industrial Nanocomposites

ACS Macro Lett. 2014 May 20;3(5):448-452. doi: 10.1021/mz500137e. Epub 2014 Apr 24.

Abstract

The structure of styrene-butadiene (SB) nanocomposites filled with industrial silica has been analyzed using electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering. The grafting density per unit silica surface ρD3 was varied by adding graftable SB molecules. By comparing the filler structures at fixed ρD3 (so-called "twins"), a surprising match of the microstructures was evidenced. Mechanical measurements show that ρD3 also sets the modulus: it is then possible to tune the terminal relaxation time of nanocomposites via the chain length while leaving the modulus and structure unchanged.