ELONGATIONS OF PRIMARY PARTICLES IN A CARBON NANOPARTICLE CHAIN AGGREGATE UNDER TENSION: MEASUREMENTS USING A NEW NANOSTRUCTURE MANIPULATION DEVICE

摘要

Understanding the interaction between carbon nanoparticle chain aggregates (NCA) in their networks may significantly improve the design of nanocomposite materials such as rubber. Ultrafine carbon black is used in large quantities as reinforcing fillers in the manufacturing of rubber. Reinforcing carbon black increases the elastic modulus while retaining the base material's rubber-like properties. Additionally, carbon black significantly increases the tensile strength of low-strength rubbers. The carbon NCAs of the reinforcing carbon black may form aggregate networks in filled rubber. The mechanism of filler operation is not well understood, but it may result from the filler-filler interaction and the interaction between rubber polymer chains and filler networks. However, it is difficult to measure mechanical properties of nanostructures using traditional techniques because of difficulties in gripping and manipulating the aggregates. We have developed a new nanostructure manipulation device (NSMD), which makes it possible to apply tension to nanostructures mounted in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) under controlled conditions. In this work, our goal was to study the interaction between carbon NCA networks by investigating morphological changes of carbon NCAs under tension using the NSMD.