Elastic Properties of Fullerene-based Polymer Nanocomposites

In this study, we characterized the mechanical properties of fullerene (C60) Nanocomposites at various volume fractions of fullerene additives in the matrix. In this paper, the effects of volume fraction and reinforcing efficiency of fullerene on nanocomposites effective mechanical properties are investigated. First, FEA models are created consisting of fullerene nanoparticles to investigate the effects of volume fraction on mechanical properties of Nanocomposites. Next, the reinforcing efficiency of fullerene in different matrices is investigated using models consisting of matrices with different modulus of elasticity. The results show that the increases of Young’s modulus of matrix and decreases of fullerene volume fraction can significantly reduce the stiffening effect of the fullerene nanoparticles