Effect of Surface Modification of Nanoparticles on the Mechanical Properties of Highly Crosslinked Epoxy Nanocomposites: Mesoscopic Simulation

A mesoscopic model of a nanocomposite based on crosslinked polymer networks with embedded clay nanoparticles was developed. The model makes it possible to predict the main trends in changes in the mechanical properties of systems, taking into account the degree of crosslinking of nanoparticles with a polymer matrix. The performed simulations showed that modified nanoparticles can significantly improve the Young’s modulus of the nanocomposite compared to the unfilled polymer. It was also shown that the average value of the number of load-bearing chains determines the mechanical response of the coarse-grained model of the polymer system.