INTERFACIAL PROPERTY IN NANO-MATERIALS DUE TO VAN DER WAALS AND ELECTROSTATIC COULOMBIC INTERACTIONS

The interfacial properties of some nano-materials simulations due to van der Waals and electrostatic Coulombic interactions are investigated using molecular mechanics. Three objects, i.e., the pull-out process of some outer walls against other nested inner walls in a multi-walled carbon nanotube, the pull-out processes of a carbon nanotube from a polyethylene polymer and an alumina (Al2O3) matrices, respectively, are studied. It is found that the pull-out force, is independent of nanotube length, but is proportional to nanotube diameter at the sliding interface. A theory is proposed to predict this pull-out force based on the nanotube diameter at the sliding interface.