Interplay between local dynamics and mechanical reinforcement in glassy polymer nanocomposites

Abstract

The modification of polymer dynamics in the presence of strongly interacting nanoparticles has been shown to significantly change themacroscopic properties above the glass transition temperature of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs). However, much less attention has been paid to changes in the dynamics of glassy PNCs. Analysis of neutron and light scattering data presented herein reveals a surprising enhancement of local dynamics, e.g., fast picosecond and secondary relaxations, in glassy PNCs accompanied with a strengthening of mechanical modulus. We ascribe this counter-intuitive behavior to the complex interplay between chain packing and stretching within the interfacial layer formed at the polymer-nanoparticle interface.