Estimation of material and interfacial/interphase properties in clay/polymer nanocomposites by yield strength data

• The material and interphase properties in clay/polymer samples are calculated.
• The “B” interaction parameter is related with material and interphase properties.
• The effects of all parameters on interphase properties are determined.

In this article, a new and simple approach is presented for calculation of material and interfacial/interphase properties in clay/polymer nanocomposites (CPN) by the experimental results of yield strength. The “B” interaction parameter from Pukanszky model is correlated with several material and interfacial/interphase characteristics such as yield strength of polymer matrix (σm), the aspect ratio of clay (α), the stress transfer parameter (s), thickness (ti) and strength (σi) of interphase. The suggested equations are applied to calculate and examine the material and interfacial/interphase properties for several samples of CPN. Also, the effects of all parameters on “σi” and “ti” are determined to predict the relations between material and interfacial/interphase properties.According to the suggested equations, low “B” and high “ti” produced insignificant “σi” in CPN. Furthermore, a thick interphase caused a large stress transfer from polymer matrix to clay at interphase region.