Theoretical Estimation of the Shearing Strength of Polymer/Carbon Nanotube Contact: A Fractal Model

A fractal model allowing one to theoretically estimate the shearing strength of the interfacial contact in a polymer-carbon nanotube system is proposed. It takes into account the structure of carbon nanotube surface and describes experimental data accurately enough. This makes the model promising for predicting the polymer/nanofiller contact strength. As a function of nanotube diameter and contact length, this strength showed a strong scale effect.