Cellulose poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) nanocomposites studied by molecular modeling and mechanical spectroscopy

Structure property relationships have been established at two different scales to examine reinforcing effects of nanocomposites made of cellulose whiskers and polyethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) matrixes with different vinyl acetate contents. The role of the polymer structure on the work of adhesion as predicted by molecular modeling at the atomic scale and on the mechanical performance of nanocomposites observed by dynamic mechanical analysis at the macroscopic level is reported. Concordant results were obtained by the two approaches; both demonstrated a reinforcing effect that increases with the acetate content of the polymer. However, a leveling of this effect was observed at high acetate contents. A detailed picture of the interactions at the interface between the two species accessed by modeling gives a reasonable explanation of this unexpected phenomenon.