Measuring Interfacial Adhesion of Carbon Nanotube Bundles and Electrospun Polymer Fibers

Adhesion at the dissimilar interface of single wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) bundles and electrospun polymer nanofibers (Espun) was directly measured using a nano cheese cutter. A sample fiber suspended at the tip of an atomic force microscope cantilever and another freestanding fiber on a mica substrate were arranged in a cross-cylinder configuration and allowed to adhere. External tensile load led to spontaneous detachment or "pull-off". Adhesion was shown to be dominated by van der Waals attraction, and the detachment process conforms to the classical Maugis parameter in the JKR-DMT transition.