Figure 4.

Network formation (experimental and simulation) of t-CNC-g-POEG₃A/PVAc nanocomposite above the LCST. (a) Dry tensile storage modulus (E′) at 75 °C of the t-CNC-g-POEG₃A/PVAc films with the films exposed to 60 °C water and dried (1RD_AL) versus different volume fractions of t-CNC component (not including the grafted polymer); the dotted line represents the modulus predicted by the percolation model. (b) Simulated average number of contacts on each rod with respect to the system’s temperature. (c) Simulation snapshots at various time points. A color coding algorithm is used to identify the number of contacts between neighboring rods. Blue color represents rods without any contact, and as the number of contacts increases, the rod turns yellow.