Direct measurements of interfacial shear strength of multi-walled carbon nanotube/PEEK composite using a nano-pullout method

This paper presents a proposal of a simple and easy method to evaluate the interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of CNT-dispersed polymer composites. An individual multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWNT) was pulled out from a MWNT-dispersed/PEEK composite using a nano-pullout testing system installed in an SEM. The tensile load was measured using the elastic deformation of an AFM cantilever. The pull-out length was controlled by making a through-thickness hole near the specimen edge using a focused ion beam (FIB) system. The IFSS of a MWNT/PEEK composite was measured as 3.5–14 MPa, which agrees with the IFSS estimated from the macroscopic stress–strain behavior of the MWNT/PEEK composites.