Effect of chain morphology and carbon-nanotube additives on the glass transition temperature of polyethylene

Glass transition temperature Tg is the most important parameter affecting the mechanical properties of amorphous and semi-crystalline polymers. However, the atomistic origin of glass transition is not yet well understood. Using Polyethylene (PE) as an example, this paper investigates the glass transition temperature Tg of PE with the aid of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The effects of PE chain branches, crystallinity and carbon-nanotube (CNT) additives on the glass transition temperature are analyzed. The MD simulations render a good agreement with the relevant experimental data of semi-crystalline PE and show the significant effects of crystallinity and addition of CNTs on Tg.