Anisotropic Reinforcement of Nanocomposites Tuned by Magnetic Orientation of the Filler Network

Anisotropic reinforcement in nanocomposites is established by the use of isotropic fillers. Deformation along the field is larger by a factor of two than transverse to it. This can be understood from 2D small-angle neutron scattering (SANS): while strain parallel to the field induces additional organization (left), strain perpendicular to the chains destroys chain ordering (right).