Liquid-crystalline main-chain polymers with a poly(pphenylene terephthalate) backbone. 1. Synthesis, characterization and rheology of polyesters with alkoxy side chains

Due to their good mechanical properties, low density, and ease of processing polymer nanocomposites are of interest for a multitude of applications in the automotive, electronics, and leisure industry. Besides having an impact on short-term mechanical performance of polymers, the addition of nanoreinforcements can have also a significant effect on long-term properties such as the resistance to static (creep) and cyclic (fatigue) loadings. However, despite its significance there is a shortage of long-term mechanical performance data for thermoplastic-based polymer nanocomposites. Reason being that existing characterization methods for long-term performance and durability are time consuming and limited in their applicability. Here, an engineering approach to predict long-term time-to-failure of polycarbonate/carbon nanotube (PC/CNT) nanocomposites is presented based on short-term experimentation with an application to both creep and fatigue. Results showed that the addition of CNTs had an opposite effect on two important long-term failure mechanisms. Addition of CNTs lead to improvements in durability in the plasticity-controlled failure regime, whereas it had an adverse effect in the slow crack growth-controlled regime, meaning that in the latter regime nanocomposite performance was significantly less than that of the neat polymer matrix.

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