Thermoplastic
polyurethane (TPU) nanocomposites incorporated with
polydopamine functionalized graphene nanoplatelet (PDA-GNP) were prepared
by in situ polymerization. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
results indicated that the addition of PDA-GNP could promote the formation
of hydrogen bonding and microphase separation. The microstructure
obtained from small-angle neutron scattering indicated that the addition
of PDA-GNP increased the number while significantly it decreased the
size of hard microdomains. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated
that PDA-GNP exhibited strong interfacial interactions with TPU matrix.
In particular, the tensile strength, strain at break, and toughness
of TPU/PDA-GNP with as low as 0.5 wt % PDA-GNP increased by 313, 16,
and 279%, respectively. This individualized phenomenon was attributed
to the abundant covalent bonding between PDA-GNP and TPU resulting
in strong interfacial interactions and good compatibility specifically
associated with the changes of TPU microstructure.
The front cover image is based on the Research Article Preparation of poly(ethylene oxide) brush‐grafted multiwall carbon nanotubes and their effect on morphology and mechanical properties of rigid polyurethane foam by Keping Chen et al., DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/pi.5676. Illustration Credit: Jie Yang.
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