Impact of Filler Functionalisation on the Crystallinity, Thermal Stability and Mechanical Properties of Thermoplastic Elastomer/Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites

Abstract

In the present work, the functionalisation of oxidised SWCNTs and MWCNTs is studied. The functionalised fillers are characterised by Raman spectroscopy and TGA. The functionalised fillers are dispersed in a PBT‐PTMO thermoplastic elastomer matrix via in situ polymerisation. The functionalisation causes a fine filler dispersion right at beginning of nanocomposite manufacturing. The fillers act as nucleating agents for crystallisation and evidences for a grafting from PBT at the surface of the functionalised nanotubes are found. An outstanding reinforcement effect by the functionalised CNTs is confirmed by tensile tests.

Brittleness and toughness of polymers and other materials

“…Such knowledge could be especially valuable in setting expectations for outcomes of material design modifications. When a polymer is reinforced by a filler, sometimes combined with functionalization of that filler [32], the magnitude of reinforcement achieved can be evaluated quantitatively.…”

Ethylene-vinyl Acetate Thermoplastic Copolymers Filled with Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes: Effect of Hydrothermal Ageing on Mechanical, Thermal, and Electrical Properties

“…But also the presence of CNT agglomerates acting as stress concentrators can promote failure at smaller extensions compared to the neat polymers. In previous works, the positive effect of CNT on the elasticity and toughness of thermoplastic elastomers was reported . In such systems the filler loading was very low (even lower than 0.5 wt.‐%), therefore important effects such as pore‐stabilization (bridging) and telescopic pull‐out contributed to an outstanding reinforcement and toughening effect of CNTs.…”

“…In previous works, the positive effect of CNT on the elasticity and toughness of thermoplastic elastomers was reported. [2,3] In such systems the filler loading was very low (even lower than 0.5 wt.-%), therefore important effects such as pore-stabilization (bridging) and telescopic pull-out contributed to an outstanding reinforcement and toughening effect of CNTs. In the present work, the filler loading is significantly higher and well above the electrical percolation threshold.…”

“…The mechanical and thermal properties of thermoplastics can be significantly improved by the addition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) due to outstanding mechanical and thermal properties of these nanoparticles. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Now mixing of polymers and CNTs opens ways to develop high performance engineering composites with multi-functional properties, particularly with the incorporation of the functionality of electrical conductiv-ity. [10][11][12][13][14][15] In recent years, there is a growing interest in using conductive polymer-based nanocomposites in various advanced technological applications such as optoelectronic packaging, electrically conductive adhesive joints, or antistatic materials for electromagnetic interference shielding of electronic devices.…”

“…A great number of studies have been conducted on CNT reinforced thermoplastic polymer nanocomposites, [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] including EVA-based nanocomposites, [11,14,15,25] mainly focusing on the investigation of structure-property relationships, characterization of thermo-physical, [1,4,7,10,12,25,26] mechanical, [4][5][6]11,26] and electrical [10][11][12][13][14] properties. However, there are not many studies on water absorption properties of such nanocomposites and influence of hydrothermal ageing on physical and mechanical properties.…”