Release of Carbon Nanotubes from an Epoxy-Based Nanocomposite during an Abrasion Process

Abstract

The abrasion behavior of an epoxy/carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposite was investigated. An experimental setup has been established to perform abrasion, particle measurement, and collection all in one. The abraded particles were characterized by particle size distribution and by electron microscopy. The abrasion process was carried out with a Taber Abraser, and the released particles were collected by a tube for further investigation. The particle size distributions were measured with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and an aerodynamic particle sizer (APS) and revealed four size modes for all measured samples. The mode corresponding to the smallest particle sizes of 300-400 nm was measured with the SMPS and showed a trend of increasing size with increasing nanofiller content. The three measured modes with particle sizes from 0.6 to 2.5 μm, measured with the APS, were similar for all samples. The measured particle concentrations were between 8000 and 20,000 particles/cm(3) for measurements with the SMPS and between 1000 and 3000 particles/cm(3) for measurements with the APS. Imaging by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that free-standing individual CNTs and agglomerates were emitted during abrasion.

Release of nanomaterials from solid nanocomposites and consumer exposure assessment – a forward-looking review

“…It is especially challenging to detect the mass concentration of nanoparticles in air, as they vary in size and are often associated to the matrix of the product. Several studies have attempted to use TEM or SEM with EDS (Shandilya et al, 2014;Vorbau et al, 2009b;Bello et al, 2009;Golanski et al, 2012;Schlagenhauf et al, 2012) to find the ENM in the released particles during sanding or abrasion, but this does not provide quantitative information on ENM release.…”

Carbon nanotubes: Impacts and behaviour in the terrestrial ecosystem - A review

“…It is important to mention here that if CNTs released from a material may be similar to the initial incorporated nanomaterial, either individual or agglomerated, CNTs functionalized by residual coating with the matrix material may also be observed [43]. The interactions between CNTs and their environment are also driven by the interface with the outer wall.…”

Mass distributions and morphological and chemical characterization of urban aerosols in the continental Balkan area (Belgrade)

“…Electron microscopic imaging of aerosol samples was accomplished using SEM (Nova NanoSEM 230, FEI, Hillsboro, OR) (Schlagenhauf et al 2012;Buha et al 2014) in order to get information on the primary particle size, particle morphology, and aggregation status. EDX (energy dispersive X-ray) analysis was carried out to obtain information on the spatially resolved chemical composition, and the results were further compared to those obtained by ICP-QMS.…”