Influence of carbon nanofiber functionalization and compatibilizer on the physical properties of carbon nanofiber reinforced polypropylene nanocomposites

Abstract

The effect of acrylic acid (AA) and amine alcohol (DMAE) functionalization via plasma of carbon nanofibers (CNF) on physical and mechanical properties of polypropylene‐CNF nanocomposites prepared by melt mixing was studied. The behavior of these functionalized CNF via plasma was compared with a CNF functionalized by oxidation with a mixture of sulphuric acid (H2SO4) and nitric acid (HNO3). Two different types of compatibilizers were used: an amine alcohol modified PP (PPgDMAE) and a maleic anhydride grafted PP (PPgMA). The CNF functionalization was evidenced by Raman spectroscopy, comparing the ratio of peaks at 1371 and at 1590 cm−1. Dispersion of the CNF was assessed using scanning microscopy, and the effect of the type of CNF functionalization on the dispersion was evidenced. A noticeable increase in thermal stability, mechanical and electrical properties and crystallization rate were observed. For example, the storage modulus when using PPgDMAE and AA functionalized CNF increased up to 48% over the control. The mechanical properties of flexural and impact strength showed an effective load transfer when using this CNF and compatibilizer system, which was attributed to the better functionalized CNF dispersion and the strong interactions between this CNF and the polymer matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 39:3575–3585, 2018. © 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers

Graphene Oxide and Vermiculite Clay Combinations to Produce Enhanced Flame Retardant Polypropylene Composite with Low Magnesium Hydroxide Loading

“…This D′ signal also can be attributed to the absence of imperfections in the crystalline order which can lead to the division of the G peak. [ 34 ] It is clearly seen in Figure 3 that GO and APTS‐f‐GO show the D′ signal at 1600 cm −1 next to the G peak which can be attributed to defects in the graphene sheets structure created by oxidation and silane functionalization. An effective approach to estimate the GO structural disorder is with the D and G bands intensity ratio (ID/IG), or also represented as sp 3 /sp 2 ratio.…”

Reduced graphene oxide reinforced PET/PBT nanocomposites: Compatibilization and characterization

“…The increasing of T c can be considered as an advantage during the injection molding process. The higher T c means that lower cooling time and cost 4 . Furthermore, the branched structure of Joncryl negatively affect the symmetry and regularity of PET/PBT chains and obstruct the close packing of chain segments 17,41 .…”

“…Due to these, PNCs exhibit various properties such as high mechanical properties, electrical‐thermal conductivity, high thermal stability, flame retardancy, even at low filler loading levels 2,3 . Over the last decades, various nanofillers, such as, carbon nanofibers, 4 clay, 5 carbon black, 6 carbon nanotubes, 7 metal nanoparticles, 8 graphene 9,10 have been used frequently for reinforcing of polymer matrices. Among these fillers, graphene (Gr) has attracted considerable attention since its discovery in 2004 9 …”

Electrical Properties of Polypropylene-Based Composites Melt-Processed with As-Grown Carbon Nanofibers

“…This type of CNF, which is produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of catalyst nanoparticles under a mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons [6], have tubular hollow cores surrounded by ordered inner stacked-cup and disordered outer layers, with lengths and diameters ranging from 50 to 100 μm, and 50 to 200 nm, respectively [7,8]. In particular, due to their remarkably electrical conductivities (10 4 Sm À1 ), the production of conductive PP composites based on CNFs by melt-mixing has been the subject of investigation during the past few decades [9][10][11]. Notably, the broad dispersion of electrical conductivity values reported for meltprocessed PP/CNF composites shows that their electrical properties are far from being totally understood [12].…”