Largely restricted nucleation effect of carbon nanotubes in a miscible poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(butylene succinate) blend

Abstract

The crystallization behaviors of miscible poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(butylene succinate) (PVDF/PBS) and its blend composites with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) during non-isothermal and isothermal processes were investigated. The results showed that CNTs acted as heterogeneous nucleation agents and further improved the nucleation ability of PBS and PVDF in blends. However, compared with the nucleation effects of CNTs in PBS/CNT or PVDF/CNT binary composites, the nucleation effect of CNTs in miscible PVDF/PBS was largely restricted and nucleation efficiency was lowered. A reasonable explanation about the restricted nucleation ability of CNTs was studied from the viewpoint of interfacial interactions between polymer components and CNTs, in which a preferential affinity of CNTs to PBS was found. Further combined with the preparation method, it is proposed that PVDF chains adsorbed on the CNT surface in the master batch were peeled off from the CNTs by incorporated PBS chains, due to the better interaction between PBS and CNTs. Finally, the PVDF chains at the interface were diluted by PBS, and most of theCNT surface was covered by PBS chains, giving rise to the nucleation of PBS on the CNTs. On the other hand, unremoved PVDF still adsorbed on the CNT surface and crystallized. Compared with PVDF/CNT and PBS/CNT binary composites, the nucleation density in the ternary composites was greatly lowered, resulting in restricted nucleation effects of CNTs. On the other hand, the preferable adsorption of PBS on CNTs induced an apparent phase fluctuation in the PVDF/PBS blend composites, which also reflected the selective adsorption of PBS on the CNT surface.

Melt processing and mechanical property characterization of high-performance poly(ether ether ketone)-carbon nanotube composite

“…It seems that CNTs do not affect meaningfully any thermal parameters such as T g and T m . Analogous results were reported by Diez‐Pascual et al for CNT–PEEK nanocomposites, despite it being an unusual behaviour, as commonly nanotubes act as nucleating agents in polymers and change the thermal behaviour of the resulting nanocomposites . It is also found that both crystallization temperature T c and crystallinity (Table ) display similar values preserving those of the neat polymer.…”

Bamboo Fiber Based Cellulose Nanocrystals/Poly(Lactic Acid)/Poly(Butylene Succinate) Nanocomposites: Morphological, Mechanical and Thermal Properties

“…Hence, PBS covers most of the surfaces of CNCs and restricts the non-uniform nucleation effect of PLA by CNC. Similar behavior was noticed in the PVDF-PBS-CNT and PLA-PBS-CNC systems fabricated via solution casting techniques [ 46 , 47 ]. Thus, thermal analysis of nano composites revealed enhancement upon addition of CNC, and similar improvement was achieved in the previous work where CNCs extracted from hemp fibers were added in PLA-PBS composites [ 23 ].…”

Highly Tunable Piezoresistive Behavior of Carbon Nanotube-Containing Conductive Polymer Blend Composites Prepared from Two Polymers Exhibiting Crystallization-Induced Phase Separation

“…In PVDF/PBS/CNT composites, the CNTs locate outside the PVDF crystals in the mixed PVDF/PBS amorphous phase, containing some crystalline PBS on the CNT surface. The stronger nucleation activity of CNTs on PBS as compared to PVDF hints for the preferential interaction of CNT with the PBS, which finally favors the homogeneous distribution of the partially PBS crystal-coated CNTs in the mixed PVDF/PBS amorphous phase. , When stretching such composites, already at low strains the distance between the fillers and thus the tunneling resistance increases, providing higher strain sensitivity in that strain range. To significantly destroy the network by breaking conductive paths in it, higher strains have to be applied than in the less dense CNT networks in the PVDF samples.…”