Poly(ethylene terephthalate) nanocomposite fibers with functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes via in‐situ polymerization

Abstract

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) hybrids with newly synthesized functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were obtained by carrying out the in situ polycondensation of ethylene glycol with dimethyl terephthalic acid. The PET hybrids were melt-spun to produce monofilaments with various functionalized MWNT contents and draw ratios (DRs). The thermomechanical properties and morphologies of the PET hybrid fibers were determined using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), and a universal tensile machine (UTM). The XRD analysis and TEM micrographs show that the levels of nanosize dispersion can be controlled by varying the MWNT content. It was found that the addition of only a small amount of functionalized MWNTs was sufficient to improve the properties of the PET hybrid fibers. The maximum enhancement in the ultimate tensile strength was found to arise at a functionalized MWNT content of 0.5 wt %. However, the initial modulus was found to increase linearly with increases in the functionalized MWNT loading from 0 to 1.5 wt %. The thermal properties and conductivities of the PET hybrid fibers were found to be better than those of pure PET fibers.

Insight into the Broad Field of Polymer Nanocomposites: From Carbon Nanotubes to Clay Nanoplatelets, via Metal Nanoparticles

“…The authors also found that the MWCNTs acted as nucleating agents for PET crystallization, in agreement with what was observed by other researchers for other polymer/CNT systems [96]. Furthermore, Mun et al used MWCNTs functionalized with (2-hydroxyethyl) triphenyl phosphonium bromide to prepare PET nanocomposites through an in situ polymerization approach [97]. After polymerization, nanocomposite fibers were fabricated via a melt spinning approach.…”

“…One effective way to prepare PET/CNT composites is represented by in situ polymerization of co-monomers in the presence of MWCNTs [96,97]. Using such an approach Antoniadis et al prepared a series of PET/MWCNT composites through a two stage melt-polycondensation [96].…”

High strength composite fibres from polyester filled with nanotubes and graphene

“…In addition, some papers have reported the production of nanotube-PET composite fibres. [28][29][30] Of these, the most impressive results were those of Anand et al who prepared composite fibres by melt compounding, followed by spinning and drawing. 28 They obtained fibres with a modulus and strength of 15.9 GPa and 712 MPa respectively, significantly better than their measurements for the pure polymer.…”

Effects on the electro-mechanical properties of aniline-doped polyester fibric

“…4, shows the plot of average breaking force against % concentration. There was an increase in average breaking force with increase in concentration, this is ascribed to the difference in the compactness of the yarns, brought about by the interaction of twist levels and number of filaments per cross section of the yarns (Mun et al, 2008). Figure 5 and 6, show the plots of % elongation and work of rupture versus concentrations, which depicted that they increased with the increased in concentration.…”