Polymer nanocomposites containing carbon nanotubes and miscible polymer blends based on poly[ethylene‐co‐(acrylic acid)]

Abstract

Four binary polymer blends containing poly [ethylene-co-(acrylic acid)] (PEAA) as one component, and poly(4-vinyl phenol-co-2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate) (P4VPh-co-2HEMA) or poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) (PEOx) or poly(vinyl acetate-co-vinyl alcohol) (PVAc-co-VA) or poly (vinylpyrrolidone-co-vinyl acetate) (PVP-co-VAc) as the other component were prepared and used as a matrix of a series of composite materials. These binary mixtures were either partially or completely miscible within the composition range studied and were characterized by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared by a thermal treatment of polyester synthesized through the chemical reaction between ethylene glycol and citric acid over an alumina boat. High resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) was used to characterize the synthesized CNTs. Films of composite materials containing CNTs were obtained after evaporation of the solvent used to prepare solutions of the four types of binary polymer blends. Young's moduli of the composites were obtained by thermomechanical analysis at room temperature. Only one glass transition temperature was detected for several compositions on both binary blends and the composite material matrices. Evidence of hydrogen bond formation was recorded for both miscible blends and composite materials. The degree of crystallinity and Young's moduli of the CNT-polymer composites increased compared to the single polymer blends.

Polyacrylonitrile–poly(1‐vinyl pyrrolidone‐co‐vinyl acetate) blend based gel polymer electrolytes incorporated with sodium iodide salt for dye‐sensitized solar cell applications

“…Figure (b) illustrates the spectrum of P(VP‐ co ‐Vac), in which the peak at 1734 cm −1 was due to the CO stretching of poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and the peak at 1660 cm −1 confirmed the presence of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP). The peaks at 1233 and 1020 cm −1 expressed the presence of the CN stretching of PVP and C─O─C stretching vibrations of PVAc, respectively . Figure (c) shows the spectrum of NaI.…”

“…The peaks at 1233 and 1020 cm −1 expressed the presence of the CN stretching of PVP and C─O─C stretching vibrations of PVAc, respectively. [41][42][43] Figure 6(c) shows the spectrum of NaI. The peaks at 3487 and 1617 cm −1 were characteristic peaks of NaI.…”

Poly[ethylene‐co‐(acrylic acid)]‐based nanocomposites: Thermal and mechanical properties and their structural characteristics studied by Raman spectroscopy

“…Table 1 lists the glass transition temperature ( T g ), melting temperature ( T m ), the melting entalphy (Δ H m ), and the degree of the crystallinity ( X c ) of pure PEAA, CNTs‐PEAA nanocomposites, CGr‐PEAA composites, and CNTs‐PEAA/PEOx nanocomposites. The degree of the crystallinty ( X c ) was calculated by the equation: where Δ H 0 represents the heat of fusion for completely crystallized PEAA and is taken as 103.2 J/g [27] for the pure PEAA. The glass transition temperature and the melting temperature detected for the nanocomposites remain practically unchanged with respect to the pure PEAA, regardless of the type and concentration of the filler or the type of matrix (pure PEAA or the mixture of PEAA/PEOx (80/20)).…”

Detection of single walled carbon nanotubes by monitoring embedded metals

“…The incorporation of CNTs into polymer matrices to create a nanocomposite has been explored for a variety of materials, typically done to improve mechanical strength or conductivity of the material. [28][29][30] Release of CNTs from nanocomposites due to polymer degradation is a possible route of entry into the environment. 31 To probe the ability of spICPMS to detect CNTs released from these nanocomposites well-dened CNT composites were created by combining a known mass of CNTs (Carbon Solutions) and chitosan and placed in DI water.…”