Preparation and characterization of high-performance wood polymer nanocomposites using multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Abstract

Effect of industrial grade multi-walled carbon nanotubes on mechanical, decay, and thermal properties of wood polymer nanocomposites was investigated. To meet this objective, pine wood flour, polypropylene with and without coupling agent (maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene), and multi-walled carbon nanotube (0, 1, 3, 5 wt%) were compounded in a twin screw co-rotating extruder. The mass ratio of the wood flour to polypropylene was 50/50 (w/w) in all compounds. Test specimens were produced using injection molding machine from the pellets. The flexural and tensile properties, biological durability, and thermal analysis (thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry) of the nanocomposites were investigated. The flexural and tensile properties of the wood polymer nanocomposites increased with increasing content of the industrial grade multi-walled carbon nanotubes (from 1 to 5 wt%) and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (3 wt%). The mass loss rates of the wood polymer nanocomposites decreased with increasing amounts of the maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene and industrial grade multi-walled carbon nanotube. The differential scanning calorimetry analysis showed that the melt crystallization enthalpies of the wood polymer nanocomposites increased with increasing amount of the industrial grade multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The increase in the Tc indicated that the industrial grade multi-walled carbon nanotubes were the efficient nucleating agent for the wood polymer nanocomposites.

Effect of fungal degradation on technological properties of carbon nanotubes reinforced polypropylene/rice straw composites

“…In other words, the availability of moisture is a prerequisite for biological decay in a material. 19 The results showed that by the incorporation of CNT into the compound, the susceptibility of the composite specimens to microbial degradation reduced. This is because of more durable for moisture content by nanoparticles, which caused the composites less accessible for the fungal activities, and consequently reduced the susceptibility of WPC to microbial degradation.…”

“…This result is consistent with previous studies. 19,[35][36][37][38] The SEM micrographs clearly displayed the position of nanoparticles in the composites with different treatments (Figure 2). As can be seen, the number of cavities on the surface of the specimens decreased the increasing amount of CNT.…”

“…[10][11][12] Similar findings were reported in previous studies. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19] The reduction of the tensile values by further addition of CNT (from 4% to 6%) can be generally explained by agglomeration or poor dispersion of nanoparticles in the polymer matrix. [13][14][15] It could be ascribed to aggregation phenomenon which caused to the debonding of particles from polymer matrix and/or stress concentration during the mechanical loading.…”

“…8,9 The positive effects of CNTs on the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the thermoplastic composites filled with the lignocellulosics were reported in previous research studies. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] Many studies reported that rice straw could be efficiently used in the production of thermoplastic composites. [20][21][22][23][24][25] However, the fungal degradation of the lignocellulosic/thermoplastic composites reinforced with the CNTs has not been extensively studied.…”

Dynamic Tests on Polyurea-Based Hybrid Composites for Ballistic Protection

“…In previous studies, there was shown the importance of polymers in various military protection applications [1][2][3][4], and was demonstrated that the reinforcement of such polymers conducts to better composite materials, which possess higher strength and higher modulus [2,[5][6][7][8][9][10], in order to, e.g., reduce blunt trauma [10].…”