TY - JOUR
T1 - Exceptional enhancement of ductility and toughness in poly(vinylidene fluoride)/carbon nanotubes composites
AU - Chen, Xuelong
AU - Liang, Yen Nan
AU - Yin, Ming
AU - Roy, Sunanda
AU - Marom, Gad
AU - Men, Yongfeng
AU - Hu, Xiao
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43610.
PY - 2016/7/10
Y1 - 2016/7/10
N2 - The reinforcement of mechanical properties of polymeric materials is often important for widening their applications; however, it remains a technical challenge to effectively increase toughness without degrading stiffness and strength of the polymers. In this work, by a facile methodology combining solution mixing and melt blending, poly(vinylidene fluoride)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PVDF/MWCNTs) composite with exceptionally enhanced ductility and toughness are prepared. With only 0.2 wt % CNT loading, the elongation at break has increased from originally 138% to almost 500%, while toughness improved by as much as 386%, without compromising the stiffness and strength. Note that raw CNTs are directly dispersed in the matrix without any surface modification. In order to elucidate this novel enhancement of ductility of PVDF/MWCNTs composites, we carried out detailed analyses based on results from ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS), cryo-fractured surface morphology, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It is proposed that the enhanced ductility are contributed by a synergistic combination of "void pinning effect" of CNT, as well as the formation of γ phase polymorph as the interphase in the PVDF/CNTs composites.
AB - The reinforcement of mechanical properties of polymeric materials is often important for widening their applications; however, it remains a technical challenge to effectively increase toughness without degrading stiffness and strength of the polymers. In this work, by a facile methodology combining solution mixing and melt blending, poly(vinylidene fluoride)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PVDF/MWCNTs) composite with exceptionally enhanced ductility and toughness are prepared. With only 0.2 wt % CNT loading, the elongation at break has increased from originally 138% to almost 500%, while toughness improved by as much as 386%, without compromising the stiffness and strength. Note that raw CNTs are directly dispersed in the matrix without any surface modification. In order to elucidate this novel enhancement of ductility of PVDF/MWCNTs composites, we carried out detailed analyses based on results from ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering (USAXS), cryo-fractured surface morphology, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). It is proposed that the enhanced ductility are contributed by a synergistic combination of "void pinning effect" of CNT, as well as the formation of γ phase polymorph as the interphase in the PVDF/CNTs composites.
KW - composites
KW - graphene and fullerenes
KW - mechanical properties
KW - nanotubes
KW - phase behavior
KW - polyamides
KW - properties and characterization
KW - structure-property relations
KW - thermal properties
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84977974306&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/app.43610
DO - 10.1002/app.43610
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AN - SCOPUS:84977974306
SN - 0021-8995
VL - 133
JO - Journal of Applied Polymer Science
JF - Journal of Applied Polymer Science
IS - 26
M1 - 43610
ER -