Tuning the Mechanical Properties of Composites from Elastomeric to Rigid Thermoplastic by Controlled Addition of Carbon Nanotubes
✍ Scribed by Umar Khan; Peter May; Arlene O’Neill; Juan J. Vilatela; Alan H. Windle; Jonathan N Coleman
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2011
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 579 KB
- Volume
- 7
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1613-6810
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✦ Synopsis
Abstract
A commercial thermoplastic polyurethane is identified for which the addition of nanotubes dramatically improves its mechanical properties. Increasing the nanotube content from 0% to 40% results in an increase in modulus, Y, (0.4–2.2 GPa) and stress at 3% strain, σ~ϵ = 3%~, (10–50 MPa), no significant change in ultimate tensile strength, σ~B~, (≈50 MPa) and decreases in strain at break, ϵ~B~, (555–3%) and toughness, T, (177–1 MJ m^−3^). This variation in properties spans the range from compliant and ductile, like an elastomer, at low mass fractions to stiff and brittle, like a rigid thermoplastic, at high nanotube content. For mid‐range nanotube contents (≈15%) the material behaves like a rigid thermoplastic with large ductility: Y = 1.5 GPa, σ~ϵ = 3%~ = 36 MPa, σ~B~ = 55 MPa, ϵ~B~ = 100% and T = 50 MJ m^−3^. Analysis suggests that soft polyurethane segments are immobilized by adsorption onto the nanotubes, resulting in large changes in mechanical properties.