Preparation of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Reinforced Polystyrene and Polyurethane Nanofibers and Membranes by Electrospinning

TLDR

Single‑walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) reinforced polymer composite membranes have been fabricated by electrospinning. The study aims to show how chemical functionalization of SWNTs affects the mechanical properties of SWNT‑reinforced polyurethane composites. Nanofibers 50–100 nm in diameter were produced by electrospinning SWNT‑filled polystyrene and polyurethane, enabling the incorporation of functionalized SWNTs. TEM revealed SWNT bundles aligned along the fiber axis, and functionalized SWNT‑PU membranes showed up to 104 % higher tensile strength and 250 % higher tangent modulus than pure polyurethane.

Abstract

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) reinforced polymer composite membranes have been fabricated using the electrospinning technique. Nanofibers with a diameter in the range 50−100 nm were obtained by electrospinning SWNT-filled polystyrene composites. TEM observations revealed incorporation of small SWNT bundles oriented parallel to the nanofiber axis. As-prepared (AP) and ester (EST) functionalized SWNTs have been electrospun with polyurethane (PU) to demonstrate the effect of the chemical functionalization of SWNTs on the mechanical properties of SWNT-reinforced composites. The tensile strength of EST-SWNT-PU membranes is enhanced by 104% as compared to electrospun pure polyurethane membranes, while an increase of only 46% was achieved incorporating AP−SWNT in the polyurethane matrix. The tangent moduli of AP- and EST-SWNT-PU membranes were found to be respectively 215% and 250% higher than the control polyurethane membranes.