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Morphology, crystallization, and mechanical properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes composites
Author(s) -
Zhu Zhiguo,
Wang Rui,
Dong Zhenfeng,
Huang Xiuqin,
Zhang Dasheng
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.33438
Subject(s) - materials science , differential scanning calorimetry , crystallization , composite material , terephthalic acid , nanocomposite , ethylene glycol , carbon nanotube , ethylene , kinetics , dispersion (optics) , in situ polymerization , polymerization , chemical engineering , polymer chemistry , polymer , polyester , catalysis , organic chemistry , chemistry , physics , optics , quantum mechanics , engineering , thermodynamics
Abstract Poly(ethylene terephthalate)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PET/MWCNTs) with different MWCNTs loadings have been prepared by in situ polymerization of ethylene glycol (EG) containing dispersed MWCNTs and terephthalic acid (TPA). From scanning electronic microscopy images of nanocomposites, it can be clearly seen that the PET/MWCNTs composites with low‐MWCNTs contents (0.2 and 0.4 wt %) get better MWCNTs dispersion than analogous with high‐tube loadings (0.6 and 0.8 wt %). The nonisothermal crystallization kinetics was analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry using Mo kinetics equation, and the results showed that the incorporation of MWCNTs accelerates the crystallization process obviously. Mechanical testing shows that, in comparison with neat PET, the Young's modulus and the yield strength of the PET nanocomposites with incorporating 0.4 wt % MWCNTs are effectively improved by about 25% and 15%, respectively. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011