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Electrospinning of in situ and ex situ synthesized polyimide composites reinforced by titanate nanotubes
Author(s) -
Harito Christian,
Porras Ruben,
Bavykin Dmitry V.,
Walsh Frank C.
Publication year - 2017
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.44641
Subject(s) - materials science , polyimide , titanate , polymer , electrospinning , nanofiber , composite material , composite number , in situ , dispersion (optics) , in situ polymerization , polymer chemistry , chemical engineering , polymerization , layer (electronics) , ceramic , chemistry , organic chemistry , physics , optics , engineering
A colloidal dispersion of titanate nanotubes (TiNT) and polyamic acid (PAA) in dimethylformamide (DMF) was electrospun and chemically converted to polyimide (PI)–titanate nanotube (PI‐TiNT) composite nanofibers of 500–1000 nm diameter. The dispersion of nanotubes in the polymer was addressed by two different approaches, namely an in situ method (when TiNT was coated with one of the monomers) and an ex situ one (when TiNT reacted directly with PAA). SEM images showed bead formation on samples from the in situ approach, while ex situ samples showed the absence of such features. Good distribution and some alignment of TiNT within the polymer fibers from in situ or ex situ approaches were observed by TEM imaging. Addition of titanate nanotubes into the polyimide significantly decreased the viscosity of polyamic acid solution and increased the glass transition temperature of the composite. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 44641.