Premium
Thermoplastic Polyurethane Nanocomposites Produced via Impregnation of Long Carbon Nanotube Forests
Author(s) -
Silva Glaura G.,
Rodrigues MarcoTulio F.,
Fantini Cristiano,
Borges Raquel S.,
Pimenta Marcos A.,
Carey Brent J.,
Ci Lijie,
Ajayan Pulickel M.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
macromolecular materials and engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.913
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1439-2054
pISSN - 1438-7492
DOI - 10.1002/mame.201000276
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , nanocomposite , carbon nanotube , thermoplastic polyurethane , composite number , electrical resistivity and conductivity , thermoplastic , polyurethane , modulus , elastomer , electrical engineering , engineering
TPU was infiltrated into vertically aligned, 3.5 mm‐long MWNT forests to produce continuously reinforced anisotropic nanocomposites, and thermomechanical and electrical testing has revealed multifunctionality which shows promise for numerous applications. A 1000% increase in the storage modulus at 70 °C was observed as compared to the neat TPU, and these continuously aligned composites showed electrical conductivity two orders‐of‐magnitude greater (≈1.5 S · cm −1 ) than randomly aligned composites prepared using CNTs from these forests. The heightened improvement for the continuously reinforced composite appears to be owed to the extremely high aspect ratio of these CNTs and the interconnected network which remains after infiltration.