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Effects of surface modification with 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane on structure and mechanical property of multiwalled carbon nanotube/polycarbonate composites
Author(s) -
Zhao Yuanxu,
Wang Bo,
Chen Weiwei,
Li An,
Zheng Guoqiang,
Liu Chuntai,
Chen Jingbo,
Shen Changyu
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
polymer composites
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.577
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1548-0569
pISSN - 0272-8397
DOI - 10.1002/pc.23370
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , thermogravimetric analysis , polycarbonate , surface modification , dynamic mechanical analysis , silanization , scanning electron microscope , carbon nanotube , fourier transform infrared spectroscopy , ultimate tensile strength , silane , dispersion (optics) , microstructure , nanocomposite , polymer , chemical engineering , physics , optics , engineering
Hydroxyl functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (H‐MWNTs) were silanized using 3‐aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) in order to improve the dispersion and interfacial interaction in composites. MWNT/polycarbonate (PC) composites filled with H‐MWNTs and silanized MWNTs (S‐MWNTs) were fabricated by melt mixing and injection molding. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and energy dispersion X‐ray spectroscopy (EDS) were employed to prove the presence of APTES on the surface of S‐MWNTs. In addition, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) was used to evaluate the relative amount of introduced APTES. The microstructure and mechanical property of both composites were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), tensile test and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA). The SEM and TEM images showed that S‐MWNT/PC composites had better dispersion and interfacial adhesion than H‐MWNT/PC composites. A reinforcing and toughening effect on tensile behavior of composites was obtained after silane functionalization. The storage modulus of composites increased markedly as a function of MWNTs content, especially for the composites with S‐MWNTs. In summary, the silanization can improve the dispersion of MWNTs and the interfacial adhesion between MWNTs and PC so as to enhance the mechanical properties of composites. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:1914–1923, 2016. © 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers