Surface morphology and electrical properties of polyurethane nanofiber webs spray‐coated with carbon nanotubes

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were spray‐coated on electrospun polyurethane nanofiber webs for electrical conductive application. For the effective coating of MWNTs, hyperbranched polyurethane (HBPU) was used by blending with linear polyurethane, which was synthesized in the A₂ + B₃ approach using poly(ε‐caprolactone)diol, 4,4′‐methylene bis(phenylisocynate), and castor oil. SEM measurements showed that the MWNTs could be coated well along the surface of nanofibers when the HBPU was blended in the linear polyurethane nanofibers. Blending of HBPU in the nanofibers also affected the electrical conductivity of MWNT‐coated nanofiber webs. The low electrical resistance from 20 to 400 Ω/sq was obtained for MWNT‐coated nanofiber webs and their electrical resistance decreased with an increase of spraying frequency. As a potential application of MWNT‐coated nanofiber webs, the electrical heating effect because of applied voltage was demonstrated. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

丙烯腈-衣康酸基纳米纤维纱线的热稳定及碳化研究

碳纳米纤维主要以聚丙烯腈(PAN)作为前驱体,通过纺丝、热稳定、碳化等后处理工艺制备而得。但是,PAN基纳米纤维取向度低、致密性差,热稳定后环化度低,碳化后导电性差等缺点阻碍其在高性能碳纳米纤维领域的发展。因此,在PAN分子链中引入衣康酸(IA),通过溶液聚合法合成了P(AN-co-IA)共聚物并通过静电纺丝法制备了P(AN-co-IA)基纳米纤维纱线。研究了纱线中纳米纤维的取向度、致密性以及在热稳定后的环化反应程度。重点研究了P(AN-co-IA)基碳纳米纤维纱线的线电阻、微观结构与碳化温度的关系。用扫描电子显微镜(SEM)对纱线进行形貌表征。用X-射线衍射仪(XRD)、傅里叶显微红外仪(FT-IR)、拉曼光谱仪(Raman)对纱线进行结构分析。结果表明,P(AN-co-IA)基原丝纱线的结构较致密,取向度较高。热稳定后的P(AN-co-IA)基纳米纤维的环化度高于PAN基纳米纤维。当碳化温度升至1100℃时,P(AN-co-IA)基碳纳米纤维纱线的线电阻明显降低至14Ω/cm。当碳化温度继续升高至1400℃,纱线的线电阻没有明显变化,但通过Raman光谱分析其无序碳结构会大幅增加。本文的研究结果为制备高取向性、高致密性和高电导性的碳纳米纤维纱线提供了一定的理论及实验基础。     

掺杂羧基化碳纳米管的纳米碳纤维前驱体的制备及表征

为获得结构完整、 性能优良的纳米碳纤维前驱体, 采用静电纺丝法制备了掺杂羧基化多壁碳纳米管(MWCNTs)的聚丙烯腈(PAN)纳米纤维. 用扫描电子显微镜、 偏振红外光谱、 透射电子显微镜、 拉曼光谱及拉伸性能测试等对杂化纳米纤维的微观结构和力学性能进行了研究, 分析了MWCNTs含量的影响. 实验结果表明, 5%(质量分数)的MWCNTs掺杂量为杂化纳米纤维直径的突变点, 且MWCNTs的加入有利于PAN分子链的取向, MWCNTs在PAN纤维中大体上沿纤维轴向取向分布. 3%MWCNTs/PAN杂化纳米纤维的拉伸强度和拉伸模量分别达到88.6 MPa和3.21 GPa.     

Controlled Nanofiber Composed of Multi‐Wall Carbon Nanotube/Poly(Ethylene Oxide)

We have successfully fabricated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) nanofibers containing embedded multi‐wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). An initial dispersion of the MWCNTs in distilled water was achieved using sodium dodecyl sulfate. Subsequently, the dispersion was decanted into a PEO solution, which enabled separation of the MWCNTs and their individual incorporation into the PEO nanofibers on subsequent electrospinning. Initially, the carbon nanotube (CNT) rods were randomly oriented, but owing to the sink‐like flow in the electrospinning wedge, they became gradually oriented along the streaming direction, in order that oriented CNTs were obtained on entering the electrospun jet. Individual MWCNTs became embedded in the nanofibers, and were mostly aligned along the fiber axis. Evidence of load transfer to the nanotubes in the composite nanofiber was observed from the field‐emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and conductivity data.     

Electrospinning of polyvinylidene difluoride with carbon nanotubes: synergistic effects of extensional force and interfacial interaction on crystalline structures

Polyvinylidene difluoride (PVDF) solutions containing a very low concentration of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) of similar surface chemistry, respectively, were electrospun, and the nanofibers formed were collected using a modified rotating disk collector. The polymorphic behavior and crystal orientation of the nanofibers were studied using wide-angle X-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy, while the nanotube alignment and interfacial interactions in the nanofibers were probed by transmission electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It is shown that the interfacial interaction between the SWCNTs and PVDF and the extensional force experienced by the nanofibers in the electrospinning and collection processes can work synergistically to induce highly oriented beta-form crystallites extensively. In contrast, the MWCNTs could not be well aligned along the nanofiber axis, which leads to a lower degree of crystal orientation.     

Effect of constrained annealing on the mechanical properties of electrospun poly(ethylene oxide) webs containing multiwalled carbon nanotubes

In this work, flexible nanofibrous membranes (mats) of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) with and without multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were fabricated by electrospinning. The effects of annealing and MWNT concentration on mat morphology, MWNT dispersion within the nanofibers, and the mechanical properties of electrospun mats were studied. Annealing temperatures ranged from 60 °C to 64 °C [near the melting temperature (64 °C via differential scanning calorimetry)] for 4 minutes. Samples were annealed with and without applied tension (constrained and unconstrained annealing). Annealing at the highest temperature (64 °C), before the loss of fibrous morphology, significantly improved fiber–fiber bonding and therefore the tensile strength of the mats. Compared with unconstrained annealing, constrained annealing introduced fiber alignment (and therefore molecular orientation) along the tensile axis (direction of constraint) during annealing and resulted in a significant increase in modulus for all samples (with and without MWNTs). The use of constrained annealing may be a facile approach to enhance modulus in nanofibrous mats while maintaining high porosity. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2016 , 54, 787–796     

Fabrication of nanocomposite PAN nanofibers containing MgO and Al2O3 nanoparticles

This paper describes the effect of embedding MgO and Al₂O₃ nanoparticles on the diameter of electrospun composite polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers. Diameter of nanofibers determines the important properties of the nanofibrous mats used in a variety of developed applications such as tissue engineering scaffolds, drug delivery, catalysis, ultra filtration, sensors, and nanoelectronics. The results showed that the type and amount of nanoparticles dispersed in PAN solutions affect the conductivity as well as the viscosity of the electrospinning solutions. Increasing the amount of MgO and Al₂O₃ leads to higher conductivity and higher viscosity of the electrospinning solution and ultimately to a smaller nanofiber diameter. Moreover, the results showed that higher conductivity of the electrospinning solution overcomes the effect of higher viscosity. Finally, no interaction was detected between metal oxide nanoparticles and PAN macromolecules.     

Melt mixing of polycarbonate with multiwalled carbon nanotubes: microscopic studies on the state of dispersion

The focus of the paper is to investigate several issues related to the state of dispersion of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in a polycarbonate (PC) matrix. A masterbatch of PC-MWNT (15 wt.%) was diluted with different amounts of PC in a small scale conical twin screw extruder (DACA Micro Compounder) to obtain different compositions of MWNT. In this system, electrical measurements indicated percolation of MWNT between 1.0 and 1.5 wt.%. We report TEM and AFM investigations of the state of dispersion of MWNT, in the entire volume of the matrix, in selected composites with compositions below (1 wt.% MWNT) and above the percolation threshold (2 and 5 wt.% MWNT). In addition, it was investigated if surface segregation of MWNT and flow induced orientation of nanotubes within the extruded strands had been occurred. It is found that the nanotubes dispersed uniformly through the matrix showing no significant agglomeration in the compositions studied. TEM micrographs seem to be able to detect the percolated structure of the carbon nanotubes. Furthermore, by comparing AFM micrographs from the core region and near to surface region no evidence of segregation or depletion of MWNT at the surface of the extruded strand was found. Comparison of TEM and AFM micrographs on surfaces cut along and perpendicular to the strand direction led to the conclusion that no preferred alignment had occurred as a result of extrusion. Aside from TEM technique, AFM is shown to be suitable to characterize the state of nanotube dispersion along with the issue of surface segregation and orientation of the nanotubes.     

Polymeric Nanocomposites of Polyurethane Block Copolymers and Functionalized Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Crosslinkers

Summary: We report on a new route to synthesize polymeric carbon nanotube‐polyurethane (PU) nanocomposites. Multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) functionalized by chemical modification were incorporated as a crosslinker in prepolymer, which was prepared from a reaction of 4,4′‐methylene bis(phenylisocyanate) and poly(ε‐caprolactone)diol. The reinforcing effect of carbon nanotubes in crosslinked MWNT‐PU nanocomposites was more pronounced as compared to that in conventional MWNT‐PU nanocomposites. The optimum content of chemically modified MWNTs for crosslinking with polyurethane was determined to be approximately 4 wt.‐% in our samples, based on observation of a NCO peak in FT‐IR spectroscopy. MWNT‐crosslinked polyurethane containing 4 wt.‐% modified MWNTs showed the highest modulus and tensile strength among the composites and pure PU. The presence of functionalized MWNTs in the polymeric nanocomposite yielded enhancement in the thermal stability due to crosslinking of the MWNTs with PU.

Possible configuration for MWNT‐PU nanocomposite molecules and FT‐IR spectra of samples obtained during reaction of prepolymer with functionalized MWNTs (second step).     

聚丙烯腈纳米纤维的再细化

通过电纺丝法研究了溶剂种类、溶液浓度、纺丝倾斜角、聚合物分子量对纳米纤维形态和直径的影响,寻找到最佳工艺条件,并得到了平均直径为20nm的超细纤维.     

Processing and properties of melt spun polylactide–multiwall carbon nanotube fiber composites

This article reports on the fabrication of oriented composite fibers between polylactide (PLA) and multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT). The fibers were fabricated using a custom‐built melt fiber‐drawing setup. The influence of processing parameters on the final fiber diameter and on the orientation were characterized and optimized. Composite fibers were fabricated at various MWNT contents. Addition of low amounts of MWNT (0.25–1 wt %) to PLA did not have a significant effect on the diameters of the fibers. Observations of the composite morphology under STEM indicated preferential orientation of the MWNTs along the draw direction of the fibers. Increasing amounts of MWNTs was found to increase crystallization kinetics and content. The crystalline content had a direct and profound implication on the mechanical properties with 0.5‐wt % MWNT fibers having the highest crystalline content and also the highest Young's modulus. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2014 , 52, 477–484     

Preparation,structure, and property of polyoxymethylene/carbon nanotubes thermal conducive composites

Polyoxymethylene (POM)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) nanocomposites were prepared through a simple solution‐evaporation method assisted by ultrasonic irradiation. To enhance the dispersion of MWNTs in POM, MWNTs were chemically functionalized with PEG‐substituted amine (MWNT‐g‐PEG), which exhibited strong affinity with POM due to their similar molecular structure. The thermal conductivity and the mechanical properties of the composites were investigated, which showed that the thermal conductive properties of POM were improved remarkably in the presence of MWNTs, whereas reduced by using MWNT‐g‐PEG due to the heat transport barrier of the grafted‐PEG‐substituted amine chain. A nonlinear increase of the thermal conductivity was observed with increasing MWNTs content, and the Maxwell‐Eucken model and the Agari model were used for theoretical evaluation. The relatively high effective length factor of the composite predicted with mixture equation indicated that there were few entangles of MWNTs for the samples of MWNT‐g‐PEG in the composites. The mechanical strength of the composites can be improved remarkably by using suitable content of such functionalized MWNTs, and with the increase of the aliphatic chain length of PEG‐substituted amine, the toughness of the composites can be enhanced. Transmission electron microscope result indicated that MWNT‐g‐PEG exhibited strong affinity with POM and a good dispersion of MWNTs was achieved in POM matrix. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 905–912, 2010     

Fundamental study of crystallization,orientation, and electrical conductivity of electrospun PET/carbon nanotube nanofibers

The morphology, structure, and properties of polyethylene terephthalate (PET)/Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) conductive nanoweb were studied in this article. Nanocomposite nanofibers were obtained through electrospinning of PET solutions in trifluoroacetic acid (TFA)/dichloromethane (DCM) containing different concentrations and types of CNTs. Electrical conductivity measurements on nanofiber mats showed an electrical percolation threshold around 2 wt % multi‐wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The morphological analysis results showed smoother nanofibers with less bead structures development when using a rotating drum collector especially at high concentrations of CNTs. From crystallographic measurements, a higher degree of crystallinity was observed with increasing CNT concentrations above electrical percolation. Spectroscopy results showed that both PET and CNT orientation increased with the level of alignment of the nanofibers when the nanotube concentration was below the electrical percolation threshold; while the orientation factor was reduced for aligned nanofibers with higher content in CNT. Considerable enhancement in mechanical properties, especially tensile modulus, was found in aligned nanofibers; at least six times higher than the modulus of random nanofibers at concentrations below percolation. The effect of alignment on the mechanical properties was less important at higher concentrations of CNTs, above the percolation threshold. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 2052–2064, 2010     

High Strength Electrospun Single Copolyacrylonitrile (coPAN) Nanofibers with Improved Molecular Orientation by Drawing

High-performance carbon nanofibers are highly dependent on the performance of their precursors, especially polyacrylonitrile (PAN).In this work, the copolymer of PAN (coPAN) was synthesized for electrospinning. A self-assembling set-up was used for the stretching of single coPAN nanofibers. FTIR and Raman spectroscopies were used to characterize the chemical structure of coPAN nanofibers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to monitor the morphology of single coPAN nanofibers under different drawing times. Micro-tensile test was used to determine the mechanical properties of single coPAN nanofibers. The results indicated that the drawing led to an increase in degree of molecular orientation along the fiber axis from 0.656 to 0.808, tensile strength from 304 MPa to 595 MPa, and modulus from 3.1 GPa to 12.4 GPa. This research would provide fundamental information of high-performance electrospun coPAN nanofibers and offer opportunities for the preparation of high-performance carbon nanofibers.     

Decoration of Electrospun Nanofibers with Magnetic Nanoparticles via Electrospinning and Sol-gel Process

Polyacrylonitrile(PAN)/Fe 3 O 4 composite nanofibers were successfully obtained through electrospinning and sol-gel technology. The resulting magnetic Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles were homogeneously distributed on the surface of PAN nanofibers and the diameters of polyacrylonitrile nanofibers and nanoparticles were easily controlled, respectively. The distribution of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles inside the nanofibrous composite was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction reveals the presence of Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles in the composite nanofiber. The resulting sample shows a super paramagnetic behavior.     

Significance of the Dispersion Stability of Carbon Nanotubes on the Thermal Conductivity of Nylon 610 Nanocomposite

Herein, the effect of the dispersion uniformity of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on the thermal conductivity of nylon 610/MWNTs nanocomposite was investigated. Compared to raw MWNTs, the carboxylated MWNTs (MWNT-COOH) were well dispersed in aqueous hexamethylenediamine solution and the dispersion stability was further improved by the presence of poly(vinyl alcohol). By means of interfacial polymerization between the aqueous hexamethylenediamine solution containing the MWNTs and a sebacoyl chloride phase, nylon 610/MWNT composites were prepared. It was found that the stable dispersion state of MWNTs in aqueous solutions greatly improved the thermal conductivity of the ultimate nanocomposites. It is noted that the thermal conductivity of nylon 610/MWNT-COOH/PVA nanocomposite was 135% higher than that of nylon 610/raw MWNTs for the same 0.1 wt% content of MWNTs.     

Graphene Sheet Orientation of Parent Material Exhibits Dramatic Influence on Graphene Properties

The production of graphene from various sources has garnered much attention in recent years with the development of methods that range from “bottom‐up” to “top‐down” approaches. The top‐down approach often requires thermal treatment to obtain a few‐layered and lowly oxygenated graphene sheets. Herein, we demonstrate the production of graphene through oxidation and thermal‐reduction/exfoliation of two sources of differently orientated graphene sheets: multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and stacked graphene nanofibers (SGNFs). These two carbon‐nanofiber‐like materials have similar axial (length: 5–9 μm) and lateral dimensions (diameter: about 100 nm). We demonstrate that, whereas SGNFs exfoliate along the lateral plane between adjacent graphene sheets, carbon nanotubes exfoliate along its longitudinal axis and leads to opening of the carbon nanotubes owing to the built‐in strain. Subsequent thermal exfoliation leads to graphene materials that have, despite the fact that their parent materials exhibited similar dimensions, dramatically different proportions and, consequently, materials properties. Graphene that was prepared from MWCNTs exhibited dimensions of about 5000×300 nm, whereas graphene that was prepared from SGNFs exhibited sheets with dimensions of about 50×50 nm. The density of defects and oxygen‐containing groups on these materials are dramatically different, as are the electrochemical properties. We performed morphological, structural, and electrochemical characterization based on TEM, SEM, high‐resolution X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis on the stepwise conversion of the target source into the exfoliated graphene. Morphological and structural characterization indicated the successful chemical and thermal treatment of the materials. Our findings have shown that the orientation of the graphene sheets in starting materials has a dramatic influence on their chemical, material, and electrochemical properties.     

二氧化硅@聚合物同轴纳米纤维

The preparation and formation mechamsm ot silica/polyvinylpyrrolidone(PAN) coaxial nanofibers were presented in this paper. The PVP-PAN composite nanofibers were obtained via an electrospinning technique, while SiO2 nanoparticles were prepared according to a Stoeher method. The measurements of water contact angle(WCA), the compared results of silica coating PVPPAN composite nanofibers with PAN nanofibers indicate that much PVP resided on the composite nanofiber surface, which resuks in the occurrence of SiO2@polymer coaxial nanofibers due to the formation of hydrogen bonding between silica and composite nanofibers and subsequent adsorption of silica on the fiber surface.     

Enhancement of conductivity by diameter control of polyimide-based electrospun carbon nanofibers

Oxydianiline-pyromellitic dianhydride poly(amic acid) (ODA-PMDA PAA) was polymerized with a catalyst support of triethyl amine for controlling molecular weight. This polymer was used for electrospinning in the preparation of PAA nanofibers, a precursor of carbon nanofibers. Here the amount of catalyst and concentration of PAA solution were optimized to produce polyimide-based carbon nanofibers approximately 80 nm in diameter. The effects of molecular weight of PAA, bias voltage, and spinning rate on the morphology of electrospun PAA and polyimide nanofibers have been evaluated. We showed that the conductivity of the carbon nanofiber mat decreased with increasing nanofiber diameter, where the conductivity of polyimide-based carbon nanofiber mat was much higher than those of other types of carbon nanofiber mat. The key ingredient to increase conductivity in a carbon nanofiber mat was found to be the number of cross junctions between nanofibers.     

聚3-辛基噻吩/MWNTs复合材料的导电性能研究

采用在氯仿溶液中超声共混, 制备聚3-辛基噻吩(P3OT)和多壁碳纳米管(MWNTs)复合材料. 当MWNTs掺杂量为3%时复合材料的电导率为1.43 S•m－1, 达到纯MWNTs的电导率水平. 用FTIR光谱, TG, UV-Vis光谱, XPS和FESEM进行研究分析, 认为MWNTs的离域电子与P3OT主链上的π电子之间形成π-π共轭, 增加了P3OT主链的有效共轭度, 被掺杂的P3OT具有很高的电导率, 提高了复合材料的导电性能. MWNTs与被掺杂的P3OT组成相对独立的导体单元, 对复合材料的导电网络形成起着主要作用.