Sulfonated liquid crystalline polyesters as resin matrix for single wall carbon nanotube and nanodiamond composites |
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Authors: | D Sordi C De Ruijter S Orlanducci S J Picken E J R Sudhölter M L Terranova L C P M de Smet TJ Dingemans |
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Institution: | 1. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Chimiche/MINASLab, University of Rome 'Tor Vergata,' via della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Roma, Italy;2. Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Kluyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, The Netherlands;3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Nano‐Structured Materials, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 136, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands;4. Department of Chemical Engineering, Nano‐Organic Chemistry, Delft University of Technology, Julianalaan 136, 2628 BL Delft, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | The focus of this study is on incorporating pendant sulfonate groups along the backbone of a liquid crystalline polyester (LCPE) with the aim to improve the dispersion of single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and nanodiamonds (NDs). Two LCPE matrices, one sulfonated (LCPE‐S) and one nonsulfonated reference polymer (LCPE‐R), were successfully synthesized via a melt condensation method using aromatic and aliphatic AB, AA, and BB‐type monomers. Upon the introduction of SWNT and ND particles, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the sulfonated LCPE increased from 21.5 °C to 41.0 °C and 41.9 °C, for SWNTs and NDs, respectively. When sulfonate groups were absent, a decrease in Tg was observed. The storage modulus (E′) followed a similar trend, i.e., E′ increased from 1.3 GPa to 5.2 GPa and 3.4 GPa, upon the addition of NDs and SWNTs. The LCPE‐S showed a lower thermal stability due to the loss of sulfonate groups, i.e. the 5% weight loss temperature (T) is ~280 °C for LCPE‐S vs. 333 °C for LCPE‐R. The decomposition temperature increased somewhat upon addition of the nanoparticles. The ability of dispersing carbon‐based nanostructures combined with an accessible melt processing window makes sulfonated LCPs attractive matrices towards preparing nanocomposites with improved thermal and mechanical properties. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011. |
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Keywords: | fillers liquid‐crystalline polymers nanocomposites nanodiamonds polyesters single wall carbon nanotubes sulfonate groups |
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