Electrospun polymer/MWCNTs nanofiber reinforced composites

Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1557/PROC-1224-FF10-23

The focus of this study is to investigate electrospun nanofibers in reinforcing polymer to enhance mechanical behavior. Polystyrene-co-glycidyl methacrylate (PSt-co-GMA) and PSt-co-GMA with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composite nanofibers first were produced by electrospinning. The process optimization for electrospun Polystyrene-co-Glycidyl Methacrylate /MWCNTs was also investigated. An emprical relationship between polymer and MWCNTs concentration parameters and average fiber diameter was sought by response surface methodology (RSM). The nanofibers, were then embedded into epoxy matrix to form polymer composites. The experimental procedure was designed in order to see the effects of GMA composition in structure and the effect of additional crosslinker agent by spraying method. The effect of PSt-co-GMA and PSt-co-GMA/MWCNTs nanofibers in the composites was reported in comparison to neat epoxy. These three effects and the mechanical response were investigated by Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer (DMA) instrument. The dynamic-mechanical reponses from the composite specimens were remarkable compared to the neat epoxy specimen which had the lowest storage modulus. Epoxy reinforced with 2 wt% mass fraction of electrospun PSt-co-GMA/MWCNTs nanofibers has the highest storage modulus E’ (eight to ten times higher than unreinforced epoxy). Nanocomposite of PSt-co-GMA electrospun mat, has also shown substantial increase in storage modulus by a factor of five compared with the neat epoxy at room temperature. It was observed that spraying of crosslinker agent has impact on mechanical properties of the reinforced composites. Moreover, GMA composition in copolymer structure also affects the performance. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) characterization methods will be further utilized to observe the morphology of nanofibers and the distribution of MWCNTs in electrospun mats.