Effect of acid treated carbon nanotubes on mechanical, rheological and thermal properties of polystyrene nanocomposites
Type
ArticleAuthors
Amr, Issam ThaherAl-Amer, Adnan M J
Selvin, Thomas P.
Al-Harthi, Mamdouh Ahmed
Girei, Salihu Adamu
Sougrat, Rachid

Atieh, Muataz Ali
KAUST Department
Imaging and Characterization Core LabAdvanced Nanofabrication, Imaging and Characterization Core Lab
Core Labs
Date
2011-09Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/561850
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In this work, multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) were functionalized by acid treatment and characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Polystyrene/CNT composites of both the untreated and acid treated carbon nanotubes were prepared by thermal bulk polymerization without any initiator at different loadings of CNT. The tensile tests showed that the addition of 0.5 wt.% of acid treated CNT results in 22% increase in Young's modulus. The DSC measurements showed a decrease in glass transition temperature (Tg) of PS in the composites. The rheological studies at 190 °C showed that the addition of untreated CNT increases the viscoelastic behavior of the PS matrix, while the acid treated CNT acts as plasticizer. Thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the incorporation of CNT into PS enhanced the thermal properties of the matrix polymer. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Citation
Amr, I. T., Al-Amer, A., P, S. T., Al-Harthi, M., Girei, S. A., Sougrat, R., & Atieh, M. A. (2011). Effect of acid treated carbon nanotubes on mechanical, rheological and thermal properties of polystyrene nanocomposites. Composites Part B: Engineering, 42(6), 1554–1561. doi:10.1016/j.compositesb.2011.04.013Sponsors
The authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) through Science & Technology Unit at King Fahd University of petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) for funding this work through project No: 08-NAN91-04 as part of the National Science, Technology and Innovation Plan (NSTIP).Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Composites Part B: Engineeringae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.compositesb.2011.04.013