Improved mechanical and electrical properties in electrospun polyimide/multiwalled carbon nanotubes nanofibrous composites

Articles you may be interested in Large effect of titanium precursor on surface reactivity and mechanical strength of electrospun nanofibers coated with TiO2 by atomic layer deposition Light-induced electron paramagnetic resonance evidence of charge transfer in electrospun fibers containing conjugated polymer/fullerene and conjugated polymer/fullerene/carbon nanotube blends Appl. Microwave Hall mobility and electrical properties of electrospun polymer nanofibers Electrical and mechanical properties of carbon nanotube-polyimide composites Highly aligned polyimide (PI) and PI/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PI/MWCNTs) nanofibrous composites by incorporating poly(ethylene oxide) as the dispersing medium were fabricated using electrospinning technique. The morphology, mechanical, and electrical properties of the electrospun nanofibrous composites were investigated. Scanning electron microscope showed that the functionalized MWCNTs (f-MWCNTs) were well dispersed and oriented along the nanofiber axis. Analysis of electrical properties indicated a remarkable improvement on the alternating current conductivity by introduction of the aligned f-MWCNTs. Besides, with addition of 3 vol. % f-MWCNTs, the obvious enhancement of tensile modulus and strength was achieved. Thus, the electrospun PI/MWCNTs nanofibrous composites have great potential applications in multifunc-tional engineering materials.