The introduction of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) modifies bulk polymer properties, depending on intrinsic quality, dispersion, alignment, interfacial chemistry and mechanical properties of the nanofiller. These effects can be exploited to enhance the matrices of conventional microscale fibrereinforced polymer composites, by using primary reinforcing fibres grafted with CNTs. This paper presents a me...

Polymer-based composites were heralded in the 1960s as a new paradigm for materials. By dispersing strong, highly stiff fibres in a polymer matrix, high-performance lightweight composites could be developed and tailored to individual applications. Today we stand at a similar threshold in the realm of polymer nanocomposites with the promise of strong, durable, multifunctional materials with low ...

Gelatin composite films were prepared from gelatin solutions (10% w/v) containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2% w/w gelatin) as nanofiller. The water solubility, water swelling, water uptake, water vapor permeability (WVP), mechanical, and antibacterial properties of the films were examined. Water solubility, water swelling, water uptake, and WVP for gelatin films we...

A novel and highly conductive 3-dimensional (3D) hierarchical multi-scale structure is formed by a new, simple, facile, and water-based method that enables practical production of conductive carbon nanofiller/polymer composites. More specifically, the π-π interaction between CNTs and graphene oxide (GO) is exploited to disperse conductive but non-polar CNTs with amphiphilic GO sheets to form a ...

Dynamic mechanical analysis was used to study the viscoelastic behavior of nanocomposites consisting thermoplastic corn starch plasticized with glycerol and/or urea and addition 2 or 5 wt. % montmorillonite-type nanofiller. Motional heterogeneity studied materials inferred from temperature dependences damping factor. Relaxation processes in composites only one plasticizer proceeded a similar ma...

Oxidation of acyclic Schiff-base dipyrromethanes cleanly results in dipyrrins, whereas the macrocyclic 'Pacman' analogues either decompose or form new dinuclear copper(ii) complexes that are inert to ligand oxidation; the unhindered hydrogen substituent at the meso-carbon allows new structural motifs to form.

Small amounts of inorganic nanofiller material may boost performance for use in next-generation high-energy-density dielectrics.

Tufting has been shown to improve the mechanical properties of composites. Unlike other published works which rely on commercially available materials, for this study, continuous polymer yarns with diameters ranging from 160 μm 720 unfilled PPSU and nanocomposites 1 wt.% carbon nanotubes (CNT) were prepared using a twin-screw extruder. The tensile these generally improved addition CNT at higher...