Nanoindentation and Morphological Studies on Polypropylene/Multi-wall Carbon Nanotubes Composite Fibers
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ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION
Nanoindentation and Morphological Studies on Polypropylene/ Multi-wall Carbon Nanotubes Composite Fibers B. Safaie1 • M. Youssefi1
Received: 1 September 2020 / Accepted: 9 November 2020 Ó The Institution of Engineers (India) 2020
Abstract Nanoindentation technique was used to investigate the mechanical properties of polypropylene/multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) nanocomposite fibers. The hardness and elastic modulus of the nanocomposite fibers were evaluated as a function of MWCNT concentration. It was found that incorporation of MWCNT enhanced the hardness and elastic modulus of the fibers. The elastic modulus data calculated from indentation load–displacement experiments were comparable with those obtained from tensile tests. DSC results also confirmed the increase in crystallinity of the polypropylene fibers due to the addition of MWCNT. The studies indicated that nanoindentation was a simple but efficient test method for evaluating the mechanical properties of nanocomposite fibers. Keywords Nanoindentation Polypropylene Carbon nanotube Fiber Nanocomposite
Introduction Carbon nanotubes (CNT) have received extensive attention in recent years due to such considerable properties as high modulus, electrical/thermal conductivity and tensile strength as high as 200 GPa [1]. Extremely strong materials could be obtained by combining a polymer matrix with CNTs [2–5]. In several research works, single-wall (SWCNT) and multi-wall (MWCNT) carbon nanotubes have been used to enhance the mechanical, thermal and & M. Youssefi [email protected] 1
Department of Textile Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, Iran
electrical properties of neat fibers [6–11]. Composite materials are used in a variety of applications such as sporting goods, electronic appliances and where high stiffness and light weight are required. The correlation between the structure of materials and their properties in composite materials is an important subject from both the academic and industrial points of view [12–14]. In industrial applications, for example tire cords or ropes, are needed high strength and modulus. The cost of textile fibers is usually below 5 $/kg, while the cost of high-performance fibers is above 40 $/kg. There is a significant price gap between textile fibers (such as PET, nylon, polypropylene) and high-performance fibers (such as Kevlar and Zylon). The preparation of a carbon nanotube/polymer composite makes it possible to reduce the gap between these two classes of fibers [15]. The properties of the nanocomposite fibers are not only influenced by the kind of fillers, but also by the microstructure of the polymer and the preparation process. Dispersion and orientation of CNT in the polymer matrix are the necessary factors to achieve optimum property improvements. The CNTs can be dispersed in the polymer matrix using several techniques such as melt processing, solution processing or in situ polymerization [16–20]. There are some papers which have discussed the struc
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