AbstractIn this study, thermally and mechanically stable poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based nanocomposites were produced through the reinforcement of electrospun aramid-silica-grafted multi-walled carbon nanotube-based nanofibers (MWCNT-Ar-Si). The multi-walled carbon nanotube was initially modified to prepare an isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane-grafted MWCNT via the sol-gel route using 3-isocyanatopropyl-triethoxysilane and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The silica network was developed and linked to MWCNT by hydrolysis and condensation of TEOS. The said isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane-grafted MWCNT was electrospun with the aramid solution. The electrospun MWCNT-Ar-Si nanofibers (0.1–1 wt.%) were then reinforced in a PMMA matrix. For comparative analysis, PMMA was also reinforced with 0.1–1 wt.% of aramid nanofibers. The tensile modulus of PMMA/MWCNT-Ar-Si 0.1 was 5.11 GPa, which was increased to 13.1 GPa in PMMA/MWCNT-Ar-Si 1. The 10% decomposition temperature of PMMA/MWCNT-Ar-Si 0.1–1 hybrids was in the range of 479–531°C. The glass transition temperature, determined from the maxima of tan δ data using dynamic mechanical thermal analysis, showed an increase with the filler loading and was maximum (301°C) for PMMA/MWCNT-Ar-Si 1 with 1 wt.% of MWCNT-Ar-Si nanofibers. In contrast, PMMA/Ar 0.1–1 hybrids showed lower values in the thermal and the mechanical profile depicting the combined effect of nanotube and aramid in electrospun nanofibers.
Probing of polymer to carbon nanotube surface interactions within highly aligned electrospun nanofibers for advanced composites