Raman spectroscopy and resistance-temperature studies of functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes/epoxy resin composite film

The aim of the paper is to investigate the effect of size of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as additives for dispersion in gear oil to improve the tribological properties. Since long pristine MWCNTs tend to form clusters compromising dispersion stability, they are mildly processed in a ball mill to shorten the length and stabilized with a surfactant before dispersing in lubricant. Investigations are made to assess the effect of ball milling on the size and structure of MWCNTs using electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The long and shortened MWCNTs are dispersed in EP 140 gear oil in 0.5% weight. The stability of the dispersed multiwalled carbon nanotubes is evaluated using light scattering techniques. The antiwear, antifriction, and extreme pressure properties of test oils are evaluated on a four-ball wear tester. It is found that ball milling of MWCNTs has a strong effect on the stability and tribological properties of the lubricant. From Raman spectroscopy, it is found that ball milling time of up to 10 hours did not produce any defects on the surface of MWCNTs. The stability of the lubricant and the antiwear, antifriction, and extreme pressure properties have improved significantly with dispersion shortened MWCNTs. Ball milling for longer periods produces defects on the surface of MWCNTs reducing their advantage as oil additives.

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Significantly Improved Dielectric Performance of Poly(1-butene)-Based Composite Films via Filling Polydopamine Modified Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-Coated Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Nanoparticles

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym13020285 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 285

Author(s):

Lingfei Li ◽

Qiu Sun ◽

Xiangqun Chen ◽

Zhaohua Jiang ◽

Yongjun Xu

Keyword(s):

Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Dielectric Constant ◽

Energy Storage ◽

Composite Film ◽

Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes ◽

Sol Gel ◽

Composite Films ◽

Weak Electric Field ◽

Multiwalled Carbon ◽

Dielectric Performance

The low dielectric constant of the nonpolar polymer poly(1-butene) (PB-1) limits its application as a diaphragm element in energy storage capacitors. In this work, Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-coated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (BZT@MWCNTs) were first prepared by using the sol–gel hydrothermal method and then modified with polydopamine (PDA) via noncovalent polymerization. Finally, PB-1 matrix composite films filled with PDA-modified BZT@MWCNTs nanoparticles were fabricated through a solution-casting method. Results indicated that the PDA-modified BZT@MWCNTs had good dispersion and binding force in the PB-1 matrix. These characteristics improved the dielectric and energy storage performances of the films. Specifically, the PDA-modified 10 vol% BZT@ 0.5 vol% MWCNTs/PB-1 composite film exhibited the best dielectric performance. At 1 kHz, the dielectric constant of this film was 25.43, which was 12.7 times that of pure PB-1 films. Moreover, its dielectric loss was 0.0077. Furthermore, under the weak electric field of 210 MV·m−1, the highest energy density of the PDA-modified 10 vol% BZT@ 0.5 vol% MWCNTs/PB-1 composite film was 4.57 J·cm−3, which was over 3.5 times that of PB-1 film (≈1.3 J·cm−3 at 388 MV·m−1).

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