Carbon nanotube induced polymer crystallization: The formation of nanohybrid shish–kebabs

Competition Between Heterogeneous Nucleation and Flow-Induced Crystallization of Polyamide 66 and its Carbon Nanotube Composites

Both heterogeneous nucleation and flow-induced entropy reduction are the two well-known factors that accelerate polymer crystallization. However, the interplay of nucleation and flow-induced acceleration is still poorly understood. This work investigates the nucleating effect of carbon nanotubes (CNT) on both the quiescent and flow-induced crystallization kinetics of polyamide 66 (PA 66). The quiescent crystallization study indicates that CNT acts as a powerful nucleant, as suggested by the fact that the critical cooling rate to bypass crystallization and create the amorphous glassy state changes from 1,000 K/s in PA 66 neat resin to a rate faster than 4,000 K/s in the PA 66 nanocomposites. The flow-induced crystallization study indicates PA 66 onset crystallization time and morphology depend on the shear work introduced by rotational rheometry. A combined acceleration effect from CNT nucleants and flow-induced crystallization (FIC) persists when the CNT loading is under the saturation limit. However, if CNT loading meets the saturation limit, specific shear work shows no impact on the crystallization time, providing evidence that the role of the FIC acceleration effect no longer exists when nucleant acceleration dominates the crystallization of PA 66. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Morphological Transformation in Polymer Composite Materials Filled with Carbon Nanoparticles: Part 2—Thermal and Mechanical Properties

HDPE-based composite fibers filled by original and annealed carbon nanodiscs (oND and aND, respectively) were prepared by melt extrusion technology with high-temperature orientational drawing up to draw ratio DR = 8. The thermal properties of the obtained fibers were investigated by DSC and TGA methods. It was shown that the nanofillers can be influenced by high temperatures, at which the molecular mobility in the interlamellar regions became active, while the melting point and the crystallinity degree of the samples were not affected. Short- and long-term mechanical properties of the nanocomposite fibers were studied as well. Very rare mechanical testing of the knotted fibers was carried out and, as a result, a decrease of the knot strength up to 35% was detected. It was also revealed that the carbon nanodiscs do not reinforce the composite fibers and play a negative role in the creep processes, while the Young’s modulus can be improved by 2 times for the oriented samples.

Molecular Alignment of a Meta-Aramid on Carbon Nanotubes by In Situ Interfacial Polymerization

Molecularly organized nanocomposites of polymers and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have great promise as high-performance materials; in particular, conformal deposition of polymers can control interfacial properties for mechanical load transfer, electrical or thermal transport, or electro/chemical transduction. However, controllability of polymer-CNT interaction remains a challenge with common processing methods that combine CNTs and polymers in melt or in solution, often leading to nonuniform polymer distribution and CNT aggregation. Here, we demonstrate CNTs within net-shape sheets can be controllably coated with a conformal coating of meta-aramid by simultaneous capillary infiltration and interfacial polymerization. We determine that π-interaction between the polymer and CNTs results in chain alignment parallel to the CNT outer wall. Subsequent nucleation and growth of the precipitated aramid forms a smooth continuous layered sheath around the CNTs. These findings motivate future investigation of mechanical properties of the resulting composites, and adaptation of the in situ polymerization method to other substrates.

Insights into enzymatic degradation of physically crosslinked hydrogels anchored by functionalized carbon nanofillers

Immobilization of hydrophobic enzymes on the surface of nanofillers disturbs the non-covalent interactions of polymer–filler networks and destabilizes physically crosslinked hydrogels.

Directional, Low-Energy Driven Thermal Actuating Bilayer Enabled by Coordinated Submolecular Switching

The authors reveal a thermal actuating bilayer that undergoes reversible deformation in response to low-energy thermal stimuli, for example, a few degrees of temperature increase. It is made of an aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) sheet covalently connected to a polymer layer in which dibenzocycloocta-1,5-diene (DBCOD) actuating units are oriented parallel to CNTs. Upon exposure to low-energy thermal stimulation, coordinated submolecular-level conformational changes of DBCODs result in macroscopic thermal contraction. This unique thermal contraction offers distinct advantages. It's inherently fast, repeatable, low-energy driven, and medium independent. The covalent interface and reversible nature of the conformational change bestow this bilayer with excellent repeatability, up to at least 70 000 cycles. Unlike conventional CNT bilayer systems, this system can achieve high precision actuation readily and can be scaled down to nanoscale. A new platform made of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) in tandem with the bilayer can harvest low-grade thermal energy and convert it into electricity. The platform produces 86 times greater energy than PVDF alone upon exposure to 6 °C thermal fluctuations above room temperature. This platform provides a pathway to low-grade thermal energy harvesting. It also enables low-energy driven thermal artificial robotics, ultrasensitive thermal sensors, and remote controlled near infrared (NIR) driven actuators.

Morphological and Chemical Analysis of Low-Density Polyethylene Crystallized on Carbon and Clay Nanofillers

Interest in carbon and clay-based nanofillers has grown in recent years. The crystallization behavior of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) was studied using a variety of notable nanofillers used in engineering applications and prepared using a solution crystallization method. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene oxide nano-platelets, clay (montmorillonite), and modified clay (surface-modified with trimethyl stearyl ammonium) were used to induce heterogeneous crystallization of LDPE. The crystallized LDPE samples, imaged using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, revealed different microstructures for each nanohybrid system, indicating these various nanofillers induce LDPE lamellae ordering. The underlying interactions between polymer and nanofiller were investigated using FTIR spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to determine crystallinity. This work examines how the differences in morphology and chemical structure of the nanofillers induce changes in the nucleation and growth of polymer crystals. These results will provide guidance on functional design of nano-devices with controlled properties.

Using Wet Electrospun PCL/Gelatin/CNT Yarns to Fabricate Textile-Based Scaffolds for Vascular Tissue Engineering

Incorporating conductive materials in scaffolds has shown advantages in regulating adhesion, mitigation, and proliferation of electroactive cells for tissue engineering applications. Among various conductive materials, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have shown great promises in tissue engineering because of their good mechanical properties. However, the broad application of CNTs in tissue engineering is limited by current methods to incorporate CNTs in polymers that require miscible solvents to dissolve CNTs and polymers or CNT surface modification. These methods either limit polymer selections or adversely affect the properties of polymer/CNT composites. Here, we report a novel method to fabricate polymer/CNT composite yarns by electrospinning polycaprolactone/gelatin into a bath of CNT dispersion and extracting electrospun fibers out of the bath. The concentration of CNTs in the bath affects the thermal and mechanical properties and the yarns' degradation behavior. In vitro biological test results show that within a limited range of CNT concentrations in the bath, the yarns exhibit good biocompatibility and the ability to guide cell elongation and alignment. We also report the design and fabrication of a vascular scaffold by knitting the yarns into a textile fabric and combining the textile fabric with gelatin. The scaffold has similar mechanical properties to native vessels and supports cell proliferation. This work demonstrates that the wet electrospun polymer/CNT yarns are good candidates for constructing vascular scaffolds and provides a novel method to incorporate CNTs or other functional materials into biopolymers for tissue engineering applications.

Electrically conductive and light-weight branched polylactic acid-based carbon nanotube foams

In spite of the high electrical conductivity of carbon nanotube (CNT), its tendency to aggregate and expensive cost in fabricating aerogel, foams, and porous materials remains a problem. Therefore, we described a simple and feasible way to design light-weight, high electrically conductive, and cost-efficient polylactic acid (PLA)/CNT foams. The branched PLA (BPLA) resin with excellent melt elasticity and foamability was induced by nucleophilic ring-opening reaction of epoxy-based acrylic/styrene copolymer and PLA. After that, BPLA/CNT composites and foams were prepared by melt-mixing and supercritical carbon dioxide foaming technology, respectively. The thermal, electrical, and foaming properties were studied. The resultant BPLA/CNT foam possessed a low density of 0.174 g/cm3 and high crystallinity of 3.03%. An improvement of the oriented structure of CNT induced by cell growth in BPLA matrix increased the conductivity of the foam up to 3.51 × 104 Ω/m. The proposed foaming materials provided a way for designing and preparing high performance CNT products.

Flavin Mononucleotide-Mediated Formation of Highly Electrically Conductive Hierarchical Monoclinic Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube-Polyamide 6 Nanocomposites

Although the multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) is a promising material for use in the production of high electrical conductivity (σ) polymer nanocomposites, its tendency to aggregate and distribute randomly in a polymer matrix is a problematic issue. In the current study, we developed a highly conductive and monoclinically aligned MWNT-polyamide 6 (PA) nanocomposite containing interfacing flavin moieties. In this system, the flavin mononucleotide (FMN) initially serves as a noncovalent aqueous surfactant for individualizing MWNTs in the form of FMN-wrapped MWNTs (FMN-MWNT), and then partially decomposed FMN (dFMN) induces crystallization of the PA on the MWNTs. The results of experiments performed using material subjected to partial dissolution of PA matrix show that the nanocomposite PA-dFMN-MWNT, formed by melt extrusion of PA and dFMN-MWNT, contains a three-dimensional monoclinic MWNT network embedded in an equally monoclinic PA matrix. An increase in monoclinic network promoted by an increase in the content of MWNT increases σ of the nanocomposite up to 100 S/m, the highest value reported for a polymer-MWNT nanocomposite. X-ray diffraction along with transmission electron microscopy reveal that the presence of dFMN induces the formation of monoclinic PA on dFMN-MWNT. The high σ of the PA-dFMN-MWNT nanocomposite is also a consequence of a minimization of defect formation of MWNT by noncovalent functionalization. Hierarchical structural ordering, yet individualization of MWNTs, provides a viable strategy to improve the physical property of nanocomposites.

Inorganic Nanotube Mesophases Enable Strong Self-Healing Fibers

The assembly of one-dimensional nanomaterials into macroscopic fibers can improve mechanical as well as multifunctional performance. Double-walled aluminogermanate imogolite nanotubes are geo-inspired analogues of carbon nanotubes, synthesized at low temperature, with complementary properties. Here, continuous imogolite-based fibers are wet-spun within a poly(vinyl alcohol) matrix. The lyotropic liquid crystallinity of the system produces highly aligned fibers with tensile stiffness and strength up to 24.1 GPa (14.1 N tex^-1) and 0.8 GPa (0.46 N tex^-1), respectively. Significant enhancements over the pure polymer control are quantitatively attributed to both matrix refinement and direct nanoscale reinforcement, by fitting an analytical model. Most intriguingly, imogolite-based fibers show a high degree of healability via evaporation-induced self-assembly, recovering up to 44% and 19% of the original fiber tensile stiffness and strength, respectively. This recovery at high absolute strength highlights a general strategy for the development of high-performance healable fibers relevant to composite structures and other applications.

Thermally reduced graphene/polyethylene nanocomposites: effects of graphene on isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization of polyethylene

The crystallization behavior of polyethylene/thermally reduced graphene (PE/TRG) nanocomposites prepared via solvent blending is investigated using a differential scanning calorimeter, and results are compared with PE/carbon black (CB) composites. The effects of TRG and CB concentrations on the crystallization process are studied under isothermal and dynamic conditions. The Avrami and modified Avrami equations provided excellent fits to isothermal and dynamic crystallization kinetics data, respectively. The TRG nanosheets acted as nucleating agents during crystallization attributed to substantial decrease in crystallization half time at higher TRG concentrations. The reduced surface energy of the nanocomposites with incorporation of TRG further confirmed its nucleating behavior.

Microphase separation in oriented polymeric chains at the surface of nanomaterials during nanofiber formation

The presence of low-dimensional functional nanofillers during the formation of morphological phase boundaries in polymeric nanofibers by electrospinning was highlighted in this study. PAN and TPU were both selected with differential viscosities to understand the phase-segregated internal supramolecular structures on functional surfaces of different length scales. The low-dimensional carbon nanofillers displayed a significant role in the topological orientation of the polymeric chains in TPU due to the presence of hard and soft segments in the geometry of TPU. The nano-hybrid shish-kebab-type microphase separation was observed on 1D nanofillers, whereas the anisotropic hierarchical microdomains were formed in the presence of 0D nanofillers. The 2D functional surface produced highly folded nanoscale lamellae by molecular interactions with polymeric chains. By combining different dimensional nanofillers, the hybrid 1D-2D networks created multifaceted structural hierarchies with epitaxial growth on the planar surface and shish-kebab geometry on the 1D functional backbone. Our study has demonstrated the significance of the configuration of nanoscale functional surfaces on the texture of polymeric chain assemblies during electrospinning for controlled flexible scaffolds.

Sustainable Active Food Packaging from Poly(lactic acid) and Cocoa Bean Shells

Sustainable biocomposites have been developed by solvent mixing of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with a fine powder of cocoa bean shells (CBS) and subsequent solution casting, using different concentrations of CBS. The inclusion of CBS recovers the crystallinity of the initially amorphous PLA films and improves the physical properties of the composites. Young's modulus increases by 80% with 75 wt % CBS inclusion; however, the composites maintain plasticity. The barrier properties of the hydrophobic composites were characterized, and the water vapor permeability is found to be ca. 3.5 × 10^-5 g·m^-1·day^-1·Pa^-1 and independent of the CBS content. On the other hand, oxygen permeability is found to depend on the CBS content, with values as low as 10 000 mL·μm·m^-2·day^-1·atm^-1 for 50 wt % CBS. Furthermore, CBS confer antioxidant activity to the composites and improve swelling properties rendering the composites biodegradable in aquatic environments, reaching 70% of the maximum biodegradability in just 30 days. The above, in conjunction with the low level of migration measured in food simulant, make the PLA/CBS composites a highly promising material for active food packaging.

Nanoscale Heat Conduction in CNT-POLYMER Nanocomposites at Fast Thermal Perturbations

Nanometer scale heat conduction in a polymer/carbon nanotube (CNT) composite under fast thermal perturbations is described by linear integrodifferential equations with dynamic heat capacity. The heat transfer problem for local fast thermal perturbations around CNT is considered. An analytical solution for the nonequilibrium thermal response of the polymer matrix around CNT under local pulse heating is obtained. The dynamics of the temperature distribution around CNT depends significantly on the CNT parameters and the thermal contact conductance of the polymer/CNT interface. The effect of dynamic heat capacity on the local overheating of the polymer matrix around CNT is considered. This local overheating can be enhanced by very fast (about 1 ns) components of the dynamic heat capacity of the polymer matrix. The results can be used to analyze the heat transfer process at the early stages of “shish-kebab” crystal structure formation in CNT/polymer composites.

Polypropylene crystallization at an alumina interface using single walled carbon nanotubes

Interfaces play an important and often limiting role in the mechanical, thermal, and electrical performance of composite materials. Here we suggest a novel method to improve the interfacial interaction in polypropylene-alumina composites using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) to nucleate lamellar crystals at the interface. Macroscopic alumina substrates are used to determine the ideal crystallization parameters and investigate the kinetics of crystal growth. SWNTs are uniformly adsorbed to the interface via Van der Waals interactions and lamellar crystals are grown on the surface using isothermal solution processing techniques. Avrami analysis of crystal surface coverage was used to confirm one-dimensional transcrystalline growth commonly seen with SWNT nucleated crystals. Scanning electron microscopy was used to confirm shish-kebab structures present at the SWNT-polypropylene interface. The determined crystallization parameters were used on colloidal solutions of alumina platelets to successfully create uniformly coated particles with an improved interface. This method shows promise for improving the interphase of semicrystalline polymer-ceramic composites to achieve excellent material properties.

Effects of CNTs on thermal transitions, thermal diffusivity and electrical conductivity in nanocomposites: comparison between an amorphous and a semicrystalline polymer matrix

Two series of polymer nanocomposites (PNCs) based on amorphous styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) and semicrystalline linear low-density polyethylene (PE) matrices were filled with 2-15 wt% carbon nanotubes (CNT) and were studied by employing calorimetry, dielectric spectroscopy and laser flash analysis. The electrical conductivity, σ, increased with CNT loading and similar values were exhibited for the two matrices, uniquely depending on the concentration of the CNTs, suggesting practically no effects of the crystalline fraction (CF) on σ. For both types of matrix, a fraction of the polymer was found to be immobilized (rigid amorphous fraction, RAF). For the amorphous SBR, the RAF in PNCs originates uniquely from the presence of the filler (RAFfiller up to 0.19 wt). On the other hand, for the semicrystalline PE, the RAF is significantly larger (0.4-0.6 wt) due to the severe contribution of the RAF around the crystals (RAFcrystal). The thermal diffusivity, α, is quite low in both types of PNCs and exhibits higher values in the semicrystalline matrix (PE-based PNCs). Our results suggest that in these PNCs, heat transport mechanisms are activated mainly in the crystalline domains, more so with the additive contribution of the RAFcrystal. In the amorphous SBR-based PNCs, heat transport is facilitated mainly by CNTs, whereas the RAFfiller is found to be a good measure of the thermal resistance behavior of CNT/polymer interphases and consequently, of thermal diffusivity. Direct correlation of the results obtained by the three techniques with each other revealed the systematic dependence of α on the amount of RAF in each matrix; the α(RAF) trends, however, are different for the two matrices. Furthermore, the results suggest that the two RAFs exhibit different structural characteristics, e.g. the RAFcrystal exhibits a more ordered structure than the RAFfiller; this issue is still an open debate in the literature.

Influence of Diameter on the Templated Crystallization of Polyethylene/Carbon Material Fiber Composites under Intense Shear Flow

In this study, carbon fibers (CFs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were introduced into polyethylene (PE) and intensive shear flow was imposed on the melt during the melt second flow caused by gas penetrating the melt during the gas-assisted injection molding (GAIM). The effect of fiber diameter on crystalline morphologies of obtained composites was deeply studied. The results revealed the fact that no matter whether CFs or CNFs were introduced into the PE matrix or not, the orientation degree of PE lamellae would increase during the melt second flow. Hybrid shish-kebab structures were difficult to be formed in GAIM CF/PE composites and only a few oriented PE lamellae overgrew on the local surface of CFs. However for GAIM CNF/PE composites, the formation of hybrid shish-kebab structures was clearly observed in the entire thickness. The structural diversity was mainly ascribed to the difference of CF diameter, showing obvious size-dependent effect.

Influence of CNTs on the Crystalline Microstructure and Ferroelectric Behavior of P(VDF-TrFE)

We investigate the effect of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the crystalline microstructure and ferroelectric behavior of polyvinylidene fluoride- co-trifluoroethylene (P(VDF-TrFE)). X-ray analysis suggests that CNT can act as a template and direct the chain orientation of P(VDF-TrFE) crystals. In the presence of CNTs, the molecular chain axis ( c axis) of the β-phase crystal is oriented parallel to the long axis of CNTs. Moreover, we find that this templating effect did not cause a polymorph transition. For P(VDF-TrFE)/CNT composites, the crystallinity of P(VDF-TrFE) is slightly decreased. The orientation of the c axis induced by the templating effect of CNTs has a significant impact on the ferroelectric behavior of P(VDF-TrFE). As compared to a pure P(VDF-TrFE) film, the remnant polarization of the P(VDF-TrFE)/CNT composite is enhanced. Correspondingly, the piezoelectric property of the P(VDF-TrFE)/CNT composite shows a significant enhancement.

Crystallization Behavior of Poly(ethylene oxide) in Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Array

We investigate the effect of the presence of vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the orientation of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) lamellae and PEO crystallinity. The high alignment of carbon nanotubes acting as templates probably governs the orientation of PEO lamellae. This templating effect might result in the lamella planes of PEO crystals oriented along a direction parallel to the long axis of the nanotubes. The presence of aligned carbon nanotubes also gives rise to the decreases in PEO crystallinity, crystallization temperature, and melting temperature due to the perturbation of carbon nanotubes to the crystallization of PEO. These effects have significant implications for controlling the orientation of PEO lamellae and decreasing the crystallinity of PEO and thickness of PEO lamellae, which have significant impacts on ion transport in PEO/CNT composite and the capacitive performance of PEO/CNT composite. Both the decreased PEO crystallinity and the orientation of PEO lamellae along the long axes of vertically aligned CNTs give rise to the decrease in the charge transfer resistance, which is associated with the improvements in the ion transport and capacitive performance of PEO/CNT composite.

Effect of Reinforcement at Length Scale for Polyurethane Cellular Scaffolds by Supramolecular Assemblies

This study is aimed to represent the role of carbonaceous nanofillers to reinforce the commercially available polyurethane porous structure. The effect of dimensionality of fillers to anchor the construction of stable three-dimensional (3D) cellular architectures has been highlighted. The cellular frameworks of commercially available thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) have been fabricated through the thermoreversible supramolecular self-assembly route. It was established that the minimum shrinkage of TPU lattice structures occurred when the solid-state network is strengthened by the topologically engineered 3D hierarchical nanofillers, where the amount of reinforcement was found to play a critical role. It has been established by series of structure-property correlations that reinforcing the cellular structure to endure the capillary stress is equally effective as supercritical drying for producing low-density porous morphologies. The removal of liquid phase from gel is as important as the presence of 3D fillers in the matrix for reinforcing the cellular structures when replacing the solvent phase with air to generate a two-phase solid-gas engineered morphology. The insight into the polyurethane network structure revealed that the dimensionality, amount, and distribution of fillers in the matrix are critical for reinforcing the cellular scaffolds in solid gel without any cross-linking.

Environmental aging and degradation of multiwalled carbon nanotube reinforced polypropylene

The degradation of polypropylene (PP) and PP-multiwalled carbon nanotube (PP-MWCNT) panels during environmental weathering resulted in an increased degree of crystallinity, making them brittle, and creating surface cracks. The degradation led to a breakdown of the panels and increased the potential for nanorelease. Thermal analysis revealed that the thickness of the test panels and reinforcement with MWCNTs had a significant influence on the stability of PP-MWCNT composites. Differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the MWCNTs acted as nucleation points, increasing the crystallization temperatures of PP-MWCNT, which reduced the extent of aging. Weathering decreased both the melting and crystallization temperatures of PP by as much as 20 o C. The reduction in the temperatures was inversely proportional to the thickness of the panels. The activation energy (E _a ) obtained using isoconversional kinetics of the TGA analysis showed that the effective thermo-oxidative degradations of PP changed during aging. The E _a for the initial stages of thermal degradation decreased from ~330 kJ/mol to ~100 kJ/mol for aged PP. During the late degradation stages, the E _a values increased to ~300 kJ/mol. These results suggest that early degradation were altered because of the changes in the molecular structure of the aged P and a shift in the degradation rate-limiting steps.