Uniaxial deformation of an elastomer nanocomposite containing modified carbon nanofibers by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction

Kelarakis, Antonis, Yoon, Kyunghwan, Sics, Igors, Somani, Rajesh H., Hsiao, Benjamin S. and Chu, Benjamin (2005) Uniaxial deformation of an elastomer nanocomposite containing modified carbon nanofibers by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction. Polymer, 46 (14). pp. 5103-5117. ISSN 00323861

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.polymer.2005.04.057

Abstract

Structure and property of a nanocomposite consisting of modified carbon nanofibers (MCNFs), homogenously dispersed in an elastomeric ethylene/propylene (EP) random copolymer (84.3 wt% P) matrix, were studied by in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction during uniaxial deformation. The MCNF acted as a nucleating agent for crystallization of the α-form of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) in the matrix. During deformation at room temperature, strain-induced crystallization took place, while the transformation from the γ phase to α phase also occurred for both unfilled and 10 wt% MCNF-filled samples. The tensile strength of the filled material was consistently higher than that of pure copolymer. However, when compared with pure copolymer, the highly stretched nanocomposite exhibited a higher amount of unoriented crystals, a lower degree of crystal orientation and a higher amount of γ crystals. This behavior indicated that polymer crystals in the filled nanocomposite experienced a reduced load, suggesting an effective load transfer from the matrix to MCNFs. At elevated temperatures, the presence of MCNFs resulted in a thermally stable physically cross-linked network, which facilitated strain-induced crystallization and led to a remarkable improvement in the mechanical properties. For example, the toughness of the 10 wt% nanocomposite was found to increase by a factor of 150 times at 55 °C.


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