Micromechanical properties of poly(butylene terephthalate) nanocomposites with single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Polymer nanocomposites with carbon nanotubes (CNT) are becoming important structural materials because of their superior mechanical properties and easy processability. The objective of the work is to investigate the influence of small amounts of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT), as well as multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), on the microhardness of a thermoplastic polymer such as poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT). The nanocomposites were obtained by introducing the CNT into the reaction mixture during the synthesis of PBT. The polymers without carbon nanotubes (reference material) and with carbon nanotubes were synthesized using an in-situ polycondensation reaction process. Weight percentages ranging from 0.01 to 0.2 wt% of the single walled and from 0.01 to 0.35 wt% of the multi-walled nanotubes were dispersed in 1,4-butanediol (BD) by ultrasonication and by ultra high speed stirring. The nanocomposites were extruded followed by injection molding. The samples were characterized by electron microscopy and microindentation hardness techniques. The variations of the micromechanical properties (indentation hardness) of the nanocomposites with nanotube content and with temperature are discussed in the light of the stress transfer between the polymer matrix and nanotubes, the degree of dispersion, the nature of the tubes and other structural parameters.