Preparation of single-walled carbon nanotube reinforced polystyrene and polyurethane nanofibers and membranes by electrospinning

Single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) reinforced polymer composite membranes have been fabricated using the electrospinning technique. Nanofibers with a diameter in the range 50-100 nm were obtained by electrospinning SWNT-filled polystyrene composites. TEM observations revealed incorporation of small SWNT bundles oriented parallel to the nanotiber axis. As-prepared (AP) and ester (EST) functionalized SWNTs have been electrospun with polyurethane (PU) to demonstrate the effect of the chemical functionalization of SWNTs on the mechanical properties of SWNT-reinforced composites. The tensile strength of EST-SWNT-PU membranes is enhanced by 104% as compared to electrospun pure polyurethane membranes, while an increase of only 46% was achieved incorporating AP-SWNT in the polyurethane matrix. The tangent moduli of AP- and EST-SWNT-PU membranes were found to be respectively 215% and 250% higher than the control polyurethane membranes.