Effect of functionalization of Carbon Nanotube on Polyethylene

Ultra-High Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) is one of the most commonly used polymers in research fields because of its superior toughness, impact strength, low friction and sliding wear resistance. In terms of mechanical, thermal and electrical properties, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are an excellent choice for reinforcement. Being chemically inert in nature, CNTs does not readily bond with polymer. Hence, there is scope of improvement in interfacial bonding by covalent functionalization of CNTs. This study aims to investigate the effect of functionalized CNT (f-CNT) reinforcement on the mechanical, thermal and structural properties of UHMWPE composites. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are acid functionalized and composites with different CNT and (f-CNT) loading proportions are fabricated using compression molding followed by curing. With addition of (1 wt. %) f-CNT a 75% increase in crystallinity is observed. The yield strength and elastic modulus nearly doubled for 1wt% f-CNT reinforced composites. Similarly, the storage modulus is found to be increased nearly 6 times. Overall, f-CNT reinforced composites exhibited better structural, mechanical and thermal behavior because of higher interfacial interaction between f-CNTs and UHMWPE, and uniform dispersion of f-CNTs in the composite matrix.