- Author
-
Cipiriano, B. H.
|
Kashiwagi, T.
|
Raghavan, S. R.
|
Yang, Y.
|
Grulke, E. A.
|
Yamamoto, K.
|
Shields, J. R.
|
Douglas, J. F.
- Title
- Effects of Aspect Ratio of MWNT on the Flammability Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites.
- Coporate
- Maryland Univ., College Park
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD
Kentucky Univ., Lexington
- Journal
-
Polymer,
Vol. 48,
No. 1620,
6086-6096,
September 2007
- Keywords
-
nanocomposites
|
flammability
|
aspect ratio
|
carbon
|
rheology
|
polystyrene
|
experiments
|
particles
|
mass loss
|
composite materials
|
morphology
|
viscoelasticity
|
thermal stability
|
equations
- Identifiers
- multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs); single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT); flammability property measurement; aspect ratio and morphology of the MWNTs in PS; viscoelastic properties
- Abstract
- The effects of the aspect ratio of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on the rheology and flammability of polystyrene/MWNT nanocomposites are studied using two MWNTs having average aspect ratios (length to outer diameter) of 49 and 150. Dynamic rheological experiments show that the particles with the larger aspect ratio impart much higher storage moduli and complex viscosities to the nanocomposites compared to equivalent mass loadings of particles with the smaller aspect ratio. Additionally, in flammability experiments, the larger aspect ratio particles lead to a greater reduction in mass loss rate, i.e., they are more effective at reducing flammability. These results demonstrate that the aspect ratio of MWNTs is a key parameter in controlling the rheology and flammability of polymer nanocomposites.