Influence of thermally exfoliated graphite on physicochemical, thermal and mechanical properties of copolyester nanocomposites

摘要

New materials which were composites filled with thermally exfoliated graphite (tEG) were prepared. In these composites segmented multi-block thermoplastic elastomer containing 60 wt % of hard segments as in poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and 40 wt % of soft segments comprising amorphous sequences of ethylene ester of dilinoleic acid (DLA) was used as a polymer matrix. The filler, i.e. tEG, which is graphene-like material, was introduced into the polymer matrix in various content (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 wt %) during in situ polycondensation. Scanning electron microscope images of the nanocomposites showed very good nanofiller dispersion in the polymer matrix with few agglomerates. The addition of nanofiller affected the degree of polymer crystallinity as well as the mechanical properties of PET-DLA nanocomposites. Importantly, thermally exfoliated graphite reduced the water contact angle of nanocomposites thus making their surface more hydrophilic and potentially more attractive in medical applications.