High glass-transition polyurethane-carbon black electro-active shape memory nanocomposite for aerospace systems

摘要

Carbon black conductive filler material, 2-40% by weight was added to specially designed polyurethane polymer to prepare shape memory polymer nanocomposites. The synthesised polyurethane (PU) has exhibited a high glass transition temperature of 85 degrees C compared to the reported values in published literatures. The polymer was characterised for its chemical, electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. The stiffness, load-bearing capacity and electrical conductivity were observed to improve with increased carbon loading. It was found to be capable of responding to thermal as well as electrical stimuli. The shape recovery efficiency was found to be 94% for thermal and 98% for electrical stimuli which is among the highest for PU reported so far. This review was submitted as part of the 2019 Materials Literature Review Prize of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining run by the Editorial Board of MST. Sponsorship of the prize by TWI Ltd is gratefully acknowledged.