Improving the Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Poly( vinyl butyral) Through the Incorporation of Acid- Treated Single- Walled Carbon Nanotubes

In this study, to investigate the effect of functionalized carbon nanotubes on the thermal and mechanical properties of the poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) resin, PVB/functionalized single-walled carbon nanotube (f-SWCNT) composites were fabricated by a solution casting method. The functionalized nanotubes were prepared by acid treatment. The formation of oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of the nanotubes was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) measurements. SEM analysis also showed that the nanotubes were dispersed well in the PVB matrix. The thermal stability of the composites were investigated with thermogravimetric analysis, and the results show better stability for PVB in the presence of a very low content of the f-SWCNTs. The prepared composites exhibited a significant increase in the temperature of degradation at 50 wt % loss and also in the onset temperature and decomposition temperature at the maximum rate of weight loss of butyral degradation. A significant enhancement in the mechanical properties was also achieved for these prepared composites. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40481.