Characterization and mechanical properties of cellulose acetate/carbon nanotube composite nanofibers

Cellulose acetate/carbon nanotube composite nanofibers were prepared using electrospinning technique. The morphology, crystalline, and mechanical properties were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and tensile test. The result indicated that the CA with 0.5 wt% CNT shows better mechanical properties among the other sample which contains lower or higher percent of CNT. In addition, the diameter of the average fibers was 415 +/- 45 nm and shows good dispersions of CNT into the nanofibers. Moreover, tensile strength and Young's modulus were enhanced with an average of 67% and 78%, respectively.