Influence of surface modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes on the mechanical and electroactive shape memory properties of polyurethane (PU)/poly(vinylidene diflouride) (PVDF) composites

Polymer blend nanocomposites based on polyurethane (PU) and poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) filled with pristine or modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by melt blending technique and investigated for its mechanical, dynamic mechanical and electro active shape memory properties. Morphological characterization revealed better dispersion of modified carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in the polymer blend, which is attributed to the improved interfacial interaction between the polymer blends and modified CNTs. Loading of the modified CNTs in the PU/PVDF blend resulted in the significant improvement in mechanical properties such as Young's modulus and tensile strength and this effect is more pronounced on increasing the CNT loading amount, when compared to the pristine CNT filled system. Dynamic mechanical analysis showed that the glass transition temperature of the blend increases slightly with increasing loading of both pristine and modified CNT in the system. Electro active shape memory studies showed excellent recoverability, when compared to pristine CNT filled systems. (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.