Studies on polyethylene terephthalate hybrid polymer nanocomposites (original) (raw)

Graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized from the graphite powder by modified Hummer’s method. Functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-MWCNTs) containing –COOH groups were prepared to improve the compatibility of carbon nanotubes with the polymer matrix. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) hybrid nanocomposites were made by melt blending by micro-compounding. In all compositions, the investigation was done at a constant filler amount of 2 wt%. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Raman studies revealed that there have been only physical interactions between PET matrix, GO and f-MWCNT fillers. Both water absorption and Shore hardness D increased with increase in GO content or decrease in f-MWCNT till both the nanofillers are equal and decreased upon further increase of GO content or decrease in f-MWCNT. Morphological studies were carried out by FE-SEM and AFM. Tensile and flexural modulus, impact strength, glass transition, melting temperature and thermal conductivity of hybrid nanocomposites were higher than the neat PET. It was also observed that wettability increased with increase in surface roughness. The 3D geometrical bridge between GO (2D) and f-MWCNT (1D) made the hybrid more dispersible and effective for different applications, and a 3D model is proposed.