A multifunctional carbon nanotube reinforced nanocomposite modified via soy protein isolate: A study on dispersion, electrical and mechanical properties

Excellent multifunctional polymeric nanocomposite cannot be achieved without good dispersion and well protection of nanofillers, for which a highly efficient, cost-effective and environmental benign nanofiller treatment approach is demanded. Herein, we report that soy protein isolate (SPI), an extra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Carbon (New York) 2020-05, Vol.161, p.350-358
Main Authors: Huang, Xianrong, Li, Renfu, Zeng, Lijian, Li, Xueling, Xi, Zhaojun, Wang, Kun, Li, Yichao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agglomerates
Carbon
Carbon nanotubes
Digital imaging
Electrical resistivity
Epoxy resins
Fracture toughness
Mechanical properties
Modulus of elasticity
Nanocomposites
Nanotubes
Particle size distribution
Photon correlation spectroscopy
Proteins
Soybeans
Surfactants
Tensile strength
Tensile tests
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Summary:Excellent multifunctional polymeric nanocomposite cannot be achieved without good dispersion and well protection of nanofillers, for which a highly efficient, cost-effective and environmental benign nanofiller treatment approach is demanded. Herein, we report that soy protein isolate (SPI), an extracted protein from soybean, is applied as a highly performed bio-surfactant to treat carbon nanotubes (CNTs), resulting in nanocomposite with tremendously improved dispersion, electrical and mechanical properties. TEM, UV–vis and dynamic light scattering (DLS) and real-time optical microscopic characterizations show that, compared with a conventional surfactant, sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS), SPI more effectively and efficiently functionalize CNTs with less agglomerates and more stable particle size distribution. The electrical conductivity of the SPI-CNTs/epoxy increased by 6 orders of magnitude at 0.5 wt% vs pure epoxy, which is 4 orders higher than the pristine CNTs/epoxy and even 1 order higher than that of the SDS treated counterpart. The tensile modulus, strength and fracture toughness of the SPI-CNTs/epoxy increased by 27%, 24% and 32% at 1.0 wt% loading of CNTs, respectively, which is 20%, 26% and 18% higher than the pristine CNTs/epoxy and 10%, 23% and 21% higher than the SDS-CNTs/epoxy. The in-situ tensile test accompanied by digital image correlation technique (DIC) shows that cracks are effectively arrested by the SPI-CNTs while SDS-CNTs cannot. These results establish a solid foundation for the application of SPI in the polymeric nanocomposite fields. [Display omitted]
ISSN:0008-6223
1873-3891
DOI:10.1016/j.carbon.2020.01.069