Effect of π–π interaction between carbon nanotubes and phenyl groups on the thermal stability of silicone rubber

Abstract

To investigate the effect and mechanism of π–π interaction between carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and phenyl groups on the thermal stability of silicone rubber (SR), three kinds of silicone rubber with different phenyl content were used to prepare CNTs/SR composites in present study. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy demonstrated that the π–π interaction between CNTs and phenyl groups in composites is enhanced with phenyl content increasing. The results of thermogravimetric analysis and tensile testing before and after aging indicted the π–π interaction makes CNTs improve the thermal stability of phenyl SR more efficiently than that of methyl vinyl SR. The T 5 (defined as the temperature for 5% mass loss) of CNTs/SR-3 (with 10–20% phenyl content) is increased by 19.4 °C compared to that of SR-3, and the final residual mass of CNTs/SR-3 (31.9%) is much higher than other samples under argon atmosphere.