Influence of MWCNTs/Li-doped TiO2 nanoparticles on the structural, thermal, electrical and mechanical properties of poly (ethylene oxide)/poly (methylmethacrylate) composite

Abstract

MWCNTs/Li-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized via a sol-gel process from MWCNTs, titanium isopropoxide (Ti (OPr)4, and LiCl4. The XRD analysis confirmed the formation of MWCNTs/Li-doped TiO2 NPs. The EDX spectroscopy spectrum indicated the existence of carbon, oxygen, and titanium signals as the components of the synthetic composite. TEM shows of the MWCNTs/Li-doped TiO2 NPs like a cube, tetragonal and hexagonal shapes with an average particle size 5–35 nm. The polymer nanocomposite samples based on PEO and PMMA with MWCNTs/Li-doped TiO2 as the dopant at variation contents have been prepared via casting method. The optical, structural, mechanical and electrical properties of the prepared samples were achieved via different techniques. From the XRD results, reveal the amorphous nature of PEO/MMA decrease with MWCNTs/Li-doped TiO2 doping. The FT-IR confirmed the presence interaction between MWCNTs/Li-doped TiO2 and polymer blend. It’s observed the optical energy gap values (indirect and direct) for all samples decrease with increase in filler concentration by UV. Vis analysis. The TGA reveals improve in the thermal stability of nanocomposites compared to PMMA/PEO. The conductivity after addition filler to the polymer blend was increased due to the increase in charge carrier mobility according to model of the free-volume. The ε′ and ε″ increase with increasing of filler content at low frequency only due to polarization effects. The ion hopping mechanism and the conductivity relaxation process have been investigated via utilizing the electrical modulus analysis.