Abstract
Carbon nanostructures including carbon black, carbon nanotubes, graphite or graphene have attracted a tremendous interest as fillers for elastomeric compounds. The preparation methods of nanocomposites that have a strong impact on the state of filler dispersion and thus on the properties of the resulting composites, are briefly described. At a same filler loading, considerable improvement in stiffness is imparted to the host polymeric matrix by the carbon nanomaterials with regard to that provided by the conventional carbon black particles. It is mainly attributed to the high aspect ratio of the nanostructures rather than to strong polymer-filler interactions. The orienting capability of the anisotropic fillers under strain as well the formation of a filler network, have to be taken into account to explain the high level of reinforcements. A comparison of the efficiency of the different carbon nanostructures is carried out through their mechanical and electrical properties but no clear picture can be obtained since the composite properties are strongly affected by the state of filler dispersion.
Highlights
Elastomers that consists of polymeric chains with a high degree of flexibility and mobility, exhibit rubber-like elasticity if the chains are joined into a network structure [1]
Wrapping a graphene sheet into a seamless cylinder leads to the formation of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) while multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) consist of multiple layers of graphene arranged in concentric cylinders with an interlayer distance close to the distance between graphene layers in graphite and typical diameters in the range 1–50 nm and lengths ranging from micrometers to millimeters and even centimeters
Potts et al [26] have an increase in Tg by 2.2% for the 5.7 vol% graphene platelets (GnPs) and an increase of 4 °C at 10.5 vol% GnPs in styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), shown that for a 5 wt % reduced graphene oxide/nanural rubber (NR) nanocomposite, the storage modulus increases by attributed to a decrease the mobility of elastomer chains attributed to good interfacial polymer◦ C,inbut
Summary
Elastomers that consists of polymeric chains with a high degree of flexibility and mobility, exhibit rubber-like elasticity if the chains are joined into a network structure [1]. The past ten years have seen an increased interest for rod-shaped nanofillers and essentially for carbon nanotubes The recognition of their unique properties has stimulated a huge interest in their use as advanced filler in composite materials [10,11]. There is a great interest in graphitic nanostructures including graphite intercalation compounds, expanded graphite, graphite nanoplatelets, graphene and graphene oxide Their use as reinforcing fillers for elastomeric materials holds great promise as a particular class of nanocomposites if the layered structure of graphite, similar to that of layered silicate, is exfoliated and if the separated nanosheets are well dispersed in the polymeric matrix [12,13,14,15,16]. The focus of this paper is to highlight the state of knowledge in the carbon nanostructures, the properties, challenges and potential applications of elastomeric matrices filled with these carbon nanomaterials
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