Abstract
In this study, polyurethane (PU) films from palm kernel oil-based polyester (PKO-p) incorporated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were prepared via evaporative casting method. Nanoparticle fluid dispersions containing 0.01, 0.04 and 0.08 % wt. of MWNTs were added into PKO-p-based resin and mixed by digital probe sonicator for 20 min followed by mixing with isocyanate to produce PU-MWNTs composite films. The mechanical properties, water resistance, water vapor transmission rates (WVTR), biocompatibility, and antibacterial activities of the PU-MWNTs composite films were examined. Results show that PU containing 0.01 wt. % of MWNTs demonstrated optimum mechanical properties as it possessed high tensile strength, modulus, and good flexibility compared to PU film and other PU-MWNTs composite films. There are no significant difference in swelling values as well as water vapor transmission rates for PU film and PU-MWNTs composite films. All the films showed low swelling values (17–23 %) and WVTR values in the range 181–269 g m−2 d−1. Cell studies revealed that PU and PU-MWNTs composite films are non-cytotoxic to human skin fibroblast cells (CRL2522) and the cell proliferation was increased after incubation of 72 h. The in vitro qualitative antibacterial results showed both PU and PU-MWNTs composite films exhibited bactericidal effect against Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumonia). In summary, incorporation of MWNTs improved the mechanical properties of the polyurethane films with no cytotoxic effect against normal human skin fibroblast cells.
Highlights
In this study, polyurethane (PU) films from palm kernel oil-based polyester (PKO-p) incorporated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were prepared via evaporative casting method
The tensile strength of PU-MWNT01, PU-MWNT04, and PU-MWNT08 composite films were higher than that of PU film, indicating that the modulus (E) as well as the toughness (T) of the composites were improved by the addition of the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)
This aggregation resulted to the uneven dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) in the matrix, which contributed to the lower value of the strain-at-break of the films (Xiong et al 2006)
Summary
Polyurethane (PU) films from palm kernel oil-based polyester (PKO-p) incorporated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were prepared via evaporative casting method. Polyurethane nanocomposites using carbon nanotubes and graphite have gained a great attention because they offer a great potential to enhance mechanical properties and increased electrical conductivity due to their large specific surface area. Recent studies show that single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) are among attracting nanofillers to produce advance polyurethane (PU) materials with high mechanical properties and conducting materials (Kim et al 2010). These nanocomposites need only a small amount of nanofillers to give a tremendous improvement in mechanical properties than pure PU composites. Other study reported that the incorporation of MWNTs in waterborne polyurethane exhibits a huge increase in the tensile properties to 370 % due to a strong covalent bonding in the system (Kuan et al 2005)
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