Issue 37, 2012

One-pot preparation and continuous spinning of carbon nanotube/poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) copolymer fibers

Abstract

Poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO) fibers are some of the strongest organic polymer fibers, however, even stronger fibers can be made using carbon nanotubes (CNTs). In the present study, the copolymerization of functionalized CNTs with PBO was successfully carried out by one-pot in situ polycondensation in polyphosphoric acid. Pristine CNTs were first oxidized to CNT–COOH and then modified by 4,6-diaminoresorcinol (DAR) or PBO trimer (DAR–TA–DAR) to improve the reactivity, solubility, dispersivity, and interfacial adhesion of CNTs in polymer matrix. Functionalized CNTs were further covalently incorporated with PBO through in situ polymerization. The chemical structure and morphology of functionalized CNTs and CNT–PBO copolymers were well characterized for confirming the formation of covalent bond between CNTs and PBO. Moreover, continuous CNT–PBO copolymer fibers have been fabricated using a dry-jet wet-spinning technique. The structure and morphology of CNT–PBO copolymer fibers have been characterized and their mechanical and thermal properties have been investigated. The tensile modulus, tensile strength, and thermal stability of CNT–PBO copolymer fibers have been improved. The improvement in PBO molecular chain packing order, the good dispersion and high alignment of CNTs in the PBO matrix, and the covalent bonding at the CNT–PBO interface have been suggested as the main reasons for the performance improvement of PBO.

Graphical abstract: One-pot preparation and continuous spinning of carbon nanotube/poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) copolymer fibers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Jul 2012
Accepted
07 Aug 2012
First published
08 Aug 2012

J. Mater. Chem., 2012,22, 19863-19871

One-pot preparation and continuous spinning of carbon nanotube/poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) copolymer fibers

Z. Hu, J. Li, P. Tang, D. Li, Y. Song, Y. Li, L. Zhao, C. Li and Y. Huang, J. Mater. Chem., 2012, 22, 19863 DOI: 10.1039/C2JM34630C

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Spotlight

Advertisements