2022, Thompson, S.M., Talò, M., Krause, Beate, Janke, A., Lanzerotti, M., Capps, J., Lanzara, G., Lacarbonara, W.

This work discusses the mechanical and dissipative properties of nanocomposite materials made of a high-performance thermoplastic polymer (polybutylene terephthalate, PBT) integrated with branched carbon nanotubes (bCNTs) as nanofiller. The storage and loss moduli as well as the loss factor/damping ratio of the nanocomposites are experimentally characterized for increasing bCNT weight fractions (wt% bCNT) upon variations of the input cyclic strain amplitude and of the input frequency, respectively. The trends obtained for the nanocomposites mechanical properties indicate improvements both in storage and loss modulus by increasing the bCNT weight fraction from 0.5% to 2%. The striking differences between the damping capacities exhibited by CNT/polymer and bCNT/polymer nanocomposites are discussed to shed light onto the different underlined mechanics of the nanocomposites. Due to the stick–slip relative sliding motion of the polymer chains with respect to the straight CNTs, CNT/PBT nanocomposites are known to exhibit a peak in the damping vs. strain amplitude curves, past which, the damping capacity shows a monotonically increasing trend due to the conjectured sliding of the polymer crystals. On the other hand, we show for the first time that bCNT/PBT nanocomposites do not exhibit a peak in the damping capacity but rather a plateau after an initial drop at low strains. This behavior is attributed to the much reduced mobility of the branched CNTs and the lack of formation of crystalline structures around the bCNTs.

2017, Staudinger, U., Zyla, G., Krause, Beate, Janke, A., Fischer, D., Esen, C., Voit, B., Ostendorf, A.

Femtosecond laser-induced two-photon polymerization (2PP) of carbon nanofiller doped polymers was utilized to produce electrically conductive microstructures, which are expected to be applicable as microelectronic components or micro-electromechanical systems in sensors. The nanocomposites were processed by compounding an inorganic-organic hybrid material with two different types (short and long) of single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). Different SWCNT contents were dispersed in the polymer by sonication to adjust the electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites. Low surface resistivity values of ~ 4.6 × 105 Ω/sq. could be measured for coated reference films with a thickness of 30 μm having an exceptionally low SWCNT content of 0.01 wt% of the long type of SWCNTs. In contrast, a higher minimum resistivity of 1.5 × 106 Ω/sq. was exhibited for composites with a higher content, 2 wt%, of short SWCNTs. The structural quality of the microstructures processed by 2PP was mainly influenced by the dispersion quality of the SWCNTs. To characterize the electrical conductivity, conductive atomic force microscopy was applied for the first time. In microstructures with 0.05 wt% of the long type of SWCNTs, a contact current could be detected over a wide range of the measured area visualizing the electrical conductive CNT network, which has not been reported before.

2011, Mende, M., Schwarz, S., Zschoche, S., Petzold, G., Janke, A.

Polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs) were prepared by structural uniform and strongly charged cationic and anionic modified alternating maleic anhydride copolymers. The hydrophobicity of the polyelectrolytes was changed by the comonomers (ethylene, isobutylene and styrene). Additionally, the n -/n + ratio of the molar charges of the polyelectrolytes and the procedure of formation were varied. The colloidal stability of the systems and the size, shape, and structure of the PEC particles were investigated by turbidimetry, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Dynamic light scattering indicates that beside large PEC particle aggregates distinct smaller particles were formed by the copolymers which have the highest hydrophobicity (styrene). These findings could be proved by AFM. Fractal dimension (D), root mean square (RMS) roughness and the surface profiles of the PEC particles adsorbed on mica allow the following conclusions: the higher the hydrophobicity of the polyelectrolytes, the broader is the particle size distribution and the minor is the swelling of the PEC particles. Hence, the most compact particles are formed with the very hydrophobic copolymer.