Starch/multi-walled carbon nanotubes composites with improved mechanical properties

L. M. FAMÁ; V. PETTARIN; S. GOYANES; C. R. BERNAL

CARBOHYDRATE POLYMERS

ELSEVIER SCI LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2011 vol. 83 p. 1226 - 1231

0144-8617

In this work, novel starch based nanocomposites containing very small quantities of multi-walled carbonnanotubes (MWCNTs) (0.027 wt% and 0.055 wt%) were developed. These materials exhibited highlyimproved tensile and impact properties as a consequence of wrapping the MWCNTs with a starch–iodinecomplex composed by the same starch of the matrix. Thus, good dispersion of the filler in the matrix andexcellent adhesion between phases (as shown in FE-SEM micrographs) were achieved. Increments upto almost 70% in stiffness and 35% in ultimate tensile strength, keeping deformations higher than 80%without break were found. Therefore, tensile toughness also increased up to ∼50%. Enhancements of upto ∼100% in biaxial impact parameters (thickness related perforation energy and disc maximum strengthvalues) were also observed. The significant improvements in all uniaxial tensile and biaxial impact propertiesobtained for such significantly low contents of filler, as a result of the type of functionalizationused, have not been already reported in the literature and point out these biodegradable composites asa very appealing alternative to traditional materials for different applications.