Kourtidou Dimitra, Karfaridis Dimitrios, Kehagias Thomas, Vourlias George, Bikiaris Dimitrios N, Chrissafis Konstantinos
School of Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Polymers (Basel). 2023 Jan 12;15(2):401. doi: 10.3390/polym15020401.
Poly(ethylene 2,5-furandicarboxylate) (PEF) nanocomposites reinforced with Graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) and Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were in situ synthesized in this work. PEF is a biobased polyester with physical properties and is the sustainable counterpart of Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). Its low crystallizability affects the processing of the material, limiting its use to packaging, films, and textile applications. The crystallization promotion and the reinforcement of PEF can lead to broadening its potential applications. Therefore, PEF nanocomposites reinforced with various loadings of GNPs, CNTs, and hybrids containing both fillers were prepared, and the effect of each filler on their structural characteristics was investigated by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy-attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR), and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The morphology and structural properties of a hybrid PEF nanocomposite were evaluated by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The thermo-oxidative degradation, as well as lifetime predictions of PEF nanocomposites, in an ambient atmosphere, were studied using Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). Results showed that the fillers' incorporation in the PEF matrix induced changes in the lamellar thickness and increased crystallinity up to 27%. TEM analysis indicated the formation of large CNTs aggregates in the case of the hybrid PEF nanocomposite as a result of the ultrasonication process. Finally, the presence of CNTs caused the retardation of PEF's carbonization process. This led to a slightly longer lifetime under isothermal conditions at higher temperatures, while at ambient temperature the PEF nanocomposites' lifetime is shorter, compared to neat PEF.
在本研究中，原位合成了用石墨烯纳米片（GNPs）和碳纳米管（CNTs）增强的聚（2,5-呋喃二甲酸乙二酯）（PEF）纳米复合材料。PEF是一种具有物理性能的生物基聚酯，是聚对苯二甲酸乙二酯（PET）的可持续替代品。其低结晶性影响材料的加工，限制了其仅用于包装、薄膜和纺织应用。PEF的结晶促进和增强可扩大其潜在应用范围。因此，制备了用不同含量的GNPs、CNTs以及同时含有两种填料的混合物增强的PEF纳米复合材料，并通过X射线衍射（XRD）、傅里叶变换红外光谱-衰减全反射（FTIR-ATR）和X射线光电子能谱（XPS）研究了每种填料对其结构特征的影响。通过透射电子显微镜（TEM）评估了混合PEF纳米复合材料的形态和结构性能。使用热重分析（TGA）研究了PEF纳米复合材料在环境气氛中的热氧化降解以及寿命预测。结果表明，填料掺入PEF基体中会引起片层厚度的变化，并使结晶度提高至27%。TEM分析表明，由于超声处理过程，在混合PEF纳米复合材料中形成了大的CNTs聚集体。最后，CNTs的存在导致PEF碳化过程延迟。这使得在较高温度下等温条件下的寿命略长，而在环境温度下，与纯PEF相比，PEF纳米复合材料的寿命较短。
