The influence of different shaped nanofillers (1D, 2D) on barrier and mechanical properties of polymer hybrid nanocomposites based on PET prepared by in situ polymerization

In this report, we investigated how barrier and mechanical properties of poly(ethylene terephthalate) were influenced by carbon nanoadditives which differ in shape (1D, 2D) and particle size. The results obtained for PET/expanded graphite (EG) and PET/single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) were compared with the results obtained for PET/EG+SWCNT hybrid nanocomposites. The different morphologies affect the dispersion of carbon nanoparticles in in situ prepared PET nanocomposites and play a crucial role in structure-property relationship. Good distribution of expanded graphite nanosheets along with some nanotube agglomerates was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Uniformly distributed EG with SWCNT agglomerates caused an enhancement in mechanical properties. We also found that the barrier properties of PET/EG+SWCNT hybrid nanocomposites are far better than neat PET. The described influence of carbon nanomaterials on the properties of PET hybrid nanocomposites is mostly due to addition of well-exfoliated graphene nanoplatelets and less due to the presence of tubular carbon nanoparticles, which were observed to form agglomerates. POLYM. COMPOS., 37:1949-1959, 2016. (c) 2015 Society of Plastics Engineers