Hierarchical Carbon Nanotube@SiO2-TiO2 Reinforced Polyurethane Composites: Thermal, Mechanical and Abrasion Resistance Properties

In this study, novel polyurethane-based composites reinforced by hierarchical CNTs@SiO2-TiO2 were fabricated via in situ polymerization. Significant improvement of the composites in thermal stability was achieved by incorporating functionalized CNTs up to 2.0 wt%. Meanwhile, the tensile strength, strain-at-break, and Young’s modulus were greatly improved by increasing nanotube loading. The Abrasion losses could be significantly decreased to 30 mm3/1.61 km due to the addition of functionalized CNTs. Therefore, the introduction of nanosized hierarchical SiO2-TiO2 coated CNTs has a stimulative effect on the simultaneous mechanical reinforcement and abrasion resistance modification for polyurethane.