Effect of surface modification and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on thermal properties of PMMA/SWCNT nanocomposites

In this study, the single-walled carbon nanotube (p-SWCNTs) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) polymer nanocomposites were prepared by solution casting method. The effects of functionalization and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on the thermal properties of PMMA/p-SWCNT nanocomposites were investigated. Samples were characterised using BET, FTIR-ATR, SEM, DTA/TG, DSC, TEM and AFM. Morphological analyses showed that changes in the structure of SWCNTs with modification occurred and CNTs were tubular structure, homogeneously dispersed and nano-sized. Functionalised SWCNTs increased the first mass loss (T max1 ), the second mass loss (T max2 ) and glass transition temperatures (T g ) of PMMA. SDS assisted both better dispersion of CNTs and interaction between PMMA and CNTs. While PMMA/p-SWCNT-OH (0.1 wt.%) had the highest thermal stability in SDS-free medium, PMMA/SDS/p-SWCNT-O-APTS (0.1 wt.%) had the highest thermal stability in SDS medium. The maximum increases at T max1 and T max2 temperatures of nanocomposites were calculated as 49 and 13°C for PMMA/SDS/p-SWCNT-O-APTS (0.1 wt.%), respectively.