Preparation and Characterization of Silicone Rubber/Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes Composites via In Situ Polymerization

The dispersion of the nanometer-sized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in a silicone matrix leads to a marked improvement in the properties of the silicone based composite. In this study, silicone rubber/MWCNTs nanocomposite was successfully prepared by functionalizing MWCNTs with silane compound. This allowed a homogeneous dispersion of functionalized MWCNTs in the silicone matrix. The morphology of functionalized MWCNTs was observed using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectrometer. The silicone rubber/functionalized MWCNTs (1 wt%) composites showed that the tensile strength and modulus of the composites improved dramatically by about 50% and 28%, respectively, compared with silicone rubber.