The effect of aramid nanofiber on the rheological properties of poly(vinyl alcohol)/dimethyl sulfoxide solutions

Aramid nanofiber (ANF) is regarded as a fascinating reinforcing filler because of a high miscibility with polymers and stiff nature of p-aramid backbone. In this study, we studied the rheological properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/ANF nanocomposites solutions in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in terms of the ANF content. Incorporation of ANF significantly resulted in the deterioration of the solution homogeneity of PVA. In the ANF content of 0.5-10.0 wt%, the sudden increase of the viscosity and storage modulus was observed in the vicinity of 3.5 wt%, indicating the rheological percolation of ANF.