• Elastomers and Composites
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2010

Herein, the effect of the dispersion uniformity of the multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) on the thermal and electrical conductivity of polystyrene (PS)/MWCNT composite was investigated. The PS/MWCNT composites were prepared by solution mixing from dispersions of various MWCNTs in PS/tetrahydrofuran (THF) solution. Three types of MWCNTs were used; pristine MWCNT, hydroxyl functionalized MWCNT, which was functionalized with $KMnO_4$ in the presence of a phase transfer catalyst at room temperature, and pristine MWCNT with BYK-9077 as a dispersant. It was found that the stable dispersion state of MWCNT in PS/THF solutions significantly improved the thermal and electrical conductivity of the ultimate composites. It is noted that the thermal and electrical conductivity of PS/3 wt% pristine MWCNT composite with BYK-9077 were about 9.4 and 30~50% higher than those of PS/3 wt% pristine MWCNT composite, respectively.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.6 no.3
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• pp.245-255
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• 2017

High energy ball milling is employed to produce iron matrix- multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) reinforced composite. The damage caused to MWCNT due to harsh ball milling condition and its influence on interfacial bonding is studied. Different amount of MWCNT is used to find the optimal percentage of MWCNT for avoidance of the formation of chemical reaction product at the matrix - reinforcement interface. Effect of process control agent is assessed by the use of different materials for the purpose. It is observed that ethanol as a process control agent (PCA) causes degradation of MWCNT reinforcements after milling for two hours whereas solid stearic acid used as process control agent, allows satisfactory conservation of MWCNT structure. It is further noted that at a high MWCNT content (~ 2wt.%), high energy ball milling leads to reaction of iron and carbon and forms iron carbide (cementite) at the iron-MWCNT interface. At low percentage of MWCNT, dissolution of carbon in iron takes place and the amount of reinforcement in iron matrix composite becomes negligibly small. However, under the present ball milling condition (ball to metal ratio~ 6:1 and 200 rpm vial speed) iron-1wt.% MWCNT composite of good interfacial bonding can retain the tubular structure of reinforcing MWCNT.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.20 no.7
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• pp.345-350
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• 2010

For the present paper, we prepared MgO/MWCNT/$TiO_2$ photocatalyst by using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) pre-oxidized by m-chlorperbenzoic acid (MCPBA) with magnesium acetate tetrahydrate $(Mg(CH_2COO)_2\cdot4H_2O)$ and titanium n-butoxide $(Ti\{OC(CH_3)_3\}_4)$ as magnesium and titanium precursors. The prepared photocatalyst was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The decomposition of methylene blue (MB) solution was determined under irradiation of ultraviolet (UV) light. The XRD results show that the MgO/MWCNT/$TiO_2$ photocatalyst have cubic MgO structure and anatase $TiO_2$ structure. The porous structure and the $TiO_2$ agglomerate coated on the MgO/MWCNT composite can be observed in SEM images. The Mg, O, Ti and C elements can be also observed in MgO/MWCNT/$TiO_2$ photocatalyst from EDX results. The results of photodegradation of MB solution under UV light show that the concentration of MB solution decreased with an increase of UV irradiation time for all of the samples. Also, the MgO/MWCNT/$TiO_2$ photocatalyst has the best photocatalytic activity among these samples. It can be considered that the MgO/MWCNT/$TiO_2$ photocatalyst had a combined effect, the effect of MWCNT, which could absorb UV light to create photoinduced electrons $(e^-)$, and the electron trapping effect of MgO, which resulted in an increase of the photocatalytic activity of $TiO_2$.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.451-457
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• 2011

The effect of latex particle size on rheological and electrical properties of latex-blended polystyrene (PS)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites was investigated. Mono-dispersed PS particles synthesized either by emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization or by dispersion polymerization were mixed with MWCNTs under ultrasonication, and freeze-dried to prepare the nanocomposites. As the MWCNT content increased, storage modulus, complex viscosity and electrical conductivity were substantially increased. The increase of storage modulus and complex viscosity was higher for larger PS particles. The effect of particle size on electrical properties was different depending on MWCNT content. With lower MWCNT content, the nanocomposite prepared by smaller PS particles showed higher electrical conductivity, but the opposite result was given as the content increased.

• Composites Research
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.171-176
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• 2018

We proposed new and easy fabrication method of micro-nano hierarchical structures for synthetic dry adhesives and conducted feasibility tests of alignment characteristics of nano-materials in the microstructures by capillary effect. Candidates of fabrication conditions were selected based on the degree of cure and viscosity of mixtures of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which were measured with respect to the fabrication conditions. Scanning electron microscopy images of cross sections of MWCNT-PDMS microstructures were analyzed. MWCNT alignment in microstructures was better when fabrication temperature and degree of cure at fabricating start were lower, but areal density of MWCNTs was little affected by fabrication conditions.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.534-539
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• 2010

Polystyrene (PS)/multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites were prepared via latex technology and the effect of nanotube length on rheological properties were investigated. Monodisperse PS particle was synthesized by the emulsifier-free emulsion polymerization and two types of MWCNTs were used after surface modification to improve dispersion state and to remove impurities. Final nanocomposites were prepared by the freeze-drying process after dispersing the PS particles and the surface-modified MWCNTs in a ultrasonic bath. The effects of MWCNT content and nanotube length on rheological properties were evaluated by imposing the small-amplitude oscillatory shear flow. The PS/MWCNT nanocomposites showed that rheological properties were enhanced as the amount and length of MWCNT increased. It is speculated that the rheological characteristics of nanocomposites change from liquid-like to solid-like as the MWCNT amount increases, and the critical concentration to achieve network structure decreases as the nanotube length increases.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.214-218
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• 2013

Nylon66/multi-walled carbon nano tube (MWCNT) composites were fabricated by twin screw extruder. The contents of MWCNT were 1, 3, 5, and 7 wt%. Thermal properties, dispersion, rheological and impact properties were measured by DSC, TGA, X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, Dynamic rheometer, and Izod impact tester. The effect of MWCNT on the non-isothermal crystallization of Nylon66 was confirmed by DSC. The complex viscosity at low frequency and the shear thinning tendency of the composites increased with MWCNT content. An increase in the elasticity was confirmed from the decrease in the slop of G'-G" plot. Izod impact strengths of the composites were analyzed as a measure of mechanical properties, which indicated that the composites exhibit a 60% enhancement for the impact strength when 3 wt% MWCNT was added. The dispersion of MWCNT within Nylon66/MWCNT composites was also checked by SEM.

• Polymer(Korea)
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.494-499
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• 2012

In this work, the effect of multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) on electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness (EMI SE) and mechanical properties of MWCNT-reinforced polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites were investigated with varying MWCNT content from 1 to 10 wt%. Electric resistance was tested using a 4-point-probe electric resistivity tester. The EMI SE of the nanocomposites was evaluated by means of the reflection and adsorption methods. The mechanical properties of the nanocomposites were studied through the critical stress intensity factor ($K_{IC}$) measurement. The morphologies were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). From the results, it was found that the EMI SE was enhanced with increasing MWCNT content, which played a key factor to determine the EMI SE. The $K_{IC}$ value was increased with increasing MWCNT content, whereas the value decreased above 5 wt% MWCNT content. This was probably considered that the MWCNT entangled with each other in PP due to an excess of MWCNT.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.17 no.10
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• pp.300-306
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the antibacterial effect of functional multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) on the conventional glass ionomer cement(GIC). The MWCNT was incorporated into a commercial powder at 0.125, 0.25, 0.5 and 1.0 wt%. Specimens for vickers hardness(VHN) disks(Ø$10mm{\times}2mm$) each were prepared. Indention were made using a load of 200 N and 20 s dwell on four specimens for each distilled water storage time 1d, 7d, and 14days. The antibacterial effects using agar diffusion test with S. mutans and S. aureus. The diameters of the inhibition zones produced around the materials were measured. The results revealed that all the vickers hardness values were increase significantly with incubation time(p<0.05). Regarding the antibacterial effect for S. mutans, all the tested groups showed a slightly higher value not significantly with the control group(p<0.05). However S. aureus statistical analysis indicated a significant difference for antibacterial agents between control and MWCNT containing 0.25 wt%(p<0.05). These results of this study provide that the conventional GIC with containing MWCNT show good antibacterial effect against and favorable mechanical properties. Further this study on the efficient functionalization of multiwall carbon nanotube will be needed.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.31-46
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• 2019

In the present study, the various dynamic properties of MWCNT embedded fiber reinforced polymer uniform and tapered composite (MWCNT-FRP) plates are investigated. Various configurations of a tapered composite plate with ply-drop off and uniform composite plate have been considered for the development of the finite element formulation and experimental investigations. First order shear deformation theory (FSDT) has been used to derive the kinetic and potential energy equations of the hybrid composite plates by including the effect of rotary inertia, shear deformation and non-uniformity in thickness of the plate. The governing equations of motion of FRP composite plates without and with MWCNT reinforcement are derived by considering a nine- node rectangular element with five degrees of freedom (DOF) at each node. The effectiveness of the developed finite element formulation has been demonstrated by comparing the natural frequencies and damping ratio of FRP composite plates without and with MWCNT reinforcement obtained experimentally. Various parametric studies are also performed to study the effect of CNT volume fraction and CNT aspect ratio of the composite plate on the natural frequencies of different configurations of CNT reinforced hybrid composite plates. Further the forced vibration analysis is performed to compare the dynamic response of the various configurations of MWCNT-GFRP composite plate with GFRP composite plate under harmonic excitations. It was observed that the fundamental natural frequency and damping ratio of the GFRP composite plate increase approximately 8% and 37% respectively with 0.5wt% reinforcement of MWCNT under CFCF boundary condition. The natural frequencies of MWCNT-GFRP hybrid composite plates tend to decrease with the increase of MWCNT volume fraction beyond 2% due to agglomeration of CNT's. It is also observed that the aspect ratio of the CNT has negligible effect on the improvement of dynamics properties due to randomly orientation of CNT's.