Abstract
We present a streamlined method to covalently bond hydroxylated carbon nanotubes (CNOH) within a polyphenol matrix, all achieved through a direct, solvent-free process. Employing an extremely small concentration of CNOH (0.01% w/w) along with topologically contrasting linkers led to a maximum of 5-fold increase in modulus and a 25% enhancement in tensile strength compared to the unaltered matrix, an order of magnitude greater reinforcement (w/w) compared to state-of-the-art melt-processed nanocomposites. Through dynamic mechanical analysis, low field solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and molecular dynamics simulations, we uncovered the profound influence of linker’s conformational degrees of freedom on the segmental dynamics and therefore the material’s properties.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 280-287 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | ACS Macro Letters |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 19 2024 |
Funding
Research was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division (FWP# ERKCK60), under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with UT-Battelle, LLC. Molecular simulations were performed at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility operated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The research used resources of the Oak Ridge Leadership Computational Facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which is supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725. This work has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC, under Contract DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The U.S. Government retains, and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the U.S. Government retains a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for U.S. Government purposes. DOE will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan ( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Basic Energy Sciences | |
| Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering | |
| Oak Ridge National Laboratory | |
| Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences | |
| U.S. Department of Energy | |
| Office of Science | |
| FWP | DE-AC05-00OR22725, ERKCK60 |