Silver nanowire/thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer nanocomposites: Thermal, mechanical, and dielectric properties

Hao Yang Mi, Zheng Li, Lih Sheng Turng, Yugang Sun, Shaoqin Gong*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal Article peer-review

104 Scopus citations

Abstract

Films of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-stabilized silver nanowire (AgNW)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) elastomer nanocomposites were fabricated and characterized. With increasing loading levels of AgNW, the transparency of the nanocomposite films was reduced, but their crystallization temperatures increased, suggesting that AgNW could serve as crystallization nucleating agents. The addition of AgNW also enhanced both the Young's moduli and storage moduli of the nanocomposite films, but caused a reduction in their strain-at-break (from 536% to 304% with 1.5. vol.% AgNW) and ultimate strength (from 12.7 to 9.8. MPa with 1.5. vol.% AgNW). The specific toughness was the highest for nanocomposites with AgNW loading levels of 0.03. vol.% and 0.05. vol.%. In addition, the dielectric constant of the nanocomposite films with 1.5. vol.% AgNW was 9 times higher than that of pure TPU at 1. kHz, while the dielectric loss of all nanocomposite films studied was less than 0.2. Thus, AgNW/TPU elastomer nanocomposites with varying mechanical, dielectric, and thermal properties can be engineered by adding a small amount of AgNW. These nanocomposites can potentially be used for a wide range of applications including dielectric materials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)398-404
Number of pages7
JournalMaterials and Design
Volume56
DOIs
StatePublished - 04 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Dielectric property
  • Elastomer
  • Nanocomposites
  • Silver nanowire
  • Thermoplastic polyurethane

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