Fabrication and Properties of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate-Carbon Nanofiber Nanocomposites

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Carbon nanofiber (CNF) is one of the stiffest materials produced commercially, having excellent mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. The reinforcement of rubbery matrices by CNFs was studied in the case of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). The tensile stre...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: George JinuJacob, Bhowmick Anil
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2008-01-01
Series:Nanoscale Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11671-008-9188-3
Description
Summary:<p>Abstract</p> <p>Carbon nanofiber (CNF) is one of the stiffest materials produced commercially, having excellent mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. The reinforcement of rubbery matrices by CNFs was studied in the case of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA). The tensile strength was greatly (61%) increased, even for very low fiber content (i.e., 1.0 wt.%). The surface modification of the fiber by high energy electron beam and gamma irradiation led to better dispersion in the rubber matrix. This in turn gave rise to further improvements in mechanical and dynamic mechanical properties of EVA. The thermal conductivity also exhibited improvements from that of the neat elastomer, although thermal stability of the nanocomposites was not significantly altered by the functionalization of CNFs. Various results were well supported by the morphological analysis of the nanocomposites.</p>
ISSN:1931-7573
1556-276X