Dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified by rosemary acid into poly(vinyl alcohol) and preparation of their composite fibers

Abstract

PVA was reinforced with MWCNTs using rosemary acid as a dispersant for the first time to achieve good dispersity of the MWCNTs in the PVA matrix and finally high-performance composite fibers. The MWCNT/rosemary acid (m-MWCNT) system was uniformly dispersed in water/DMSO mixed solvent, and then m-MWCNTs were dispersed in PVA solutions in the same solvent to form a spinning dope, from which PVA/m-MWCNT composite fibers were prepared by gel-spinning followed by a hot-drawing process. The results showed that the obtained fibers possessed high tensile strength up to 600 MPa and Young's moduli to about 35 GPa, much higher than those of pure PVA fibers. Raman spectra, ¹H NMR and TEM were used to probe the structural characteristics and the dispersion properties of m-MWCNT.