Mass production of carbon nanotube reinforced poly(methyl methacrylate) nonwoven nanofiber mats

Forcespinning® technology was used to study large-scale production of conductive nonwoven nanofiber composite mats. Carboxyl functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNT) were used to reinforce poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Composite nanofibers were developed with average diameters ranging from 370 nm to 800 nm depending on the selected processing parameters. It was found that the most influential processing parameters were viscosity of the solution and angular velocity used in the system. SEM revealed polymer wetted CNT aligned and oriented along the axis of the nanofibers. The mechanical and electrical properties of the composites were improved, compared to those of the pristine PMMA nanofibers. A 10 orders of magnitude drop in electrical resistivity and an electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of more than 20 db were obtained. Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses indicated changes on the asymmetry of the polar bonds due to interactions between the CNTs and the matrix.