Tribological and mechanical investigation of acrylic-based nanocomposite coatings reinforced with PMMA-grafted-MWCNT

• Synthesis of MWCNT-PMMA nanoparticles by ATRP “grafting from” approach.
• PMMA-grafted-MWCNT/PMMA coatings with good mechanical properties.
• High tribological performance of PMMA-grafted-MWCNT/PMMA coatings.

The chemical functionalization of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) could improve their chemical compatibility. Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are prepared by in situ atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) using a “grafting from” approach. It allows the control of the thickness of the polymer layer grafted on MWCNTs from two parameters: the feed ratio of MMA to MWCNT, the volume fraction of solvent to MMA. This work compared the effect of several PMMA-grafted-MWNCT fillers embedded into a PMMA matrix, PMMA-grafted-MWCNT/PMMA, and obtained by solution mixing technique. We studied the tribological performances of 20 μm coatings of these nanocomposites deposited on neat PMMA. The percentage of embedded fillers is kept low to maintain the transparency of the PMMA. The coefficient of friction was found to relatively decrease with the increase of the weight fraction of polymer grafted to the surface of MWCNT. Moreover the elastic modulus also increased with increasing the weight fraction of PMMA coated MWCNT.

Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide