Preparation and characterization of polymeric nanocomposites containing exfoliated tungstenite at high concentrations

For the first time, ultrasonication was exploited for obtaining tungstenite nanoparticles directly into a monomer (tetraethyleneglycol diacrylate) to be eventually polymerized without any further manipulation. The resulting liquid dispersions were characterized by Raman, transmission electron and scanning electron microscopies. Eventually, they were directly used for preparing nanocomposites containing a relatively large amount of exfoliated tungstenite. Differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analyses were performed in order to assess the effect of the presence of the exfoliated nanofiller on the thermal features of the polymer matrix: a clear improvement of the thermal and thermo-oxidative stability was observed. At variance, the effect of the exfoliated tungstenite on the glass transition temperature of the polymer matrix was negligible. Furthermore, the mechanical behavior of the obtained nanocomposites was evaluated by means of flexural and shore A hardness tests: the exfoliated nanofiller turned out to exert a strong reinforcing effect on the polymer matrix even at very low concentration.