Functionalization of carbon nanotubes using oxygen plasma to prepare jute nanocomposites

Abstract

Low cost, biodegradable, thin and flexible carbon nanotube (CNT)/jute nanocomposites have been prepared by varying the concentration of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). To attain effective CNT/jute composites uniform CNT dispersion is made by the oxidative treatment using acetic acid on the CNT surface. The allegations of incorporating CNTs in jute and electrical, structural, mechanical and thermal properties of the composites are investigated in this work. The field emission scanning electron microscope micrographs of the CNT/jute composites display the uniform attachment of CNTs on the surfaces of all the jute fibers of jute fiber. The Fourier- transform infrared spectroscopy spectrum of the CNT/jute composites do not show any significant changes in the band position but the band intensities of OH and CH2 groups increase. Thermal studies show that the dominant weight loss of all the samples is observed between 280 and 380 C. Tensile strength of the composites is observed to be slightly increased of the jute ˂ CNT/jute ˂ CNT/T. jute nanocomposites due to the stronger interaction of the order as CNTs. A gradual decrease of resistance of the composites was observed due to the formation of electrically conducting CNT on the surfaces of all the jute fiber and the nanocomposites exhibit remarkably low resistance varying from 2.30 kΩ/m to 0.02 kΩ/m. The conductivity of the nanocomposites increases with the increase of incorporating wt% of MWCNTs and becomes 5.02 S/m. The conductivity of the nanocomposites also increases with the increase in temperature indicating the semiconducting nature of the composites. The activation energy of all the samples decrease in high temperature region (358 K) compared to the room temperature region (298 K). The jute nanocomposites will find applications in different types of electronic devices as well as in engineering fields such as super capacitor, multifunctional sensors, and conductive fiber textiles.