Natural and synthetics nanomaterials: Comparative study on their mechanical and thermal properties as nanofiller in polymer composite

Abstract

In this research, natural nanomaterials including cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) and nanofiber cellulose (NFC) and synthetic nanomaterials such as carbon nanofiber (CNF) and carbon nanotube (CNT) with different structures, sizes and surface areas were produced and analyzed. CNC and NFC were fabricated by use of acid hydrolysing and mechanical methods, respectively and synthetics nanomaterials were produced by chemical vapor deposition method (CVD). Here, in order to evaluate the effect of these nanomaterials on the mechanical and thermal properties of the polymer, use them as nanofiller in the polymer matrix. The most important challenge in this study is to evaluate and compare these nanofibers based on the effects of their structures and compositions on the mechanical and thermal properties. The characteristics of these nanofibers such as morphology, structure, and composition and also the properties of these nanomaterials including thermal stability and mechanical strength were investigated, comprehensively. Based on the results, CNT with high thermals stability and strong structure has the best filler for using in polymer composite.