Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) filler effects on some physical properties of PCL/PMMA blend films

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S. Elashmawi, E. M. Abdelrazek, A. M. Hezma, Asmaa M. Elzayat This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2250029/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract A PCL/PMMA blend system with low contents of multi-walled carbon nanotubes was prepared using a high prop sonicator with casting techniques. The X-ray analysis revealed that adding MWCNTs to the polymer blend did not affect crystallinity but had little effect on d space. Some changes in the positions of IR bands were observed due to the interaction between MWCNTs and the polymer blend. SEM images revealed that the grain size formed and became a definite shape after adding MWCNTs. Mechanical analysis shows that incorporating MWCNTs in the polymeric matrices improves the mechanical properties of both tensile stress and elastic modulus Differential scanning calorimetry indicates that adding MWCNTs enhances the thermal stability of the prepared nanocomposites. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed a significant weight loss from 357–440 °C for all the prepared samples. MWCNTs PCL/PMMA blend X-ray TGA Mechanical analysis Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 6 1. Introduction Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been excessively applied in numerous applications and can be utilized as ideal reinforcing fillers for high-strength polymer composites ( 1 – 3 ). CNTs possess a high Young’s modulus of 11.8 TPa, thermal conductivity over 200 Wm − 1 K − 1 , high aspect ratio, excellent mechanical and physical properties, toughness, low mass density, and high flexibility that make them highly attractive for multifunctional polymer composite applications, spite of these excellent properties, CNTs are not easily dispersed. They can easily be agglomerated, which influences the mechanical properties and biological behavior of polymeric composites. Many studies have investigated techniques by introducing chemical functionalization groups to CNT surfaces to improve CNT dispersion in polymer matrices. Two factors for MWCNTs as reinforcing fillers for polymers: homogenous dispersion in the polymer matrix and efficient adhesion between the sidewall of MWCNTs and the polymer matrix. The functional groups on the surface of MWCNTs can improve the compatibility between the MWCNTs and the surrounding matrix, thus depressing the agglomeration of the MWCNTs. Also, it can be used as precursors for the subsequent reaction with a wide variety of polymer matrices ( 4 – 6 ). Polymers filled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) result in light weight nanocomposite materials with high mechanical and physical properties. The properties of Polymer/CNTs nanocomposites are assigned to the characteristic of CNTs, such as shape, orientation, and distribution in the polymer matrix ( 6 – 9 ). PCL is considered a semi-crystalline aliphatic polymer with suitable properties such as good biocompatibility, good biodegradability, low melting point, good mechanical strength, and remarkable toughness ( 10 , 11 ). PMMA has been widely used as a biomaterial in medical applications and some optical systems (manufacture of contact lenses as it transmits light up to 93%) ( 12 , 13 ). It is important to give these materials novel functional properties to expand the medical application fields. The addition of MWCNTs can impart such properties to PCL, PMMA, and other biodegradable polymers. Therefore, in this work, we investigated the structure, crystallization behaviors, and mechanical properties of MWCNTs/PCLPMMA composites with XRD, UV, FTIR, SEM, and tensile tests in order to understand the effects of hard filler (MWCNTs) on the structure formation and crystallization behaviors of the blend. 2. Experimental 2.1. Materials The chemicals used were Poly (ε-caprolactone) pellets (PCL; M w ~ 80,000, Aldrich, (Lot No. MKBP7389V), polymethylmethaacrylate (PMMA; M w ~120000 from Aldrich (Lot No. MKBB7676), MWCNTs prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) process were supplied by Bayer Material Science AG, Germany. The CNTs have a purity > 95%, and the diameter of tubes averages 13–16 nm with an outer mean diameter about 13 nm, inner mean diameter about 4 nm, and length of > 1µm according to the supplier, chloroform solution HPLC grade from Fisher Chemical (Lot No. 1229720), Sulfuric acid and nitric acid used as analytic reagents. 2.2. Preparation of nanocomposites Polycaprolactone/polymethylmethaacrylate (PCL/MMA) blend prepared via casting technique, mixtures of the PCL/PMMA blends with ratio (80/20) were dissolved in a glass beaker (100 ml) by chloroform using magnetic stirrer then the best concentration is used for improving some of its physical properties by adding MWCNTs filler to obtain anew nanocomposites have some desirable physical properties. PCL/PMMA with ratio (80/20) wt% polymer blend was chosen as the optimum concentration to mix in chloroform with various concentrations of f-MWCNTs 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.05 wt%, then the mixture placed in high prop sonicator for 30 minutes until complete dispersion of MWCNTs with blend matrixes occurs, then the mixtures placed in glass dishes 8cm diameter (The glass dishes were cleaned with chloroform and dried in an oven at 40 °C). After evaporation of the solvent, nanocomposite films were kept to dry at room temperature for one day. The nanocomposite films were removed from the glass dishes and cut for characterization and structural analysis. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) scans were obtained using PANalytical X`Pert PRO XRD system using Cu K α radiation (where, the tube operated at 30 kV, Bragg’s angle 2theta in the range of 5–60°, λ = 1.54 Å. FT-IR absorption spectra were achieved utilizing the single-beam Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer (FTIR-Nicolet is 10). FT-IR spectra of the samples were obtained in the spectral range of 4000 − 500 cm − 1 . A Perkin–Elmer (US, Norwalk, CT) TGA-7 was used for the thermogravimetric analysis of the samples. A small amount of (mg) of nanocomposite films was taken for the data analysis. The samples were heated from room temperature to 500 °C at a rate of 10 °C/min in a nitrogen atmosphere. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of the prepared samples was carried out using (SETARAM Labsys™ TG-DSC 16, France) with a measuring temperature range from room temperature to 450 o C and the heating rate was 10 °C/min. The morphology of the films was characterized by (SEM) scanning electron microscope using SEM Model Quanta 250 FEG (Field Emission Gun) attached to with EDX Unit (Energy Dispersive X-ray Analyses), with accelerating voltage 30 K.V, magnification 14x up to 1000000 and resolution for Gun.1n). For (MA) mechanical testing, a computer-controlled Lloyd LRX5K mechanical testing machine (Lloyd Instruments Ltd, UK) was used. The samples were subjected to tensile tests at a speed of 2 mm/min. For each run, 3 samples were tested and the average values were reported. 3. Results And Discussion 3.1. X-ray diffraction analysis Figure 1 shows the XRD scans of pure PCL/PMMA (80/20) blend and PCL/PMMA with different concentrations of MWCNTs. Two strong diffraction peaks (peak1, peak2) could be observed at 2θ = 21.6° and 23.6° respectively, which were attributed to the diffraction of the (110) and the (200) lattice plane of the semi-crystalline PCL, respectively ( 12 , 14 ). Whereas, abroad amorphous hump observed around 2θ = 15.6° attributed to PMMA ( 15 , 16 ). From the graph, we can observe that the XRD patterns of the PCL/PMMA-MWCNTs nanocomposites still kept the characteristic peaks of pure PCL and pure PMMA, which means that the incorporation MWCNTs did not significantly disrupt crystallization or alter the crystal structure of PCL. Figure 2 illustrates the effect of MWCNTs on the d space of two diffraction peaks extracted from XRD spectra. As the concentrations of MWCNTs increase, the peaks slightly shifted to lower (d) space up to 0.03 wt% ( 17 ). It means that the lamella size in the crystalline phase of PCL/PMMA decreases with increasing concentration of MWCNTs. 3.2. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) The FT-IR spectral analyses of the MWCNT–COOH and PCL/PMMA/ MWCNTs nanocomposites were performed to verify possible structural differences in composite samples. The evidence of chemical functionalization by oxidation on the surface of MWCNTs was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Figure 3 a represents the FT-IR spectra for MWCNT-COOH that exhibit three distinctive peaks, C = O, O–H, and C–O, that is a result of oxidation forming the COOH groups on the surface of MWCNTs ( 18 , 19 ). The absorption band at 1730 cm − 1 corresponds to the C = O stretching of COOH, while the absorption bands at 1410 cm − 1 and 1090 cm − 1 are associated with O–H bending and C–O stretching, respectively. The absorption band at 1540 cm − 1 is more likely from the C = C stretching mode of carbon nanotubes ( 20 ), while the sharp peak at 3440 cm − 1 refers to O-H stretching of the hydroxyl group, the peaks at 2920, 2850 cm − 1 associated with C-H stretching mode. Figure 3 b shows the FT-IR absorption spectra of PCL/PMMA-MWCNTs nanocomposite films with different concentrations of MWCNTs Wt.%. For pure PMMA, the characteristic IR bands are observed at 2956, 1726, 1446, 1157, 1071, and 846 cm − 1 . The FT-IR absorption bands are displayed at 2946, 2868, 1726, 1471, and 1388 cm − 1 . For the PCL/PMMA pure blend and the blend doped with MWCNTs, some bands disappear, and others have their intensity changed, due to the interaction and compatibility between PCL and PMMA with MWCNTs. 3.3. Morphology of nanocomposites Morphological observation of the resultant nanocomposites was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an accelerating voltage of 30 kV. Nanocomposite films were placed on a stub using a carbon sticker and examined under the microscope after coating them with a gold layer. Figure 4 a shows the SEM images of pure MWCNTs. It was found that large quantities of well-defined MWCNT are obtained, and they are interconnected together to form netlike nanostructures. Figure 4 b shows the SEM of the PCL/PMMA blend that showed a smooth appearance of the blend surface. Figure 4 (c-g) shows the SEM of PCL/PMMA-MWCNTs nanocomposites. The SEM images indicated that after adding MWCNTs filler with different concentrations of wt% in the blend, the surface of composites became rougher, and the grain size was formed and varied in its defined shape according to MWCNTs filler concentration. The grain size at high concentrations of MWCNTs filler takes a definite shape and the MWCNTs filler clusters at the boundaries of the grain size. That means that the morphology of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites with different concentrations wt.% of MWCNTs is critically affected by the addition of MWNTs. 3.4. Mechanical behavior of the composite The mechanical properties of the PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites with different concentrations of MWCNTs were tested by a universal testing machine to evaluate the effect of MWCNTs treatment on the mechanical properties of composites. Figure 5 shows the stress-strain curve of 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 and 0.05 MWCNTs wt.% of composite. The results show that incorporating COOH-MWCNTs leads to the best overall reinforcing effect in tensile stress, elastic modulus, and strain to failure of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs. The elastic modulus of nanocomposites increased with increasing MWCNTs filler concentration. It is due to the orientation of MWCNTs in the tensile test sample under the tensile strain. The orientation and pulling of reinforcing fillers are continued until the breaking of the sample. It confirmed that the adhesion between the MWCNTs and matrix had been significantly enhanced via the grafting of polymer from the surface of MWCNT. Particle shape and particle size can also contribute to the observed mechanical response of the composites ( 21 – 24 ). Their tensile strength, Elastic modulus, and Strain to failure % are given in Table 1. 3.5. Thermal analysis 3.5.i. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) The thermal behavior of PCL/PMMA the films filled with different concentrations of MWCNTs was studied with DSC thermograms from 25– 500 °C. Figure 6 . The thermograms indicate that the pure PCL/PMMA blend displayed two transitions. The first transition, at 62.4 °C, was assigned to the glass-transition temperature (T g ), and the second transition, at 194 °C, was assigned to the melting temperature (T m ). The thermograms of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites appear a new endothermic peak corresponding to the decomposition temperatures at about 405 °C. The values of the transition temperatures (T g , T m and T D ) for PCL/PMMA films filled with different concentrations of MWCNTs, as obtained from the DSC thermograms, are reported in Table 2 . Table 2 shows that the position of T g for the PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposite films is shifted toward higher temperatures than the pure PCL/PMMA blend film. This is attributed to the decreasing thermal expansion, which indicates that the MWCNTs improve the thermal properties of the present system. The position of T m and T d for the PCL/PMMA films filled with different concentrations of MWCNTs samples was slightly shifted towards higher temperatures. This enhanced the thermal stability of the nanocomposite system ( 25 ). The addition of MWCNTs to the PCL/PMMA blend enhances their thermal stability. 3.5.ii. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) The TGA was used to study the thermal stability of the samples under investigation in the temperature range from 26 °C to 500 °C. Figure 6 shows TGA thermograms for PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites with a heating rate of 10 °C/min. The composites are stable up to 60 °C, above which the remaining traces of solvent and water evaporated up to 263 o C; the weight loss in the range of 263–357 °C is due to the evaporation of mono carbon oxide. Also, we noticed that the major weight losses in the range of 357 °C-440 °C are attributed to the thermal decompositions of the main polymer chain ( 26 , 27 ). The thermal decomposition of all samples shifts slightly toward the higher temperature range than that of pure PCL/PMMA blend, which confirms the enhancement of the thermal stability of the composites. 4. Conclusions The X–ray analysis revealed that the addition of MWCNTs did not affect or disturb the crystallinity, but it had little effect on the d. Some changes in the IR bands positions and intensities confirmed the complexation between the MWCNTs and the blend. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of different concentrations of films revealed that by increasing MWCNTs filler concentration, the grain size is formed and begins to appear with a definite shape. Carbon nanotubes were dispersed and aligned along the boundaries of these grain sizes. This means that the morphology of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs is critically affected by the addition of MWCNTs filler. Mechanical analysis shows that the incorporation of MWCNTs improves the mechanical properties as both the tensile stress and elastic modulus of nanocomposites increase with increasing filler concentration, which means that the addition of MWCNTs can improve the mechanical properties of the composites. TGA suggested that the thermal stability increases with increasing PCL concentration indicating the incorporation of PCL into the host. Mass loss of PCL remains constant until complete decomposition occurs at about 430 o C, whereas PMMA complete decomposition occurs at about 400 °C. Declarations Author agreement statement I undersigned declare that this manuscript is original, has not been published before, and is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere. Conflict of interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper Funding No funding was obtained for this study. Author contributions: I. S. Elashmawi: supervised the findings of this work, writing – the original draft, reviewing and Editing. E. M. Abdelrazek: conceived of the presented idea, carried out the experiment with Asmaa M. Elzayat , analysis, review, A. M. Hezma : investigation, derived the models and analyzed the data of AC conductivity, writing – an original draft, review. Asmaa M. Elzayat : contributed to sample preparation, formal Analysis, investigation, and writing-original draft. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript. References Khanna S, Islam N. Carbon Nanotubes-Properties and Applications. 2018(e)ko ;7(1). Paradise M, Goswami T. Materials & Design Carbon nanotubes – Production and industrial applications. 2007(e)ko ;28:1477–89. Elashmawi IS, Gaabour LH. 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Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2011.02.037 Tables Table.1 . Elastic modulus, Tensile strength, and Strain to failure determined from stress-strain curve relations. Concentration of MWCNTs % Elastic Modulus (Mpa) Tensile Strength (Mpa) Strain to failure (%) 0.00 127 3.08 49.9 0.005 156 6.5 50.03 0.01 286 8.3 24.7 0.02 289 8.91 33.08 0.03 291 9.36 31.44 0.04 306 10.2 34.49 0.05 330 11.5 47.35 Table 2: The values of T g , T m and T d of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites. T d T m T g W ( wt%) - 404.2 405.2 408.4 408.4 194 201.5 200.5 200.5 201.5 62.4 - 77.6 77.6 66.8 0.000 0.005 0.02 0.04 0.05 Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-2250029","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":157340196,"identity":"c12b0fbe-945e-4434-859b-7d273d7bad6d","order_by":0,"name":"I. S. 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Elzayat","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Mansoura University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Asmaa","middleName":"M.","lastName":"Elzayat","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2022-11-08 08:29:28","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2250029/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2250029/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":29968454,"identity":"ab8b3342-7f22-4970-b0a4-b207be413e9f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-12-06 15:13:20","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":22733,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eX-ray diffraction of PCL/PMMA blend with different content of MWCNTs: (a) pure PCL/PMMA (80/20); (b) 0.005; (c) 0.01; (d) 0.02; (e) 0.03; (f) 0.04 and (g) 0.05 wt%.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2250029/v1/bdc94606785b22fc3313d9ef.png"},{"id":29968455,"identity":"ebe3e89c-5bbc-4a61-af95-8cb0883b38ef","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-12-06 15:13:20","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":27886,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eThe d space of peak1and peak 2 in XRD of PCL/PMMA with various content of MWCNTs.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2250029/v1/1038673d7eb1ede65e796991.png"},{"id":29968458,"identity":"2d53337c-7e3e-49a1-84fa-7175a9fbc83a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-12-06 15:13:20","extension":"png","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":40719,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3a\u003c/strong\u003e. FT-IR absorption spectra of pure MWCNTs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3b\u003c/strong\u003e. FTIR absorption spectra of PCL/PMMA/ MWCNTs ocomposite films with different concentrations of MWCNTs Wt.%.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"3.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2250029/v1/20f6443e9f3b9a210a665194.png"},{"id":29969857,"identity":"f30084bc-766c-4d56-88ce-c0ed83b18001","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-12-06 15:21:20","extension":"png","order_by":4,"title":"Figure 4","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":1614812,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eSEM of: a) pure MWCNTs, b) pure PCL/PMMA blend, c) 0.005 MWCNTs, d) 0.01 MWCNTs, e) 0.02 MWCNTs, f) 0.03 MWCNTs, g) 0.04 MWCNTs and h) 0.05 MWCNTs.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"4.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2250029/v1/70898a5d071cc824b61afa7c.png"},{"id":29968456,"identity":"e1aece17-fef8-4ba9-8862-718032be60a0","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-12-06 15:13:20","extension":"png","order_by":5,"title":"Figure 5","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":53499,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eTensile stress-strain curve of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs composites.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDSC thermograms of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposite films.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"5.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2250029/v1/dacc19765bfd06e913adcafd.png"},{"id":29969858,"identity":"ebd6da97-d8f2-4e6d-b9ba-c62807cd7d14","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-12-06 15:21:20","extension":"png","order_by":6,"title":"Figure 6","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":19191,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eTGA thermograms of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposite films.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"6.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2250029/v1/57c739d4f1ec4b156a6c98ff.png"},{"id":30683779,"identity":"6b32fa14-54c9-471b-b96a-84325e3884e1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2022-12-22 18:59:30","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1204164,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-2250029/v1/35981324-7dc9-4883-954e-f55e5d042283.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) filler effects on some physical properties of PCL/PMMA blend films","fulltext":[{"header":"1. Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eCarbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been excessively applied in numerous applications and can be utilized as ideal reinforcing fillers for high-strength polymer composites (\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR2\" citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e). CNTs possess a high Young\u0026rsquo;s modulus of 11.8 TPa, thermal conductivity over 200 Wm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003eK\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e, high aspect ratio, excellent mechanical and physical properties, toughness, low mass density, and high flexibility that make them highly attractive for multifunctional polymer composite applications, spite of these excellent properties, CNTs are not easily dispersed. They can easily be agglomerated, which influences the mechanical properties and biological behavior of polymeric composites. Many studies have investigated techniques by introducing chemical functionalization groups to CNT surfaces to improve CNT dispersion in polymer matrices. Two factors for MWCNTs as reinforcing fillers for polymers: homogenous dispersion in the polymer matrix and efficient adhesion between the sidewall of MWCNTs and the polymer matrix. The functional groups on the surface of MWCNTs can improve the compatibility between the MWCNTs and the surrounding matrix, thus depressing the agglomeration of the MWCNTs. Also, it can be used as precursors for the subsequent reaction with a wide variety of polymer matrices (\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR5\" citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e). Polymers filled with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) result in light weight nanocomposite materials with high mechanical and physical properties. The properties of Polymer/CNTs nanocomposites are assigned to the characteristic of CNTs, such as shape, orientation, and distribution in the polymer matrix (\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR7 CR8\" citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e). PCL is considered a semi-crystalline aliphatic polymer with suitable properties such as good biocompatibility, good biodegradability, low melting point, good mechanical strength, and remarkable toughness (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e). PMMA has been widely used as a biomaterial in medical applications and some optical systems (manufacture of contact lenses as it transmits light up to 93%) (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e). It is important to give these materials novel functional properties to expand the medical application fields. The addition of MWCNTs can impart such properties to PCL, PMMA, and other biodegradable polymers. Therefore, in this work, we investigated the structure, crystallization behaviors, and mechanical properties of MWCNTs/PCLPMMA composites with XRD, UV, FTIR, SEM, and tensile tests in order to understand the effects of hard filler (MWCNTs) on the structure formation and crystallization behaviors of the blend.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"2. Experimental","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1. Materials\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe chemicals used were Poly (ε-caprolactone) pellets (PCL; M\u003csub\u003ew\u003c/sub\u003e~ 80,000, Aldrich, (Lot No. MKBP7389V), polymethylmethaacrylate (PMMA; M\u003csub\u003ew\u003c/sub\u003e~120000 from Aldrich (Lot No. MKBB7676), MWCNTs prepared by catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) process were supplied by Bayer Material Science AG, Germany. The CNTs have a purity\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;95%, and the diameter of tubes averages 13\u0026ndash;16 nm with an outer mean diameter about 13 nm, inner mean diameter about 4 nm, and length of \u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;1\u0026micro;m according to the supplier, chloroform solution HPLC grade from Fisher Chemical (Lot No. 1229720), Sulfuric acid and nitric acid used as analytic reagents.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.2. Preparation of nanocomposites\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolycaprolactone/polymethylmethaacrylate (PCL/MMA) blend prepared via casting technique, mixtures of the PCL/PMMA blends with ratio (80/20) were dissolved in a glass beaker (100 ml) by chloroform using magnetic stirrer then the best concentration is used for improving some of its physical properties by adding MWCNTs filler to obtain anew nanocomposites have some desirable physical properties.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePCL/PMMA with ratio (80/20) wt% polymer blend was chosen as the optimum concentration to mix in chloroform with various concentrations of f-MWCNTs 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04, and 0.05 wt%, then the mixture placed in high prop sonicator for 30 minutes until complete dispersion of MWCNTs with blend matrixes occurs, then the mixtures placed in glass dishes 8cm diameter (The glass dishes were cleaned with chloroform and dried in an oven at 40 \u0026deg;C). After evaporation of the solvent, nanocomposite films were kept to dry at room temperature for one day. The nanocomposite films were removed from the glass dishes and cut for characterization and structural analysis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe X-ray diffraction (XRD) scans were obtained using PANalytical X`Pert PRO XRD system using Cu K\u003csub\u003eα\u003c/sub\u003e radiation (where, the tube operated at 30 kV, Bragg\u0026rsquo;s angle 2theta in the range of 5\u0026ndash;60\u0026deg;, λ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.54 \u0026Aring;. FT-IR absorption spectra were achieved utilizing the single-beam Fourier transform-infrared spectrometer (FTIR-Nicolet \u003cem\u003eis\u003c/em\u003e10). FT-IR spectra of the samples were obtained in the spectral range of 4000\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;500 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. A Perkin\u0026ndash;Elmer (US, Norwalk, CT) TGA-7 was used for the thermogravimetric analysis of the samples. A small amount of (mg) of nanocomposite films was taken for the data analysis. The samples were heated from room temperature to 500 \u0026deg;C at a rate of 10 \u0026deg;C/min in a nitrogen atmosphere. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) of the prepared samples was carried out using (SETARAM Labsys\u0026trade; TG-DSC 16, France) with a measuring temperature range from room temperature to 450 \u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC and the heating rate was 10 \u0026deg;C/min. The morphology of the films was characterized by (SEM) scanning electron microscope using SEM Model Quanta 250 FEG (Field Emission Gun) attached to with EDX Unit (Energy Dispersive X-ray Analyses), with accelerating voltage 30 K.V, magnification 14x up to 1000000 and resolution for Gun.1n). For (MA) mechanical testing, a computer-controlled Lloyd LRX5K mechanical testing machine (Lloyd Instruments Ltd, UK) was used. The samples were subjected to tensile tests at a speed of 2 mm/min. For each run, 3 samples were tested and the average values were reported.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3. Results And Discussion","content":"\u003cdiv class=\"Section2\" id=\"Sec6\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.1. X-ray diffraction analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFigure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e shows the XRD scans of pure PCL/PMMA (80/20) blend and PCL/PMMA with different concentrations of MWCNTs. Two strong diffraction peaks (peak1, peak2) could be observed at 2\u0026theta;\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;21.6\u0026deg; and 23.6\u0026deg; respectively, which were attributed to the diffraction of the (110) and the (200) lattice plane of the semi-crystalline PCL, respectively (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e). Whereas, abroad amorphous hump observed around 2\u0026theta;\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;15.6\u0026deg; attributed to PMMA (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e). From the graph, we can observe that the XRD patterns of the PCL/PMMA-MWCNTs nanocomposites still kept the characteristic peaks of pure PCL and pure PMMA, which means that the incorporation MWCNTs did not significantly disrupt crystallization or alter the crystal structure of PCL. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e illustrates the effect of MWCNTs on the d space of two diffraction peaks extracted from XRD spectra. As the concentrations of MWCNTs increase, the peaks slightly shifted to lower (d) space up to 0.03 wt% (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e). It means that the lamella size in the crystalline phase of PCL/PMMA decreases with increasing concentration of MWCNTs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Section2\" id=\"Sec7\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.2. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR)\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe FT-IR spectral analyses of the MWCNT\u0026ndash;COOH and PCL/PMMA/ MWCNTs nanocomposites were performed to verify possible structural differences in composite samples. The evidence of chemical functionalization by oxidation on the surface of MWCNTs was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003ea represents the FT-IR spectra for MWCNT-COOH that exhibit three distinctive peaks, C\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;O, O\u0026ndash;H, and C\u0026ndash;O, that is a result of oxidation forming the COOH groups on the surface of MWCNTs (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e). The absorption band at 1730 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e corresponds to the C\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;O stretching of COOH, while the absorption bands at 1410 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e and 1090 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e are associated with O\u0026ndash;H bending and C\u0026ndash;O stretching, respectively. The absorption band at 1540 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e is more likely from the C\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;C stretching mode of carbon nanotubes (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e), while the sharp peak at 3440 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e refers to O-H stretching of the hydroxyl group, the peaks at 2920, 2850 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e associated with C-H stretching mode. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003eb shows the FT-IR absorption spectra of PCL/PMMA-MWCNTs nanocomposite films with different concentrations of MWCNTs Wt.%. For pure PMMA, the characteristic IR bands are observed at 2956, 1726, 1446, 1157, 1071, and 846 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. The FT-IR absorption bands are displayed at 2946, 2868, 1726, 1471, and 1388 cm\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e. For the PCL/PMMA pure blend and the blend doped with MWCNTs, some bands disappear, and others have their intensity changed, due to the interaction and compatibility between PCL and PMMA with MWCNTs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Section2\" id=\"Sec8\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.3. Morphology of nanocomposites\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eMorphological observation of the resultant nanocomposites was investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an accelerating voltage of 30 kV. Nanocomposite films were placed on a stub using a carbon sticker and examined under the microscope after coating them with a gold layer. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003ea shows the SEM images of pure MWCNTs. It was found that large quantities of well-defined MWCNT are obtained, and they are interconnected together to form netlike nanostructures. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003eb shows the SEM of the PCL/PMMA blend that showed a smooth appearance of the blend surface. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e(c-g) shows the SEM of PCL/PMMA-MWCNTs nanocomposites. The SEM images indicated that after adding MWCNTs filler with different concentrations of wt% in the blend, the surface of composites became rougher, and the grain size was formed and varied in its defined shape according to MWCNTs filler concentration. The grain size at high concentrations of MWCNTs filler takes a definite shape and the MWCNTs filler clusters at the boundaries of the grain size. That means that the morphology of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites with different concentrations wt.% of MWCNTs is critically affected by the addition of MWNTs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Section2\" id=\"Sec9\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.4. Mechanical behavior of the composite\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe mechanical properties of the PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites with different concentrations of MWCNTs were tested by a universal testing machine to evaluate the effect of MWCNTs treatment on the mechanical properties of composites. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e shows the stress-strain curve of 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 and 0.05 MWCNTs wt.% of composite. The results show that incorporating COOH-MWCNTs leads to the best overall reinforcing effect in tensile stress, elastic modulus, and strain to failure of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs. The elastic modulus of nanocomposites increased with increasing MWCNTs filler concentration. It is due to the orientation of MWCNTs in the tensile test sample under the tensile strain. The orientation and pulling of reinforcing fillers are continued until the breaking of the sample. It confirmed that the adhesion between the MWCNTs and matrix had been significantly enhanced via the grafting of polymer from the surface of MWCNT. Particle shape and particle size can also contribute to the observed mechanical response of the composites (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e). Their tensile strength, Elastic modulus, and Strain to failure % are given in Table\u0026nbsp;1.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"Section2\" id=\"Sec10\"\u003e\n \u003ch2\u003e3.5. Thermal analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.5.i. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe thermal behavior of PCL/PMMA the films filled with different concentrations of MWCNTs was studied with DSC thermograms from 25\u0026ndash; 500 \u0026deg;C. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e. The thermograms indicate that the pure PCL/PMMA blend displayed two transitions. The first transition, at 62.4 \u0026deg;C, was assigned to the glass-transition temperature (T\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e), and the second transition, at 194 \u0026deg;C, was assigned to the melting temperature (T\u003csub\u003em\u003c/sub\u003e). The thermograms of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites appear a new endothermic peak corresponding to the decomposition temperatures at about 405 \u0026deg;C. The values of the transition temperatures (T\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e, T\u003csub\u003em\u003c/sub\u003e and T\u003csub\u003eD\u003c/sub\u003e) for PCL/PMMA films filled with different concentrations of MWCNTs, as obtained from the DSC thermograms, are reported in Table \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003ctable border=\"1\" id=\"Tab1\"\u003e\n \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\n \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n \u003c/caption\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eTable \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e shows that the position of T\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e for the PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposite films is shifted toward higher temperatures than the pure PCL/PMMA blend film. This is attributed to the decreasing thermal expansion, which indicates that the MWCNTs improve the thermal properties of the present system. The position of T\u003csub\u003em\u003c/sub\u003e and T\u003csub\u003ed\u003c/sub\u003e for the PCL/PMMA films filled with different concentrations of MWCNTs samples was slightly shifted towards higher temperatures. This enhanced the thermal stability of the nanocomposite system (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e). The addition of MWCNTs to the PCL/PMMA blend enhances their thermal stability.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e3.5.ii. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eThe TGA was used to study the thermal stability of the samples under investigation in the temperature range from 26 \u0026deg;C to 500 \u0026deg;C. Figure \u003cspan class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e shows TGA thermograms for PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites with a heating rate of 10 \u0026deg;C/min. The composites are stable up to 60 \u0026deg;C, above which the remaining traces of solvent and water evaporated up to 263\u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC; the weight loss in the range of 263\u0026ndash;357 \u0026deg;C is due to the evaporation of mono carbon oxide. Also, we noticed that the major weight losses in the range of 357 \u0026deg;C-440 \u0026deg;C are attributed to the thermal decompositions of the main polymer chain (\u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e). The thermal decomposition of all samples shifts slightly toward the higher temperature range than that of pure PCL/PMMA blend, which confirms the enhancement of the thermal stability of the composites.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4. Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe X\u0026ndash;ray analysis revealed that the addition of MWCNTs did not affect or disturb the crystallinity, but it had little effect on the d. Some changes in the IR bands positions and intensities confirmed the complexation between the MWCNTs and the blend. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images of different concentrations of films revealed that by increasing MWCNTs filler concentration, the grain size is formed and begins to appear with a definite shape. Carbon nanotubes were dispersed and aligned along the boundaries of these grain sizes. This means that the morphology of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs is critically affected by the addition of MWCNTs filler. Mechanical analysis shows that the incorporation of MWCNTs improves the mechanical properties as both the tensile stress and elastic modulus of nanocomposites increase with increasing filler concentration, which means that the addition of MWCNTs can improve the mechanical properties of the composites. TGA suggested that the thermal stability increases with increasing PCL concentration indicating the incorporation of PCL into the host. Mass loss of PCL remains constant until complete decomposition occurs at about 430 \u003csup\u003eo\u003c/sup\u003eC, whereas PMMA complete decomposition occurs at about 400 \u0026deg;C.\u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor agreement statement\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI undersigned declare that this manuscript is original, has not been published before, and is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of interest:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNo funding was obtained for this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor contributions:\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI. S. Elashmawi:\u003c/strong\u003e supervised the findings of this work, writing \u0026ndash; the original draft, reviewing and Editing.\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;E. M. Abdelrazek:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003econceived of the presented idea, carried out the experiment with\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003eAsmaa M. Elzayat\u003c/strong\u003e,\u0026nbsp;analysis, review,\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003eA. M. Hezma\u003c/strong\u003e:\u0026nbsp;investigation, derived the models and analyzed the data of AC conductivity, writing \u0026ndash; an original draft, review.\u0026nbsp;\u003cstrong\u003eAsmaa M. Elzayat\u003c/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e:\u003c/strong\u003e contributed to sample preparation, formal Analysis, investigation, and writing-original draft. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKhanna S, Islam N. 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Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wear.2011.03.015\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpitalsky Z, Tasis D, Papagelis K, Galiotis C. Progress in Polymer Science Carbon nanotube \u0026ndash; polymer composites : Chemistry , processing , mechanical and electrical properties. Prog Polym Sci [Internet]. 2010(e)ko ;35(3):357\u0026ndash;401. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.progpolymsci.2009.09.003\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLarijani MM, Khamse EJ, Asadollahi Z, Asadi M. Effect of aligned carbon nanotubes on electrical conductivity behaviour.pdf. 2012(e)ko ;35(3):305\u0026ndash;11. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNanosheets P, Shirdar MR, Taheri MM, Qi M, Gohari S, Farajpour N. Optimization of the Mechanical Properties and the Cytocompatibility for the PMMA Nanocomposites Reinforced with the Hydroxyapatite Nanofibers and the Magnesium. 2021(e)ko ; \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSmith BW, Benes Z, Luzzi DE, Fischer JE, Walters DA, Casavant MJ, et al. Structural anisotropy of magnetically aligned single wall carbon nanotube films Structural anisotropy of magnetically aligned single wall carbon nanotube films. 2010(e)ko ;663(2000):18\u0026ndash;21. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePaiva MOA de, Louren\u0026ccedil;o AA. Comportamentos disruptivos versus rendimento acad\u0026eacute;mico: Uma abordagem com modelos de equa\u0026ccedil;\u0026otilde;es estruturais TT - Disruptive behaviors versus academic achievement: An aproache with structural equations modelsfile:///C:/Users/Asus/Downloads/dash2012.pdf. Psicol Educ Cult [Internet]. 2009(e)ko ;13(2):283\u0026ndash;306. Available at: http://login.proxy.library.vanderbilt.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/854375748?accountid=14816%5Cnhttp://sfx.library.vanderbilt.edu/vu?url_ver=Z39.88-2004\u0026amp;rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:journal\u0026amp;genre=article\u0026amp;sid=ProQ:ProQ%3Apsycinfo\u0026amp;at\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChen DR, Bei JZ, Wang SG. Polycaprolactone microparticles and their biodegradation. Polym Degrad Stab. 2000(e)ko ;67(3):455\u0026ndash;9. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDiani J, Gall K. Finite Strain 3D Thermoviscoelastic Constitutive Model. Society. 2006(e)ko ;1\u0026ndash;10. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbdelrazek EM, El Damrawi G, Elashmawi IS, El-Shahawy A. The influence of \u0026gamma;-irradiation on some physical properties of chlorophyll/PMMA films. Appl Surf Sci. 2010(e)ko ;256(9):2711\u0026ndash;8. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLee KH, Kim HY, Khil MS, Ra YM, Lee DR. Characterization of nano-structured poly(\u0026epsilon;-caprolactone) nonwoven mats via electrospinning. Polymer (Guildf). 2003(e)ko ;44(4):1287\u0026ndash;94. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHashem M, Al Rez MF, Fouad H, Elsarnagawy T, Elsharawy MA, Umar A, et al. Influence of titanium oxide nanoparticles on the physical and thermomechanical behavior of poly methyl methacrylate (pmma): A denture base resin. Sci Adv Mater. 2017(e)ko ;9(6):938\u0026ndash;44. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKumar S, Sharma A, Tripathi B, Srivastava S, Agrawal S, Singh M, et al. Enhancement of hydrogen gas permeability in electrically aligned MWCNT-PMMA composite membranes. Micron [Internet]. 2010(e)ko ;41(7):909\u0026ndash;14. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.micron.2010.05.016\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmirian M, Chakoli AN, Sui J, Cai W. Enhanced shape memory effect of poly(L-lactide-co-\u0026epsilon;-caprolactone) biodegradable copolymer reinforced with functionalized MWCNTs. J Polym Res. 2012(e)ko ;19(2):1\u0026ndash;10. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCarbon W, Mwcntnh N. Synthesis and characterization carboxyl functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes ( MWCNT-COOH ) and NH 2 functionalized Multi- Synthesis and characterization carboxyl functionalized Multi- Walled Carbon Nanotubes ( MWCNT-COOH ) and NH 2 functionalized Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes ( MWCNT-. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAhmed DS, Haider AJ, Mohammad MR. Comparesion of functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes treated by oil olive and nitric acid and their characterization. Energy Procedia [Internet]. 2013(e)ko ;36:1111\u0026ndash;8. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2013.07.126\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTheodore M, Hosur M, Thomas J, Jeelani S. Influence of functionalization on properties of MWCNT-epoxy nanocomposites. Mater Sci Eng A [Internet]. 2011(e)ko ;528(3):1192\u0026ndash;200. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.msea.2010.09.095\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eElshalakany AB, Osman TA, Khattab A, Azzam B, Zaki M. Microstructure and mechanical properties of MWCNTs reinforced A356 aluminum alloys cast nanocomposites fabricated by using a combination of rheocasting and squeeze casting techniques. J Nanomater. 2014(e)ko ;2014. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLiu L, Ren Y, Li Y, Liang Y. Effects of hard and soft components on the structure formation, crystallization behavior and mechanical properties of electrospun poly(l-lactic acid) nanofibers. Polymer (Guildf). 2013(e)ko ;54(19):5250\u0026ndash;6. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShimpi N, Hansora DP, Mishra S. High-performance polyimide film based hybrid nanostructures: Synthesis, characterization, and properties investigation. Polym Compos. 2018(e)ko ;39(8):2650\u0026ndash;61. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eShokrieh MM, Saeedi A, Chitsazzadeh M. Mechanical properties of multi-walled carbon nanotube / polyester nanocomposites. 2013(e)ko ;3\u0026ndash;7. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZhou TY, Tsui GCP, Liang JZ, Zou SY, Tang CY, Mi\u0026scaron;ković-Stanković V. Thermal properties and thermal stability of PP/MWCNT composites. Compos Part B Eng. 2016(e)ko ;90:107\u0026ndash;14. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePersenaire O, Alexandre M, Deg\u0026eacute;e P, Dubois P. Mechanisms and kinetics of thermal degradation of poly(\u0026epsilon;-caprolactone). Biomacromolecules. 2001(e)ko ;2(1):288\u0026ndash;94. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBaniassadi M, Laachachi A, Makradi A, Belouettar S, Ruch D, Muller R. Thermochimica Acta Statistical continuum theory for the effective conductivity of carbon nanotubes filled polymer composites. Thermochim Acta [Internet]. 2011(e)ko ;520(1\u0026ndash;2):33\u0026ndash;7. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tca.2011.02.037\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Tables","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable.1\u003c/strong\u003e. Elastic modulus, Tensile strength, and Strain to failure determined from stress-strain curve relations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable align=\"\" border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.344569288389515%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConcentration\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eof MWCNTs %\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.46441947565543%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eElastic Modulus (Mpa)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"22.471910112359552%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTensile Strength (Mpa)\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.719101123595507%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eStrain to failure (%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.344569288389515%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.00\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.46441947565543%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e127\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"22.471910112359552%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e3.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.719101123595507%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e49.9\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.344569288389515%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.005\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.46441947565543%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e156\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"22.471910112359552%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e6.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.719101123595507%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e50.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.344569288389515%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.01\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.46441947565543%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e286\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"22.471910112359552%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.3\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.719101123595507%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e24.7\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.344569288389515%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.46441947565543%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e289\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"22.471910112359552%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e8.91\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.719101123595507%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e33.08\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.344569288389515%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.03\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.46441947565543%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e291\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"22.471910112359552%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e9.36\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.719101123595507%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e31.44\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.344569288389515%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.46441947565543%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e306\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"22.471910112359552%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e10.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.719101123595507%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e34.49\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.344569288389515%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"28.46441947565543%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e330\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"22.471910112359552%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e11.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd width=\"24.719101123595507%\"\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e47.35\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTable 2:\u003c/strong\u003e The values of T\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e, T\u003csub\u003em\u0026nbsp;\u003c/sub\u003eand\u003cem\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eT\u003csub\u003ed\u003c/sub\u003e of PCL/PMMA/MWCNTs nanocomposites.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv align=\"\"\u003e\n \u003ctable align=\"\" border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" dir=\"rtl\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"19.444444444444443%\"\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eT\u003csub\u003ed\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"26.38888888888889%\"\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eT\u003csub\u003em\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"20.833333333333332%\"\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eT\u003csub\u003eg\u003c/sub\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"33.333333333333336%\"\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eW ( wt%)\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"19.444444444444443%\"\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e404.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e405.2\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e408.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e408.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"26.38888888888889%\"\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e194\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e201.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e200.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e200.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e201.5\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"20.833333333333332%\"\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e62.4\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e-\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e77.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e77.6\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e66.8\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003ctd valign=\"top\" width=\"33.333333333333336%\"\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e0.000\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e0.005\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e0.02\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e0.04\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp dir=\"LTR\"\u003e0.05\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n \u003c/table\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"MWCNTs, PCL/PMMA blend, X-ray, TGA, Mechanical analysis","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2250029/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2250029/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eA PCL/PMMA blend system with low contents of multi-walled carbon nanotubes was prepared using a high prop sonicator with casting techniques. The X-ray analysis revealed that adding MWCNTs to the polymer blend did not affect crystallinity but had little effect on d space. Some changes in the positions of IR bands were observed due to the interaction between MWCNTs and the polymer blend. SEM images revealed that the grain size formed and became a definite shape after adding MWCNTs. Mechanical analysis shows that incorporating MWCNTs in the polymeric matrices improves the mechanical properties of both tensile stress and elastic modulus Differential scanning calorimetry indicates that adding MWCNTs enhances the thermal stability of the prepared nanocomposites. The thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed a significant weight loss from 357\u0026ndash;440 \u0026deg;C for all the prepared samples.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) filler effects on some physical properties of PCL/PMMA blend films","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2022-12-06 15:13:15","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-2250029/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"4a175037-9f60-40e5-82aa-fc5c86be5257","owner":[],"postedDate":"December 6th, 2022","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2022-12-22T18:59:18+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2022-12-06 15:13:15","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-2250029","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-2250029","identity":"rs-2250029","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"_2-kVJe1T_tPrBINL-cwx","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}