Infrared Spectroscopic Studies on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Reinforced Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Composites

Abstract

Abstract

Fourier Transformed Infrared (FT-IR) Spectroscopic analysis is an effective technique to captures the response of the molecular motions such as stretching, bending and torsional vibrations of materials. In this study, FTIR analysis has been done on two different grades of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) C100 and NC7000. NC7000 grade MWCNT has a higher degree of crystalinity and shows 60% higher absorbance in the wavelength range of 600-3600 cm^-1. These two grades of MWCNT were separately melt-blended with acrylonitrile butandiene styrene (ABS) thermoplastic, in three different weight ratios of MWCNT- 5, 10, 15 wt.%. The absorbance spectra of these composites were order of magnitude higher than the intensity of absorbance of the constituent materials. With the  absorbance spectra of these two different composite materials as the basics a new equation for absorbance for composite materials as a function of molar absorptivity and concentration, based on Beer Lambert’s law, has been evolved. The experimental results co-relate well with the theoretically calculated values. This approach can be used to determine the absorption spectra of the composite material, if the IR spectra of the constituent materials are known.

Keywords: Thermoplastic, composites, infra-red spectroscopy, multiwalled carbon nanotubes