title: Threading through Macrocycles Enhances the Performance of Carbon Nanotubes as Polymer Fillers.
abstract: In this work, we study the reinforcement of polymers by mechanically interlocked derivatives of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). We compare the mechanical properties of fibers made of polymers and of composites with pristine SWNTs, mechanically interlocked derivatives of SWNTs (MINTs), and the corresponding supramolecular models. Improvements of both Young's modulus and tensile strength of up to 200% were observed for the polystyrene-MINT samples with an optimized loading of just 0.01 wt %, while the supramolecular models with identical chemical composition and loading showed negligible or even detrimental influence. This behavior is found for three different types of SWNTs and two types of macrocycles. Molecular dynamics simulations show that the polymer adopts an elongated conformation parallel to the SWNT when interacting with MINT fillers, irrespective of the macrocycle chemical nature, whereas a more globular structure is taken upon facing with either pristine SWNTs or supramolecular models. The MINT composite architecture thus leads to a more efficient exploitation of the axial properties of the SWNTs and of the polymer chain at the interface, in agreement with experimental results. Our findings demonstrate that the mechanical bond imparts distinctive advantageous properties to SWNT derivatives as polymer fillers.
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Nanoscience, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco , C/Faraday 9, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: López-Moreno
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Nanoscience, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco , C/Faraday 9, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nieto-Ortega
authors.affiliation: Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR, Euromediterranean Center of Nanomaterial Modelling and Technology (ECMT) , via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moffa
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Nanoscience, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco , C/Faraday 9, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de Juan
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Nanoscience, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco , C/Faraday 9, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M Mar
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Bernal
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Materials, Eric Kandel 2, Getafe, 28005 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Fernández-Blázquez
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Materials, Eric Kandel 2, Getafe, 28005 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Vilatela
authors.affiliation: Istituto Nanoscienze-CNR, Euromediterranean Center of Nanomaterial Modelling and Technology (ECMT) , via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, Italy.|Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica "Ennio De Giorgi", Università del Salento , via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pisignano
authors.affiliation: IMDEA Nanoscience, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco , C/Faraday 9, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Emilio M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Pérez
keywords: electrospinning; mechanical properties; nanotubes; polymers; rotaxanes