Research Information System
Journal of the Chemical Society of Pakistan, vol.48, no.2, pp.147-155, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
In this study, the effect of carbon nanotubes (CNT) on the spectroscopic, thermal and electrical properties of poly(vinyl chloride)-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PVC-PMMA) nanocomposite prepared by adding 0.1, 0.5, and 1% multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) was investigated. For this purpose, nanocomposites containing 60% PVC were prepared by the solution casting method using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as solvent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) imaging showed that the polymer matrix had sufficiently homogeneous distribution of CNTs and that they were in good interaction. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses showed that the nanocomposites had an amorphous structure with approximately 15% crystallinity and CNT addition did not change the amorphous structure. From TGA analyses, CNTs had no effect on the thermal stability of the nanocomposites. The nanocomposites decomposed in three steps, similar to PMMA-PVC blends. The first stage of decomposition started at 194 °C, the second stage at 224 °C and the third stage at 349 °C. The decomposition ended at around 474 °C with a mass loss of approximately 90%. According to the data obtained from differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) analyses, although the CNT addition increased the glass transition temperature of the nanocomposites, it did not have a major effect. The Tg of the PMMA-PVC blend and nanocomposites was determined to be between 62 and 66 °C. The electrical conductivity curve showed that the nanocomposites reached a value close to the ideal percolation curve by increasing the CNT amount, and it was evaluated that CNT addition at rates above 1% may convert the nanocomposites into semiconductors.