Effect of multiwalled carbon nanotubes on tensile stress-strain diagrams of amorphous-crystalline thermoplastic polymers

The effect of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) on the stress-strain diagrams of uniaxially extended thin films of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) has been studied. MWNTs were synthesized by the thermocatalytic method. The introduction of MWNTs decreases the plasticity of LDPE, while significantly increasing that of PVA. The results can be explained by assuming that crystallites are key structural elements that ensure large plastic deformation. The manifestation of the plasticity of crystallites implies that amorphous regions occur in a rubberlike state. Both of these prerequisites are important for the mechanics of amorphous-crystalline thermoplastic polymers.