Mechanical enhancement and crystallization kinetics of polyoxymethylene-based composite film with carbon nanotube

Carbon nanotube (CNT) was employed as a reinforcing material to prepare polyoxymethylene (POM)-based composite film through a simple melting extrusion. An effective approach was developed to clean and modify the surface of as-received CNT with nitric acid and then with a silane coupling agent. The mechanical evaluation demonstrated that a significant reinforcement was achieved for POM/CNT composites due to the improved interfacial adhesion between CNT and the matrix. The thermal stabilities of the composites were also improved in the presence of CNT. The studies on crystallization behaviors showed that CNT acted as a nucleation agent for the crystallization of POM domain in composites, and therefore, the crystallization rate and nucleation density increased remarkably due to the heterogeneous nucleating effect of CNT.