1 research outputs found
High-Speed Actuation and Mechanical Properties of Graphene-Incorporated Shape Memory Polyurethane Nanofibers
We
prepared poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL)-based shape memory
polyurethane (PU) nanofibers incorporating three kinds of graphene,
that is, graphene oxide (GO), PCL-functionalized graphene with PCL
(f-GO), and reduced graphene (r-GO) to investigate their mechanical
and shape memory properties. Incorporation of graphene into the PU
nanofibers increased the modulus and breaking stress compared to that
of pure PU nanofibers. In particular, the f-GO nanofibers showed the
largest enhancement in mechanical properties because of increased
interaction between graphene and the polymer matrix. In the shape
memory test, f-GO or r-GO-incorporated PU nanofibers showed actuation
speed that was much faster than that of pure PU nanofibers. The shape
recovery time of 1 wt % f-GO or r-GO nanofibers was 8 s, whereas that
of the PU nanofibers and GO-incorporated nanofibers were 27 and 13
s, respectively. This study demonstrates that incorporation of f-GO
into shape memory PU nanofibers can be used effectively to achieve
both high-speed shape recovery and high mechanical strength