Nanoindentation and Morphological Studies on Polypropylene/Multi-wall Carbon Nanotubes Composite Fibers

Nanoindentation technique was used to investigate the mechanical properties of polypropylene/multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) nanocomposite fibers. The hardness and elastic modulus of the nanocomposite fibers were evaluated as a function of MWCNT concentration. It was found that incorporation of MWCNT enhanced the hardness and elastic modulus of the fibers. The elastic modulus data calculated from indentation load–displacement experiments were comparable with those obtained from tensile tests. DSC results also confirmed the increase in crystallinity of the polypropylene fibers due to the addition of MWCNT. The studies indicated that nanoindentation was a simple but efficient test method for evaluating the mechanical properties of nanocomposite fibers. © 2020, The Institution of Engineers (India).