Effects of Graphene, Carbon Nanotubes and Boron Nitride Nanotubes on Thermal and Mechanical Performances of Poly(vinyl butyral)-Based Composite Nanofibers

Abstract In this study, electrospun poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB)-based composite nanofibers were prepared through the addition of multilayer graphene (MLG), carbon nanotubes (CNT) and boron nitride nanotubes (BNNT) in order to investigate the mechanical and thermophysical properties of the resultant composite nanofibers. Morphological and spectral characterizations confirmed the successful incorporation of the nanofillers in the nanofibers. The tensile testing of the composite nanofibers showed that the tensile strength and Young’s modulus of the composite nanofibers were improved compared to PVB nanofibers. The thermal conductivity coefficients of the PVB/MLG, PVB/CNT and PVB/BNNT nanofibers, respectively, increased to 32.35 ± 1.23 mW/m . K, 30.28 ± 1.45 mW/m . K and 31.63 ± 1.67 mW/m . K, while that of neat PVB nanofibers was measured as 20.52 ± 0.62 mW/m . K. The results pointed out that all three PVB-based composite nanofibers are promising materials for thermal management applications in textiles.