Assessment of Crystallite Phase, Morphology and Mechanical Properties of Concrete reinforced with Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET)/Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs)

Abstract

PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) is a semicrystalline thermoplastic polymer with good chemical resistance, thermal stability, melt mobility, and spinnability. In recent years, the development of nanocomposites with various types of nanomaterials has become a fascinating topic in material science. The polyethylene terephthalate (PET) blended with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was mixed with concrete to prepare concrete/PET/CNTs nanocomposites. The PET/CNTs were employed as reinforcing material to study the synergistic effect between PET/CNTs and concrete. The impact of PET/CNTs at different ratios on the crystallite phase and morphology of the materials was examined using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM), respectively. The mechanical properties were tested using tensile, compression, and flexural measurement. The presence of PET/CNTs changes the orientation of minerals, thus reducing the crystallite sizes in the matrices at a higher amount of PET/CNT. The excellent mechanical strength of the composite materials gradually increased with the increase in concrete/PET/CNTs. The concrete/PET/CNT (1:4) performance was far from rutting due to the excellent compatibility and crosslinking between the reinforcing material and the concrete, thus increasing the mechanical strength and improving the resistance to cracking.