Reinforcement of organo-modified molybdenum disulfide nanosheets on the mechanical and thermal properties of polyurethane acrylate films

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanosheets were non-covalently organo-modified by electrostatically interacting with cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and then were used to reinforce the properties of polyurethane acrylate (PUA) resin for the first time. Benefited from the alkyl chain of CPC, the modified MoS₂ nanosheets can be well dispersed in PUA matrix. Notably, inclusion of 0.5 wt% CPC-MoS₂ leads to a 11.7 °C increase in the temperature corresponding to 50 wt % weight loss, indicating the enhanced thermal stability of PUA nanocomposites. Moreover, the improvement in tensile strength, work of fracture and storage modulus (at −75 °C) of PUA/f-MoS₂ nanocomposites can reach up to 37.4%, 41.9% and 102.0% respectively. This substantial nano-reinforcement is mainly attributed to the proper organic modification and inherent feature of MoS₂ nanosheets. The strong interfacial adhesion within PUA/f-MoS₂ nanocomposites can efficiently transfer the load from weak polymer chains to robust MoS₂ nanosheets.