Improving Mechanical, Electrical and Thermal Properties of Fluororubber by Constructing Interconnected Carbon Nanotube Networks with Chemical Bonds and F–H Polar Interactions

To improve the properties of fluororubber (FKM), aminated carbon nanotubes (CNTs-NH(2)) and acidified carbon nanotubes (CNTs-COOH) were introduced to modulate the interfacial interactions in FKM composites. The effects of chemical binding and F–H polar interactions between CNTs-NH(2), CNTs-COOH, and FKM on the mechanical, electrical, thermal, and wear properties of the FKM composites were systematically investigated. Compared to the pristine FKM, the tensile strength, modulus at 100% strain, hardness, thermal conductivity, carbon residue rate, and electrical conductivity of CNTs-NH(2)/CNTs-COOH/FKM were increased by 112.2%, 587.5%, 44.2%, 37.0%, 293.5%, and nine orders of magnitude, respectively. In addition, the wear volume of CNTs-NH(2)/CNTs-COOH/FKM was reduced by 29.9%. This method provides a new and effective way to develop and design high-performance fluororubber composites.