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- ItemInfluence of graphite and SEBS addition on thermal and electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of polypropylene composites(Melville, NY : AIP, 2017) Krause, Beate; Cohnen, A.; Pötschke, Petra; Hickmann, T.; Koppler, D.; Proksch, B.; Kersting, T.; Hopmann, C.In this study, composites based on polypropylene (PP) and different graphite fillers were melt mixed using small scale microcompounder Xplore DSM15 as well as lab-scale co-rotating twin screw extruder Coperion ZSK26Mc. The measurements of the electrical and thermal conductivity as well as mechanical properties of the composites were performed on pressed plates. It was found that the addition of graphite powders having different particle size distributions leads to different increases of the thermal conductivity. For synthetic graphite, the PP composites filled with TIMCAL Timrex® KS500 reached the highest value of thermal conductivity of 0.52 W/(m·K) at 10 vol% loading, whereas this composite was not electrical conductive. Furthermore, the influence of a styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene block copolymer (SEBS) based impact modifier on the mechanical properties of PP filled with 80 wt% of different synthetic graphites was investigated. For that the proportion of SEBS in the PP component was varied systematically. The conductivities were influenced by the type of graphite and the content of impact modifier. The results indicate that the impact strength of the composite containing TIMCAL Timrex® KS300-1250 can be increased by approx. 100 % when replacing 50 wt% of the PP component by SEBS.
- ItemEffects of Particle Size and Surface Chemistry on the Dispersion of Graphite Nanoplates in Polypropylene Composites(Basel : MDPI, 2018) Santos, Raquel M.; Mould, Sacha T.; Formánek, Petr; Paiva, Maria C.; Covas, José A.Carbon nanoparticles tend to form agglomerates with considerable cohesive strength, depending on particle morphology and chemistry, thus presenting different dispersion challenges. The present work studies the dispersion of three types of graphite nanoplates (GnP) with different flake sizes and bulk densities in a polypropylene melt, using a prototype extensional mixer under comparable hydrodynamic stresses. The nanoparticles were also chemically functionalized by covalent bonding polymer molecules to their surface, and the dispersion of the functionalized GnP was studied. The effects of stress relaxation on dispersion were also analyzed. Samples were removed along the mixer length, and characterized by microscopy and dielectric spectroscopy. A lower dispersion rate was observed for GnP with larger surface area and higher bulk density. Significant re-agglomeration was observed for all materials when the deformation rate was reduced. The polypropylene-functionalized GnP, characterized by increased compatibility with the polymer matrix, showed similar dispersion effects, albeit presenting slightly higher dispersion levels. All the composites exhibit dielectric behavior, however, the alternate current (AC) conductivity is systematically higher for the composites with larger flake GnP.
- ItemElectrical, mechanical, and glass transition behavior of polycarbonate-based nanocomposites with different multi-walled carbon nanotubes(Oxford : Elsevier Science, 2011) Castillo, Frank Yepez; Socher, Robert; Krause, Beate; Headrick, Robert; Grady, Brian P.; Prada-Silvy, Ricardo; Pötschke, PetraFive commercially available multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), with different characteristics, were melt mixed with polycarbonate (PC) in a twin-screw micro compounder to obtain nanocomposites containing 0.25-3.0 wt.% MWNT. The electrical properties of the composites were assessed using bulk electrical conductivity measurements, the mechanical properties of the composites were evaluated using tensile tests and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), and the thermal properties of the composites were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Electrical percolation thresholds (pcs) were observed between 0.28 wt.% and 0.60 wt.%, which are comparable with other well-dispersed melt mixed materials. Based on measurements of diameter and length distributions of unprocessed tubes it was found that nanotubes with high aspect ratios exhibited lower pcs, although one sample did show higher pc than expected (based on aspect ratio) which was attributed to poorer dispersion achieved during mixing. The stress-strain behavior of the composites is only slightly altered with CNT addition; however, the strain at break is decreased even at low loadings. DMA tests suggest the formation of a combined polymer-CNT continuous network evidenced by measurable storage moduli at temperatures above the glass transition temperature (T g), consistent with a mild reinforcement effect. The composites showed lower glass transition temperatures than that of pure PC. Lowering of the height of the tanδ peak from DMA and reductions in the heat capacity change at the glass transition from DSC indicate that MWNTs reduced the amount of polymer material that participates in the glass transition of the composites, consistent with immobilization of polymer at the nanotube interface. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.