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    Electrical, 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, Petra
    Five 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.
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    Influence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in polytetrafluoroethylene on the parameters of electronic structure and absorption of ultra-high-frequency radiation
    (Berlin ; Heidelberg : Springer, 2022) Galstian, I.Y.; Tsapko, Y.A.; Makarenko, O.V.; Yampolskiy, A.L.; Tarusin, Y.V.; Len, E.G.
    Using the methods of angular correlation of annihilation radiation (ACAR), attenuation of electromagnetic radiation in 1.5–2.2 GHz frequency range, and optical ellipsometry, it was shown that in composites of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) + multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), a 2% decrease in the probability of annihilation of positrons in free volumes in PTFE leads to changes in other parameters of electronic structure of composites by 8–29%. Polytetrafluoroethylene is transparent to electromagnetic radiation, but after the addition of 10 wt.% or more of MWCNTs, the composites demonstrate 200–410-fold decrease in the electromagnetic radiation intensity when the radiation passes through a specimen with a thickness of ≈2 mm. It was found that the average radius of the free volumes and the probability of annihilation of positrons are determined by the defect and electronic structures of the polymer matrix only. The Fermi angle and the probability of positrons annihilation with free electrons are determined by the analogous structures of MWCNTs only. Since the electronic characteristics of the atoms and defects in the polymer matrix (at least outside the interphase) do not change, the changes in the other ACAR parameters are mainly due to changes in the imperfect MWCNTs’ atomic and electronic structures. The average radius of free volumes reaches its maximum value in the composite with 10 wt.% MWCNTs. It was found that in a specimen with 10 wt.% MWCNTs, the highest density of free electrons is observed due to charge transfer from free volumes to MWCNTs, and the highest electron density is observed on defects. A disorder of MWCNTs and their branched conductive network can form the ‘tails’ of electronic density of states in a band gap. Thus, composite with 10 wt.% MWCNTs has the highest absorption coefficient for electromagnetic radiation.