Gaurav R. Kasaliwal

Selective Localization and Migration of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes in Blends of Polycarbonate and Poly(styrene-acrylonitrile)

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been introduced into blends of polycarbonate (PC) and poly(styrene-acrylonitrile) (SAN) by melt mixing in a microcompounder. Co-continuous blends are prepared by either pre-compounding low amounts of nanotubes into PC or SAN or by mixing all three components together. Interestingly, in all blends, regardless of the way of introducing the nanotubes, the MWNTs were exclusively located within the PC phase, which resulted in much lower electrical resistivities as compared to PC or SAN composites with the same MWNT content. The migration of MWNTs from the SAN phase into the PC phase during common mixing is explained by interfacial effects.

Influence of material and processing parameters on carbon nanotube dispersion in polymer melts

Abstract: Melt processing of polymer–carbon nanotube (CNT) composites is of great industrial importance for the large-scale production of composite materials and desired products. The properties of these composites greatly depend on the quality of CNT dispersion. In this chapter, a broad overview of the influence of material and processing parameters on the dispersion of multi-walled CNTs in thermoplastic polymer matrices during melt processing is provided. The results discussed here are based on small-scale batch mixers as well as on laboratory-scale continuous extruders. To analyse and quantify the state of dispersion, microscopic methods were applied.