Electric field-induced alignment of MWCNTs during the processing of PP/MWCNT composites: effects on electrical, dielectric, and rheological properties

Abstract

Abstract High-frequency electric field (HEF) was applied to prepare aligned carbon nanotube (CNT)-reinforced polypropylene (PP) matrix composites during the compression molding process in this article. The effects of the alignment of multiwalled CNTs (MWCNTs) in the PP matrix under HEF on the electrical, dielectric, and rheological properties of the resulting composites were reported. The results showed that the composites prepared in the presence of the electric field had better conductivity than those of the untreated composites. The dielectric property measurement indicates that MWCNTs aligning along the direction of the imposed electric field greatly improved the dielectric properties of composites. Rheological analysis showed that the storage modulus of the aligning direction samples is higher than the value of the untreated composites and the microstructure of the composite has been changed due to the effect of HEF.