Abstract
In response to the rising need for flexible and lightweight materials capable of efficient heat transport, many studies have been conducted to improve the thermal properties of polymers via nanofillers. Among the various nanofillers, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are considered as the most promising, owing to their excellent thermal and electrical properties. Accordingly, CNT/polymer composites can be used as flexible and lightweight heat transfer materials, owing to their low density. In this study, we fabricated multi-walled CNT (MWCNT)/polymer composites with different aspect ratios to investigate their effects on electrical and thermal properties. Through a three-roll milling process, CNTs were uniformly dispersed in the polymer matrix to form a conductive network. Enhanced electrical and thermal properties were observed in MWCNT composite with a high aspect ratio as compared to those with a low aspect ratio. The thermal conductivity of composites obtained as a function of the filler content was also compared with the results of a theoretical prediction model.
Highlights
Polymers are known as effective insulators, owing to their low thermal and electrical conductivity
The dispersion process was conducted in each PDMS/multi-walled CNT (MWCNT) paste with different lengths for 5 min at 100 rpm
We fabricated 1 mm thick composite films by length at a mass ratio of 10 wt%, and L-MWCNTs were prepared at 1 wt%, 2 wt%, 5 wt%, and 7 wt%
Summary
Polymers are known as effective insulators, owing to their low thermal and electrical conductivity. Polymer composites in which CNTs are dispersed homogeneously have points of contact between individual CNTs, which are gathered to form an electrical path that functions as a percolation network [22,23] In this case, the tendency of the percolation network to be built is dependent on the CNT aspect ratio, which can improve thermal conductivity [24,25,26]. Caradonna et al [30] discovered CNTs are more advantageous on conductive networks through discovering the electrical and thermal behavior of filler shapes by adding three types of carbon-based fillers with different shapes to a polymer material using CNTs, graphite, and graphene. The electrical and thermal properties, with different aspect ratios of the MWCNTs in each composite, were measured and analyzed by theoretical models
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