Abstract
In this work, hybrid filler systems consisting of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and nano carbon black (nCB) were incorporated by melt mixing in low-density polyethylene (LDPE). To hybrid systems a mixture of MWCNTs and nCB a mass ratio of 1:1 and 3:1 were used. The purpose was to study if the synergistic effects can be achieved on tensile strength and electrical and thermal conductivity. The dispersion state of carbon nanofillers in the LDPE matrix has been evaluated with scanning electron microscopy. The melting and crystallization behavior of all nanocomposites was not significantly influenced by the nanofillers. It was found that the embedding of both types of carbon nanofillers into the LDPE matrix caused an increase in the value of Young’s modulus. The results of electrical and thermal conductivity were compared to LDPE nanocomposites containing only nCB or only MWCNTs presented in earlier work LDPE/MWCNTs. It was no synergistic effects of nCB in multi-walled CNTs and nCB hybrid nanocomposites regarding mechanical properties, electrical and thermal conductivity, and MWCNTs dispersion. Since LDPE/MWCNTs nanocomposites exhibit higher electrical conductivity than LDPE/MWCNTs + nCB or LDPE/nCB nanocomposites at the same nanofiller loading (wt.%), it confirms our earlier study that MWCNTs are a more efficient conductive nanofiller. The presence of MWCNTs and their concentration in hybrid nanocomposites was mainly responsible for the improvement of their thermal conductivity.
Highlights
It is well known that most of the polymeric materials exhibit electrically insulating properties.Notwithstanding, electrostatic dissipative or conductive behavior is required for many applications, i.e., antistatic housing applications, wire, and cable sheathing, or shielding against electromagnetic interference [1]
Since low-density polyethylene (LDPE)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) nanocomposites exhibit higher electrical conductivity than LDPE/MWCNTs + nano carbon black (nCB) or LDPE/nCB nanocomposites at the same nanofiller loading, it confirms our earlier study that MWCNTs are a more efficient conductive nanofiller
Among all of the obtained series of nanocomposites, system 3:1 of MWCNTs: carbon black (CB) exhibited the highest values of T10% and T50%. These results indicate that the incorporation of a hybrid system of carbon nanofillers is beneficiary from the point of view of the thermo-oxidative stability enhancement, which is in the agreement with our observations made for LDPE/MWCNT + graphene nanoplatelets (GNPs) hybrid nanocomposites [16] and other polymer nanocomposites reinforced with the addition of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [25]
Summary
It is well known that most of the polymeric materials exhibit electrically insulating properties.Notwithstanding, electrostatic dissipative or conductive behavior is required for many applications, i.e., antistatic housing applications, wire, and cable sheathing, or shielding against electromagnetic interference [1]. A fairly common way in improving the electrical conductivity of the polymer composites is the introduction of conductive fillers or nanofiller into the polymer matrix. It is very important to improve the electrical and thermal conductivity of the polymer matrix while maintaining the balanced mechanical and processing properties. A sharp transition from the insulating to the conducting behavior of composites occurs when the filler or nanofiller content reaches a critical value (so-called percolation threshold (ΦC ) [2]), with only a slight increase in electrical conductivity at the further increase in filler content, the improvement of mechanical properties is a function of the share of nanoparticles, their proper distribution and the effect on the morphology of the polymer matrix [3,4]
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