High-toughness and antistatic PET/EMAG/CNTs nanocomposites from recycled sources by reactive compatibilization

Abstract

The recycled polyethylene terephthalate (r-PET) based nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating pre-dispersed PEG-CNT hybrids and ethylene-methyl acrylate-glycidyl methacrylate elastomers (EMAG) through a two-step melt processing method. The epoxy groups of EMAG reacted with the carboxyl or hydroxyl groups of r-PET, thereby enhancing compatibility between r-PET and EMAG, exhibiting excellent toughening effects. Moreover, the presence of PEG coated CNT effectively prevented the agglomeration of CNT, then the volume repulsion effect of EMAG facilitated the formation of an efficient conductive network with a small amount of CNT (0.32 wt%). Consequently, r-PET/EMAG/PEG-CNT composites exhibited both excellent mechanical and conductive properties: the elongation at break was increased from 52% to 306%, the electrical conductivity increased from 10−13 S/cm to 10−8 S/cm and the percolation threshold was reduced by 56.9%. This work will provide a facile approach for designing high-toughness, antistatic r-PET/EMAG/PEG-CNT composites that have potential applications in automotive and electronic industries.