The impact of polymer matrix blends on thermal and mechanical properties of boron nitride composites

Abstract

ABSTRACTTo improve mechanical and thermal properties of a hexagonal boron nitride platelet filled polymer composites, maleic anhydride was studied as a coupling agent and compatibilizer. Injection molded blends of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), high‐density polyethylene (HDPE), and maleic anhydride with boron nitride filler were tested for thermal conductivity and impact strength to determine whether adding maleic anhydride improved interfacial interactions between matrix and filler and between the polymers. Adding both HDPE and maleic anhydride to ABS as the matrix of the composite resulted in a 40% improvement in impact strength without a decrease in thermal conductivity when compared to an ABS matrix. The best combination of thermal conductivity and impact strength was using pure HDPE as the matrix material. The effective medium theory model is used to help explain how strong filler alignment helps achieve high thermal conductivity, greater than 5 W/m K for 60 wt % boron nitride. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 137, 48661.