Abstract
The thermoelectric behavior of polypropylene (PP) based nanocomposites containing single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) and five kinds of ionic liquids (Ils) dependent on composite composition and electron beam irradiation (EB) was studied. Therefore, several samples were melt-mixed in a micro compounder, while five Ils with sufficiently different anions and/or cations were incorporated into the PP/SWCNT composites followed by an EB treatment for selected composites. Extensive investigations were carried out considering the electrical, thermal, mechanical, rheological, morphological and, most significantly, thermoelectric properties. It was found that it is possible to prepare n-type melt-mixed polymer composites from p-type commercial SWCNTs with relatively high Seebeck coefficients when adding four of the selected Ils. The highest Seebeck coefficients achieved in this study were +49.3 µV/K (PP/2 wt.% SWCNT) for p-type composites and −27.6 µV/K (PP/2 wt.% SWCNT/4 wt.% IL type AMIM Cl) for n-type composites. Generally, the type of IL is decisive whether p- or n-type thermoelectric behavior is achieved. After IL addition higher volume conductivity could be reached. Electron beam treatment of PP/SWCNT leads to increased values of the Seebeck coefficient, whereas the EB treated sample with IL (AMIM Cl) shows a less negative Seebeck coefficient value.
Highlights
In connection with the efforts for green energy production, an important task in present research is the development of thermoelectric materials which, for example, convert waste heat into electrical energy by utilizing the thermoelectric effect (TE), called the Seebeck effect
Several samples were meltmixed in a micro compounder, while five ionic liquids (Ils) with sufficiently different anions and/or cations were incorporated into the PP/Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) composites followed by an electron beam irradiation (EB) treatment for selected composites
The results show that the addition of ionic liquid (IL) can change the properties of PP/SWCNT composites in different ways
Summary
In connection with the efforts for green energy production, an important task in present research is the development of thermoelectric materials which, for example, convert waste heat into electrical energy by utilizing the thermoelectric effect (TE), called the Seebeck effect. Thereby, always positive S-values (p-type) were obtained for composites with different polymer matrixes containing boron-doped CNTs and negative S-values (n-type) for composites with nitrogen-doped CNTs. Paleo et al [15,16] described a negative Seebeck coefficient for melt-mixed PP composites containing n-type carbon nanofibers, where just a high temperature treatment of the carbon filler without any additives leads to an n-type character. Paleo et al [15,16] described a negative Seebeck coefficient for melt-mixed PP composites containing n-type carbon nanofibers, where just a high temperature treatment of the carbon filler without any additives leads to an n-type character Ionic liquids and their chemical background as well as their properties are extensively described in literature [17,18,19,20,21,22]. The melt-mixed composites were studied concerning their morphological, rheological, and mechanical properties
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