Three kinds of charcoal powder reinforced ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene composites with excellent mechanical and electrical properties

Abstract

Abstract Highly filled charcoal powder reinforced ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) composites with tunable electrical conductivity and good mechanical properties were prepared using extrusion and hot-compression techniques. Three kinds of charcoal carbonized under various temperatures were used in this study. The scanning electron microscopy showed that charcoal powder was dispersed uniformly in the UHMWPE matrix and strong interfacial interaction was achieved. The tensile test results showed that with the incorporation of charcoal powder, the tensile strength increased by 325%, 262% and 203% respectively compared to neat UHMWPE. Furthermore, the composites containing 70 wt.% charcoal powder (above 700 °C) exhibited good electrical conductivity, which is adequate for many electrical applications. It was obvious that the storage modulus of all the composites increased remarkably with the incorporation of charcoal powder, E′ reached 30.2, 26.8 and 25.9 GPa for samples PC1100/UHMWPE, AC1100/UHMWPE and BC1100/UHMWPE at − 150 °C respectively.