Effect of carbon nanotubes and processing methods on the properties of carbon nanotube/polypropylene composites

The effect of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and processing methods on the morphological, crystalline, dynamic mechanical, mechanical and electrical properties of MWCNT/polypropylene (PP) composites has been investigated by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), tensile and electric conductivity tests. The MWCNTs have been functionalized covalently and noncovalently for better dispersion in the PP matrix. A homogeneous dispersion of MWCNTs was achieved in the PP matrix as evidenced by scanning electron microscopy. Differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) results confirmed that the incorporation of the MWCNTs effectively enhanced the crystallization of the PP matrix through heterogeneous nucleation. The glass transition temperature increased from 8 degrees C for the pure PP to 26 degrees C for the composite with 10 wt% MWCNT-COOH. The present investigation revealed that the mechanical, thermal as well as electrical properties of carbon nanotubes filled polymer composites were strongly dependent on the state of dispersion, mixing and processing methods.