Carbon nanotube buckypaper reinforced acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene composites for electronic applications

Novel acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) nanocomposites reinforced with pristine or functionalized single- or multiwalled carbon nanotube buckypaper (BP) sheets were manufactured via hot-compression and vacuum infiltration. Their morphology, thermal, mechanical, and electrical properties were comparatively investigated. Scanning electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis showed that the infiltration process leads to better BP impregnation than the hot-press technique. BPs made from functionalized or short nanotubes form compact networks that hamper the penetration of the matrix chains, whereas those composed of pristine tubes possess large pores that facilitate the polymer flow, resulting in composites with low degree of porosity and improved mechanical performance. Enhanced thermal and electrical properties are found for samples incorporating functionalized BPs since dense networks lead to more conductive pathways, and a stronger barrier effect to the diffusion of degradation products, thus better thermal stability. According to dynamic mechanical analysis these composites exhibit the highest glass transition temperatures, suggesting enhanced filler-matrix interactions as corroborated by the Raman spectra. The results presented herein demonstrate that the composite performance can be tailored by controlling the BP architecture and offer useful insights into the structure-property relationships of these materials to be used in electronic applications, particularly for EMI shielding and packaging of integrated circuits.