Morphological and mechanical properties of carbon nanotube/polymer composites via melt compounding

The mechanical properties and morphology of multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT)/polypropylene (PP) nanocomposites were studied as a function of nanotube orientation and concentration. Through melt mixing followed by melt drawing, using a twin screw mini-extruder with a specially designed winding apparatus, the dispersion and orientation of MWNTs was optimized in PP. Tensile tests showed a 32% increase in toughness for a 0.25 wt % MWNT in PP (over pure PP). Moreover, modulus increased by 138% with 0.25 wt % MWNTs. Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy demonstrated qualitative nanotube dispersion and orientation. Wide angle X-ray diffraction was used to study crystal morphology and orientation by calculating the Herman's orientation factor for the composites as function of nanotube loading and orientation. The addition of nanotubes to oriented samples causes the crystalline morphology to shift from a and mesophase to only oc phase. Furthermore, the addition of nanotubes (without orientation) was found to cause isotropization of the PP crystal, and drawing was shown to improve crystal orientation through the orientation factor. In addition, differential scanning caloriometry qualitatively revealed little change in overall crystallinity. In conclusion, this work has shown that melt mixing coupled with melt drawing has yielded MWNT/PP composites with a unique combination of strength and toughness suitable for advanced fiber applications, such as smart fibers and high-performance fabrics. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.