The transfer of carbon nanotubes in an immiscible high density polyethylene and polyamide 6 blend

The transfer process of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) from the high density polyethylene (HDPE) phase to the polyamide 6 (PA6) phase has been observed in the study. In this paper, the transfer is divided into six steps according to the level of mixing energy during the blending process. The MWCNTs could be extracted from HDPE phases and transfer into PA phases due to a stronger adhesion between MWCNTs and PA than HDPE. Additionally, the morphology change observed by optical microscope (OPM) is also thought to be crucial for the transfer. The PA phase version from disperse phase to continuous phase was obvious during the transfer process. Furthermore, the changes of electrical conductivity, yield strength and rheology have also been studied in this paper. The electrical conductivity changes with the transfer of MWCNTs and variation of phase morphology. Yield strength got the highest peak about 25.6 MPa and lowest peak about 22.3 MPa, respectively, at different mixing energies. The complex viscosity got the lowest value when the MWCNTs located in the interface. Copyright (c) 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.