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pps proceeding
Symposium: S08 - (General Session 8) Polymer Nanostructures & Nanocomposites
Oral Presentation
 
 

Electrical Conductive Surface Functionalization of Polycarbonate with Carbon Nanotubes using surface reactive injection molding

Kroschwald Felix (1), Müller Michael Thomas (1)*, Nagel Jürgen (1), Pötschke Petra (1), Heinrich Gert (1)

(1) Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. - Saxony - Germany

Electrically conductive polymer composite devices containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have gained a great deal of attention in the last several years. Melt mixed thermoplastic composite devices can be functionalized with outstanding electrically properties if CNTs are used as a filler material. It is necessary to fill the whole device with CNTs to transfer these unique properties. This leads to high CNT contents and high material cost and influences the mechanical properties of the device. If CNTs are solely required at the surface, a transfer of a thin CNT composite layer onto a polymer device will be advantageous. We present a method to transfer thin CNT polycarbonate (PC) composite layers using surface reactive injection molding. Thereby, polyethylenimine (PEI) was used as a reactive transfer agent. A thin film of CNT polycarbonate composite was applied on a steel substrate and immersed with PEI. The CNT filler content varied frow 2 wt% to 5 wt%. The substrate was placed in the mold of an injection molding machine and the PC melt was injected. The PEI formed covalent bonds to the PC of the composite layer and the thermoplastic part due to the high melt temperature. The part was ejected after molding and the substrate was removed, leaving the composite layer on the part. The new formed parts were electrical conductive on the surface in orders of magnitude of a fully filled CNT composite device. This method presents a technique to produce electrically conductive PC devices with an up to 5 µm thin CNT composite layer on the surface. The conductive layer is transparent and strongly connected to the polymer device.