A Comparative Study on the Role of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Nanoplatelets on microstructure, Rheological and Thermal Properties of Polyethylene/Carbon Fiber Composite
Mosallanezhad Pezhman (1), Rostami Amir (1), Nazockdast Hossein (2)*
(1) Department of Polymer Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology-Mahshahr Campus - Khuzestan - Iran, (2) Department of Polymer Engineering and Color Technology, Amirkabir University of Technology - Tehran - Iran
In this paper, we report the effect of carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) on the microstructure, rheological and thermal properties of low density polyethylene/carbon fiber (LDPE/CFs) composite to investigate the comparative effect of hybrid carbon nanofillers on the performance of LDPE/CFs composite. The dispersion state of single and hybrid fillers in the LDPE matrix was studied in detail by means of melt viscoelastic experiment together with field emission electron microscopy (FESEM) results, which revealed high dispersion degree of CFs, MWCNTs and GnPs. It was shown that the incorporation of carbon nanofillers into LDPE/CFs composite created a large surface area which can be established strong interfacial adhesion between the efficient hybrid filler networks and the matrix. Finally, thermal analysis of samples was studied by using DSC and TGA-DTG analyses.