pps proceeding - Abstract Preview
pps proceeding
Symposium: S04 - Injection molding
Keynote Presentation
 
 

Properties of polypropylene/mutilwalled carbon nanotube micromoldings

Zhou Shengtai (1)*, Hrymak Andrew (2), Kamal Musa (3)

(1) Polymer Research Institute of Sichuan University - Chengdu - China, (2) University of Western Ontario - London Ontario - Canada, (3) Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University - Montreal, Quebec - Canada

Microinjection molding (ìIM) technology is a key technique to fabricate microparts for applications in the areas of electronics, automotive and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) among others. Although a considerable amount of research has been conducted regarding the molding of microparts from pure polymers, there is a further need for understanding the properties of filler-containing microparts due to their multi-functional performance. Therefore, the properties of microparts molded from polypropylene/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PP/CNT) composites were studied in detail. Results indicated that the percolation threshold for PP/CNT microparts shifted to higher filler concentrations when compared with their compression molded counterparts. Morphology observations revealed that the distribution of CNT is not uniform along the flow direction, which can significantly affect the properties of molded microparts. In addition, the dimensional stability of microparts increased with an incremental loading fraction of CNT. The thermal properties of pure PP and PP/CNT microparts were studied using differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. Moreover, the mechanical properties of microparts were evaluated by nanoindentation analysis. Both the hardness and reduced modulus increased with corresponding filler loading fraction of CNT below 3 and 7 wt%, respectively. Above those concentrations both properties decreased with further increasing CNT loading fractions. This could be attributed to the state of filler dispersion within the microparts.