Mechanical Recycling of Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate/Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites: Processing, Thermal, Rheological, Mechanical and Electrical Behavior

Abstract

Recycling polymer/carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites is not well common, despite a growing interest in using polymer/carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites in industrial applications. In this study, the influence of mechanical recycling on the thermal, rheological, mechanical and electrical behavior of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA)/CNT nanocomposites is investigated. EVA/CNT nanocomposite with different amounts of CNTs (1, 3 and 5 wt.%) was subjected to mechanical grinding and reprocessing by injection molding in a close-loop up to three cycles, and the changes induced by mechanical recycling were monitored by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), capillary rheology, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrical resistance and tensile tests. It was found that the EVA/CNT nanocomposites did not exhibit significant changes in thermal and flow behavior due to mechanical recycling and reprocessing. The recycled EVA/CNT nanocomposites retain close to 75% of the original elastic modulus after three recycling cycles and about 80–90% in the tensile strength, depending on the CNT loading. The electrical conductivity of the recycled nanocomposites was about one order of magnitude lower as compared with the virgin nanocomposites, spanning the insulating to semi-conducting range (10−9 S/m–10−2 S/m) depending on the CNT loading. With proper control of the injection molding temperature and CNT loading, a balance between the mechanical and electrical properties of the recycled EVA nanocomposites can be reached, showing a potential to be used in practical applications.