Comparing the elasticity of the melt and electrical conductivity of the solid of PP-HDPE copolymer CNT composites obtained by direct compounding versus dilution of a PP masterbatch

Abstract

Composites of multiwall carbon nanotubes (CNT) at 1, 2, and 3 wt.% on a polypropylene–polyethylene random copolymer matrix were prepared by melt compounding CNT powder and by dilution of a commercial polypropylene masterbatch (PMB). While the shear viscosity shows similar behavior for both dilution modes, the differences in their elastic properties clearly show the effect of the addition method and the presence of the PMB. This also indicates the relevance of having a difficult to mix masterbatch to enhance the elongational viscosity of the composites for free wall applications such as fiber spinning and blown film. On the other hand, the 2 and 3 wt.% CNT composites from both addition modes have similar electrical conductive behavior, with values near the semiconductors’ range. TEM and SEM images show different states of dispersion for each source of CNT. The immiscibility observed in those images is the simplest explanation for the differences in the molten composites’ elastic properties due to direct CNT addition versus CNT addition by dilution of a PMB.