Effect of cnts on the electrical and mechanical properties of polymeric composite as PEM fuel cell bipolar plate

Abstract

The use of Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs) as a reinforcement in conductive polymer composite (CPCs) of bipolar plates nowadays attracts a great deal of attention. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the most effective and suitable ratio of CNTs loading in multi filler Graphite (G), Carbon Black (CB) composite using a medium crystallinity and low crystallinity Polypropylene (PP) denoted as MC-PP and LC-PP respectively. The composite were developed through compression molding technique with dry mixing method by using a ball mill to investigate the influence of crystallinity on the dispersion of CNTs in PP matrix. Incorporating CNTs as a third filler in G/CB/CNTs/PP nanocomposites produces a synergistic effect that enhances the electrical conductivity is 158.32 S/cm with 6 wt.% CNTs content. The flexural strength of CNTs/MC-PP increased from 22.95 MPa (3 wt.%) to 29.86 MPa (5 wt.%) with the increment of CNTs content. The results indicated that CNTs was given more affect in MC-PP than LC-PP due to better electrical conductivity and mechanical properties of G/CB/CNTs/PP composite as bipolar plate.