2010, Vol.11, No.2

Carbon Letters 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.35 KCI-WoS Impact Factor : 4.82

pISSN : 1976-4251 / eISSN : 2233-4998
https://journal.kci.go.kr/carbon

We prepared polycarbonate (PC)/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanocomposites by co-rotating twin screw extruder at 533 K. Thermal analysis results indicate that the miscibility of PC and PMMA is enhanced by MWCNTs. Bead necklace-like morphology of PMMA-rich phase is observed in PC/PMMA/MWCNT nanocomposites with increasing PMMA weight fraction due to the bead necklace-like morphology. The tensile strength of PC/PMMA (75/25)/MWCNT (1 wt.%) nanocomposite is 3% higher than those of PC/PMMA (75/25) alloy. Suppression of die swell by MWCNT filler is observed in the melt flow of PC/PMMA/MWCNT nanocomposites during extrusion.

Carbon materials such as graphite and graphene exhibit high electrical conductivity. We examined the electrical conductivity of synthetic and natural graphene powders after the chemical reduction of synthetic and natural graphite oxide from synthetic and natural graphite. The trend of electrical conductivity of both graphene (synthetic and natural) was compared with different graphite materials (synthetic, natural, and expanded) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under compression from 0.3 to 60 MPa. We found that synthetic graphene showed a marked increment in electrical conductivity compared to natural graphene. Interestingly, the total increment in electrical conductivity was greater for denser graphite; however, an opposite behavior was observed in nanocarbon materials such as graphene and CNTs, probably due to the differing layer arrangement of nanocarbon materials.

Dispersion of the functionalized multiwalled nanotubes (MWNT) in the polyurethane (PU) matrix and DC conductivity of the MWNT/PU composites are investigated with the oxidation conditions, the kind of surfactants and their content. First, the most optimal surfactant type and its critical micelle concentration in the MWNT suspension are determined as a cationic surfactant, benzalkonium chloride (BKC) of 0.6 wt.% to the MWNT content from DEA and FESEM results. All the MWNT oxidized under several conditions are negatively charged and functionalized with carboxylic group, whereas the degree of damage is different from oxidation conditions. In addition, each MWNT/PU composite derived from several oxidation conditions shows different DC conductivity at a characteristic MWNT content. It is found that in order to enhance DC conductivity of the polymeric composites containing the oxidized MWNT the better dispersion of MWNT should be obtained by effective functionalities and surfactant adsorption with preserving the intrinsic geometry of pristine MWNT.