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Conductivity and mechanical properties of composites based on MWCNTs and styrene‐butadiene‐styrene block™ copolymers
Author(s) -
Pedroni Lucas G.,
SotoOviedo Mauro A.,
Rosolen J. Maurício,
Felisberti Maria I.,
Nogueira Ana F.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.29897
Subject(s) - materials science , copolymer , composite material , dispersant , styrene butadiene , styrene , plasticizer , percolation threshold , percolation (cognitive psychology) , carbon nanotube , conductivity , casting , dispersion (optics) , polymer , electrical resistivity and conductivity , chemistry , biology , physics , electrical engineering , neuroscience , optics , engineering
Abstract Composites based on multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and the block copolymer styrene‐butadiene‐styrene with two different contents of styrene have been investigated and their electrical conductivity and mechanical properties have been evaluated. The composites were prepared by a solution casting procedure, using a dispersant agent for the MWCNTs. Conductivity values of 10 −4 and 1.6 S cm −1 have been obtained for samples containing 1 and 12 wt % of MWCNTs, respectively. The percolation threshold achieved for these systems was ∼0.25 wt %. According to dynamic mechanical analysis, the MWCNTs interact with both phases of the copolymers, acting as a reinforcement filler, whereas the dispersant agent acts as a plasticizer. However, it was shown that the reinforcing effect of the MWCNTs overcomes the latter, resulting in an overall improvement of mechanical properties of the composites. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009