Establishing patterns in the effect of temperature regime when manufacturing nanocomposites on their heat-conducting properties

Abstract

This paper reports the experimental study carried out to establish the dependence of the thermal conductivity of polypropylene-based nanocomposites filled with carbon nanotubes on the main parameter of the temperature regime of their manufacturing ‒ the level of overheating a polymer melt relative to its melting point. The study has been conducted for nanocomposites that were manufactured by applying a method based on the mixing of components in the polymer melt applying a special disk extruder. During the composite manufacturing process, the level of melt overheating varied from 10 to 75 K, with the mass share of filler ranging from 0.3 to 10.0 %. It is shown that increasing the overheating of a polymer melt causes an increase in the thermal conductivity of the composites. However, when the overheating has reached a certain value, its further growth does not increase the thermal conductivity of nanocomposites. Based on the established pattern, the rational level of this overheating has been determined. That resolves the tasks of manufacturing highly heat-conducting nanocomposites and implementing appropriate energy-saving technology. Data have been acquired on the effects of the impact of the amount of polymer melt overheating on the values of the first and second percolation thresholds for the examined nanocomposites. It is established that the value of the first percolation threshold is more sensitive to the specified amount of overheating. The dependences of the density of the examined composites on the level of polymer melt overheating have been derived. The correlation between a given dependence and the nature of a corresponding change in the thermal conductivity of the composites has been established. Applying the proposed highly heat-conducting nanocomposites is promising for micro and nanoelectronics, energy, etc.