Phase behaviour, microstructure, and percolation of poly(ethylene glycol) filled by multiwalled carbon nanotubes and organophilic montmorillonite

• Published in: Journal of composite materials 2011-11, Vol.45 (24), p.2555-2566
• Main Authors: Lebovka, N.I., Lysenkov, E.A., Goncharuk, A.I., Gomza, Yu.P., Klepko, V.V., Boiko, Yu.P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Composites; Electrical resistivity; Exact sciences and technology; Forms of application and semi-finished materials; Glycols; Microstructure; Nanostructure; Percolation; Polymer industry, paints, wood; Resistivity; Technology of polymers; Thresholds
• ISSN: 0021-9983; 1530-793X
• DOI: 10.1177/0021998311401107

This work studies phase behavior, microstructure and percolation of the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), filled by multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), organo-modified montmorillonite (OMMT), and their mixtures, using differential scanning calorimentry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD), electrical conductivity, and analysis of microscopic images. The DSC and XRD data showed a noticeable decrease of PEG crystallinity with increase of nanofiller content. Filling of PEG by MWCNTs was accompanied by a percolation threshold at ≈0.1 wt%, and the estimated electrical conductivity exponent (t = 1.77 ± 0.07) was typical for the random percolation networks. The similar threshold behavior, but with higher percolation threshold ≈0.5–1.0 wt%, was observed for PEG filled by OMMT. The observed effect of OMMT-enhanced dispersion of MWCNTS in PEG at a high level of loading by nanoparticles offers good prospects for simultaneous improvement of the electrical and mechanical properties of PEG-based composites.