Fabrication of electrical and thermal conductive thermoplastic polyurethanes‐based nanocomposite with azide polyurethane as interfacial compatibilizer

Abstract

Electrical and thermal conductive polymers have aroused extensive interest in research recently due to their hi-tech applications in the fields of novel electronics. A novel electrical and thermal conductive nanocomposite (MWCNTs@PU/TPU) made with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) by using azide polyurethane (PU) as interfacial compatibilizer. The MWNTs could form well-developed electrical and thermal conductive networks in the TPU matrix. The developed nanocomposite inherited advantageous properties from its constituents, namely the high conductivity and diathermancy from MWNTs, and the high mechanical properties from the TPU. Conductivity tests showed that, compared with neat MWCNTs/TPU, the electrical conductivity of MWCNTs@PU/ TPU was significantly enhanced (up to 3.4 × 10 −6 S/cm), with incorporating only 3.0 wt% MWCNTs@PU. And most importantly, the thermal conductivity was greatly improved by about 46.4% when the MWCNTs@PU loading was 6.0 wt%.

Three‐dimensional skeleton assembled by nickel foam/silicon carbide as filler in polyurethane composites with high thermal conductivity and electrical insulation

“…This demonstrates that the thermal decomposition mechanism of the PU matrix has remained unchanged after the addition of various fillers (Figure S11). 42 The thermal stability of composite materials is superior to that of pure PU. Increasing the KSiC content enhances the thermal stability of the composite material.…”

A review: From the whole process of making thermal conductive polymer, the effective method of improving thermal conductivity

“…38 Although the thermal conductive filler has excellent TC, the TC of the composite is still much lower than expected. 39 There are two main reasons: (1) the difference between the properties of the thermally conductive filler and the polymer, the dispersion and compatibility of the thermally conductive filler in the organic matrix is poor; (2) When the thermally conductive filler is mixed with the polymer matrix, many interfaces are generated, which increases phonon scattering and greatly reduces the heat conduction efficiency. Generally F I G U R E 4 Designing a structured polymer structure.…”

“…Multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) can construct well‐developed electrical and thermal conduction pathways in polymer substrates with low additions. Guo et al 1 used TPU as an elastic polymer matrix and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) as functional fillers to prepare conductive and thermal elastomers by introducing surface covalently modified carbon nanotubes. Azo groups were tightly adsorbed on the surface of MWCNTs through chemical covalent bonds to improve the dispersion of MWCNTs in TPU.…”

Obvious improvement of dispersion of multiwall carbon nanotubes in polymer matrix through careful interface design

“…Another effective strategy is the use of compatibilizer utilizing noncovalent interaction such as π–π interaction, static charge interaction 28–33 . For example, surfactants are thought to efficiently adhere to the CNTs surface, offering both steric repulsion and colloidal stability to the dispersion 33,34 .…”

“…interaction. [28][29][30][31][32][33] For example, surfactants are thought to efficiently adhere to the CNTs surface, offering both steric repulsion and colloidal stability to the dispersion. 33,34 With the help of strong sonication and ultracentrifugation, surfactants are highly effective at yielding high proportions of isolated individual tubes.…”