High pressure homogenization of graphene and carbon nanotube for thermal conductive polyethylene composite with a low filler content

Abstract

Thermal conductive polymer composite pipes have been used to replace metal pipes that are easy to be corroded. However, the low thermal conductivity of the matrix is the critical factor limiting their applications. Here, large‐size exfoliation of graphene and carbon nanotube (CNT) are proposed to prepare thermal‐conductive polyethylene nanocomposites with a low filler content. Expanded graphite and CNT are co‐dispersed by high pressure homogenizer in presence of polyvinyl pyrrolidone. Such a dispersion method can maintain the high aspect ratio and reduce generation of defects of graphene and CNTs, which is vital for building a long‐range thermal conductivity pathway in the nanocomposites. In addition, the graphene and CNT fillers can be obtained with high yield and efficiency. When the fillers are dispersed into the polyethylene by optimizing the composition, thermal conductive composites can be obtained with enhanced mechanical properties. The nanocomposite with 5.22 wt.% filler can reach a thermal conductivity of 1.265 W·m−1·K−1, 3.94 times to that of the neat polyethylene, and the mechanical strength can be increased by 42%, supporting improvement of the thermal conductivity and mechanical strength at the same time.

High Pressure Homogenization – An Update on its Usage and Understanding

“…Correspondingly, HPH is suitable for use to directly produce a wide variety of dispersions and has been demonstrated as an effective technique for dispersing and potentially modifying nanomaterials (Azoubel and Magdassi, 2010;Li et al, 2019;Schlüter et al, 2014;Tölle et al, 2012). Many studies have reported successful use of HPH as a processing step to produce advanced materials such as graphene films and inks (Tölle et al, 2012), polymer composites incorporating nanomaterials for improved mechanical, thermal and electrical properties (Appel et al, 2012;Chatterjee et al, 2012;Clausi et al, 2020;Shayganpour et al, 2019;Wu et al, 2021;Xu et al, 2020), and nanofluids which will be discussed.…”

In situ polymerization of ethylene with functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes using a zirconocene aluminohydride system in solution

“…Nanocomposites with 5.22 wt.% MWCNT fillers reached a thermal conductivity of 1.2651 W m −1 K −1 , 3.94 times compared with the pure polyethylene. [ 16 ]…”

“…[15] Other important properties like thermal exchange play a significantly important role in the fields of chemical and thermal engineering for pipe and tubing fabrications. Jia et al [16] obtained polyethylene with low content of MWCNT, which after optimizing the composition showed thermal conductivity with enhanced mechanical properties. Nanocomposites with 5.22 wt.% MWCNT fillers reached a thermal conductivity of 1.2651 W m À1 K À1 , 3.94 times compared with the pure polyethylene.…”

“…Nanocomposites with 5.22 wt.% MWCNT fillers reached a thermal conductivity of 1.2651 W m À1 K À1 , 3.94 times compared with the pure polyethylene. [16] Matrices of linear PE have also been selected for preparation of nanocomposites, since HDPE is a lightweight material resistant to corrosion. Several researcher groups have recently reported [8,17] the addition in a solution of low concentrations (0.04-0.12 wt%) of MWCNT fillers to HDPE, or as much as 7.5 wt% incorporated in a plastic extruder machine, which led to the obtention of low coefficients of friction materials and good deformation resistance with enhanced tribological properties.…”

Thermo‐mechanical properties of polyethylene composites filled with soapstone waste

“…The incorporation of fillers such as talc and carbon nanotube have effectively enhanced relevant thermo-mechanical properties of PE, which is particularly advantageous for pressure pipes applications. 8,9 These PE composites are also suitable for packaging of electronic utensils, 10,11 as the enhanced thermal conductivity allows for proper heat dissipation in such devices. In addition to improvements in thermal conductivity, higher dimensional stability can be achieved by filler incorporation, which can be particularly attractive for 3D-printing applications.…”