Highly Efficient Dispersion of Individual Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes by Polylactide in High Elastic State

Abstract

The dispersion of individual multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by solvent-free methods is always a difficult case. The polymer masterbatch fabricated by melt processing is a straightforward and solventfree form to store high content of dispersed fillers stably. However, it is difficult for ordinary polymer melt processing methods to reduce the primary agglomerates of MWCNTs to nanometer size and even more impossible to achieve the dispersion of individual MWCNTs in high viscous polymer melt without the use of solvents. This study utilizes the forced flow field of amorphous polylactide in high elastic state to generate strong stress and unrecoverable shaping. The dispersion of up to 30 wt % individual MWCNTs was achieved. Interestingly, high dielectric constant (18.6 at 10.2 Hz) and low dielectric loss (0.30 at 10.2 Hz) features could be acquired by just increasing the content of individual MWCNTs to 5 wt %. The dispersion mechanism was also proposed. The processing method is suggested as an easy and green method for efficient dispersion and extremely long-term storage of individual MWCNTs.

Characteristics and Applicability Analysis of Nanomorphological Structures for Chemosensors: A Systematic Review

“…Research related to MWCNTs includes electrochemical performance, sensors, thin films, electrocatalysts, batteries, etc. [100][101][102][103][104][105].…”