INFLUENCE OF TWIN-SCREW COMPOUNDING CONDITIONS ON CNT DISPERSION AND LENGTH AND THE RESULTING ELECTRICAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF POLYCARBONATE BASED NANOCOMPOSITES

摘要

Compounding conditions during melt mixing of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with polycarbonate were varied in order to find optimum conditions for electrical and mechanical properties. Using a Berstorff ZE25 extruder, for composites with 3 wt% Baytubes~R C150P the rotation speed was varied between 100 and 1000 rpm and the throughput between 5 and 15 kg/h. The state of dispersion of the initial agglomerates was assessed by light microscopy on thin section and the length of processed MWCNTs was measured using. The materials were injection molded under constant conditions to perform tensile and impact tests indicating strong dependencies on mixing conditions.