The paper concerns the initial steps in the preparation of carbon nanotubecontaining nanocomposites of an isophthalic unsaturated polyester resin, priorto cure. Developments in the nature of the rheology of the liquid samples weremonitored as a function of the level of energy introduced via ultrasonic hornmixing and related to microscopic observations. On-line sampling, coupled withoff-line viscosity measurements, is compared with on-line measurements ofelectrical resistivity of the mixture, in terms of the relative suitability ofthese techniques for real-time monitoring of nanofiller dispersion in the liquidmixtures. The shear thinning parameter, N, derived from fitting Carreau model tothe shear viscosity data, appears to provide a good qualitative indicator of thestate of nanotube dispersion in the sample.
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