Flow induced orientated morphology and properties of nanocomposites of polypropylene/vapor grown carbon fibers

Boris Larin, Tatiana Lyashenko, Hannah Harel*, Gad Marom

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nanocomposite filaments composed of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and vapor grown carbon fibers (VGCF) were prepared by melt mixing extrusion, followed by melt drawing. The effect of composition and flow on the morphology was investigated by X-ray diffraction and high resolution scanning electron microscopy. Apparently in the drawn filaments, the presence of nanofibers resulted in a higher degree of orientated morphology and - as revealed by differential scanning calorimetry - higher degrees of crystallinity and crystallization kinetics enhancement. The amount of the orientated crystals increased as a result of VGCF addition, suggesting that the nanofibers obstructed the motion of polymer chains after the cessation of stretching force resulting in the delayed relaxation of stretched polymer segments. Significant stiffness improvements were observed due to the nanofibers and high draw ratios of the filaments. These results indicate that the orientated VGCF aligned in the flow direction, joined by fiber-induced crystallization of the surrounding iPP matrix, generate a strong stiffening effect.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)177-182
Number of pages6
JournalComposites Science and Technology
Volume71
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 17 Jan 2011

Keywords

  • A. Carbon nanotubes
  • A. Nanocomposites
  • B. Mechanical properties
  • E. Extrusion
  • Orientated crystallization

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