The Impact of Carbon Nanotube on the Thermal Properties of Polypropylene

Abstract

This research paper investigates the effect of the addition of carbon nanotubes (0.5 and 1.0% by weight) on crystallisation procedure in isotactic polypropylene. The study found that the crystallisation temperature increased with increasing nanotube content, while the crystallisation of polymers did not substantially change. The critical cooling speed, at which PP does not crystalize, increases with the increase in carbon nanotube content. Using the critical cooling speed and nanotube content, a nucleation effectiveness parameter was developed, that is not dependent on the crystallisation temperature or the CNT load. The study also found that carbon nanotubes only speed up the development of α-phase in isothermal crystallisation experiments. The control fibers had a shrinkage of 27% to 160°C, while the shrinkage of the composite fibers was less than 5%. The melting temperature of PP and its nanocomposites was approximately 150 to 152°C. However, the values for the degree of crystallinity of the nanocomposites rose along with the CNT content.