An infiltration method for preparing single-wall nanotube/epoxy composites with improved thermal conductivity

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thermal properties
degradation
nanocomposites
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Du, Fangming
Guthy, Csaba
Kashiwagi, Takashi
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Recent studies of SWNT/polymer nanocomposites identify the large interfacial thermal resistance at nanotube/nanotube junctions as a primary cause for the only modest increases in thermal conductivity relative to the polymer matrix. To reduce this interfacial thermal resistance, we prepared a freestanding nanotube framework by removing the polymer matrix from a 1 wt % SWNT/PMMA composite by nitrogen gasification and then infiltrated it with epoxy resin and cured. The SWNT/epoxy composite made by this infiltration method has a micron-scale, bicontinuous morphology and much improved thermal conductivity (220% relative to epoxy) due to the more effective heat transfer within the nanotube-rich phase. By applying a linear mixing rule to the bicontinuous composite, we conclude that even at high loadings the nanotube framework more effectively transports phonons than well-dispersed SWNT bundles. Contrary to the widely accepted approaches, these findings suggest that better thermal and electrical conductivities can be accomplished via heterogeneous distributions of SWNT in polymer matrices.

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2006-04-13
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Postprint version. “This is a preprint of an article published in Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics , Volume 44, Issue 10, April 2006, pages 1513-1519.” Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/polb.20801
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