Preparation and properties of graphene/multi-walled carbon nanotube/thermoplastic vulcanizate composites

Graphene(Ge) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) with unique SP2-hybridized carbon atomic structure exhibit outstanding thermal-electrical conductivity, which was widely used in strain sensor, dielectric permittivity materials and gas barrier materials. In this research, we introduced a master batch strategy to fabricate high performance thermoplastic vulcanizate(TPV) composites by synergistic effects of Ge and MWCNTs. The significant improvements in thermo-electric properties, and mechanical properties were achieved simultaneous. Ge/MWCNTs/polypropylene(PP) master batches were prepared by melt-graft blending method. The heating and cooling curves of PP, Ge/PP, MWCNTs/PP and Ge/MWCNTs/PP were shown in Fig 1. It could be seen from Fig 1(a) that the crystallization temperatures of PP and Ge/MWCNTs/PP were 100.3 ℃ and 105.9 ℃, respectively. Ge/MWCNTs as heterogeneous nucleating agents could increase the crystallization temperature of PP. The melting points of Ge/MWCNTs/PP master batches and others were not much different, indicating that Ge/MWCNTs would not change the crystal structure of PP, as shown in Fig 1(b).