Selective localization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in epoxy/polyetherimide system and properties of the conductive composites

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were introduced into the diglycidyl ether of a bisphenol A/polyetherimide (DGEBA/PEI) system. A co-continuous phase structure could be formed by the reaction-induced phase separation (RIPS). The MWCNTs localized selectively in PEI-rich phase which was predicted by theoretical calculations of the wetting coefficient (ω_a) and then confirmed both by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The thermomechanical properties of DGEBA/PEI/MWCNTs were studied by dynamic mechanical analysis. As the MWCNTs content increased from 0.5 to 1.0 wt %, storage modulus had a tendency of increasing monotonically from 2491 to 2948 MPa and the values of T_g for epoxy-rich phase were almost unchanged at about 130 °C. Subsequently, the result of electrical and thermal properties measurement for composites indicated that their volume resistivity decreased from 3.29 × 10¹⁵ to 3.86 × 10⁶ at 2.0 wt % MWCNTs and thermal conductivity were improved by 36.1% at the same time. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47911.