The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of carbon nanotube (CNT) content, surface modification, and silane cross‐linking on mechanical and electrical properties of linear low‐density polyethylene/multiwall CNT nanocomposites. CNTs were functionalized by vinyltriethoxysilane to incorporate the ─O─C2H5 functional groups and were melt‐blended with polyethylene. Silane‐grafted polyethylene was then moisture cross‐linked. Silanization of CNT was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and EDX analysis. Hot‐set test results showed that silane cross‐linking of polyethylene and incorporation of modified CNTs into polyethylene led to an increase in cross‐linking density and the number of entanglements resulting in a decrease in elongation. It was found that the addition of pristine multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and functionalized MWCNTs does not affect silane cross‐linking density. Silane modification resulted in a stronger adhesion of the silane cross‐linked LLDPE to silanized MWCNTs according to scanning electron microscopy micrographs. Additionally, the electrical tests revealed that the silane modification of CNTs results in an improvement in electrical properties of nanocomposites, while silane cross‐linking will not have an effect on electrical properties. Rheological properties of MWCNT/LLDPE nanocomposites have been studied thoroughly and have been discussed in this study. Moreover, according to TGA test results, modification of the MWCNTs led to a better dispersion of them in the LLDPE matrix and consequently resulted in an improvement in thermal properties of the nanocomposites. Crystallinity and melting properties of the nanocomposites have been evaluated in detail using DSC analysis. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 26:113–126, 2020. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers

中文翻译：

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碳纳米管的硅烷改性及硅烷交联的LLDPE / MWCNT纳米复合材料的制备

这项研究的目的是研究碳纳米管（CNT）含量，表面改性和硅烷交联对线性低密度聚乙烯/多层碳纳米管纳米复合材料的机械和电气性能的影响。碳纳米管通过乙烯基三乙氧基硅烷官能化以掺入‑O–C2H5官能团，并与聚乙烯熔融共混。然后将硅烷接枝的聚乙烯进行水分交联。CNT的硅烷化通过傅里叶变换红外光谱，热重分析（TGA）和EDX分析得到证实。热固性测试结果表明，聚乙烯的硅烷交联和改性的CNT掺入聚乙烯中导致交联密度和缠结数量增加，从而导致伸长率降低。已发现，添加原始的多壁碳纳米管（MWCNT）和功能化的MWCNT不会影响硅烷的交联密度。根据扫描电子显微镜照片，硅烷改性导致硅烷交联的LLDPE与硅烷化的MWCNT具有更强的附着力。此外，电学测试表明，CNT的硅烷改性可改善纳米复合材料的电学性能，而硅烷交联则不会对电学性能产生影响。MWCNT / LLDPE纳米复合材料的流变特性已得到深入研究，并已在本研究中进行了讨论。此外，根据TGA测试结果，MWCNT的改性导致它们在LLDPE基质中更好的分散，并因此导致纳米复合材料的热性能的改善。纳米复合材料的结晶度和熔融特性已使用DSC分析进行了详细评估。J.乙烯基添加物。TECHNOL。，26：113–126，2020.©2019塑料工程师协会