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SiO2/carbon fiber-reinforced polypropylene–thermoplastic polyurethane composites: electrical conductivity and mechanical and thermal properties

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Abstract

To achieve electrical conductive composites, carbon fibers (CFs) were introduced to polypropylene–thermoplastic polyurethane (PP/TPU) blends. In combination, a definite amount of silica (SiO2) nanoparticles were added as reinforcing agents to impregnate CFs and further improve the mechanical, thermal and electrical properties of CFs-modified PP/TPU composites. These quaternary composites were investigated by X-ray diffractometry technique, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mechanical measurement and electrical conductivity test. The results demonstrated that the crystallinity and flow rate of PP/TPU composites dropped after compounding with CFs, though they increased by the addition of SiO2. Both CFs and SiO2 improved the impact and tensile strength of quaternary composites, which were arising from the large aspect ratio of CFs and the reinforcement effect of SiO2 nanoparticle, respectively. Furthermore, CFs–PP/TPU and (CFs + SiO2)–PP/TPU composites exhibited superior thermal stability over PP/TPU composites, and (3CFs + 3SiO2)–PP/TPU composite exhibited a maximum value. It is attributed to the restriction of polymer chain motion created by the CF fillers and the insulating effect of SiO2. The SEM micrographs revealed the presence of plastic bands for CFs–PP/TPU and (CFs + SiO2)–PP/TPU composites and more refined arrangement of the fibers after incorporation of SiO2. This refinement resulted in higher electrical conductivity of (CFs + SiO2)–PP/TPU composites compared with CFs–PP/TPU composites.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (61771327) and Education Office of Sichuan Province (18ZD0039).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Engineering, Chengdu Technological University, Chengdu, 611730, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoli Wu & Yijun Liao

  2. Center of Big Data for Smart Environmental Protection, Chengdu Technological University, Chengdu, 611730, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoli Wu, Yijun Liao, Zheng Zhou & Qianglin Li

  3. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaoli Wu, Lu Tang & Wanxia Huang

  4. National Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials, Sichuan University, Chengdu, People’s Republic of China

    Guolong Meng

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  1. Xiaoli Wu
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  2. Yijun Liao
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  3. Guolong Meng
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  4. Lu Tang
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  5. Zheng Zhou
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  6. Qianglin Li
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  7. Wanxia Huang
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Correspondence to Yijun Liao or Wanxia Huang.

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Wu, X., Liao, Y., Meng, G. et al. SiO2/carbon fiber-reinforced polypropylene–thermoplastic polyurethane composites: electrical conductivity and mechanical and thermal properties. Iran Polym J 28, 527–537 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-019-00720-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13726-019-00720-8

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