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Zinc sulfide nanoparticles were embedded in a poly(methyl methacrylate) matrix to prepare a nanocomposite polymer with a higher thermal conductivity than the pure polymer. It was determined by TEM that at a low concentration of filler particles, the particles are uniformly dispersed throughout the matrix; however, at higher concentrations, agglomeration of the filler particles occurs. The effective thermal conductivity for all samples was found to increase with increasing temperature until the glass transition temperature was attained. After this point, the thermal conductivity became constant as temperature increased. The thermal conductivity was also found to increase with increasing filler content, up to 6 wt. %. The thermal conductivity of the sample containing 8 wt. % ZnS was found to be lower than that containing 6 wt. % ZnS. The authors suggest that this decrease is due to increased particle agglomeration in the 8 wt. % sample.
The thermal imidization method was used to prepare an electroactive polyimide/graphene nanocomposite (EPGN) material membrane. It was determined that the composites that were formed had improved mechanical strength, thermal stability, and thermal conductivity, as well as an improved dielectric constant and a decreased gas permeability in comparison to electroactive polyimide membranes.
The effects of intrinsic thermal conductivity, carbon filler geometry, and interface thermal resistance on the effective thermal conductivity of polymer composites were investigated. It was found that the length of carbon fillers and the interface thermal resistance were the dominant factors in determining the effective thermal conductivity of the composites. The authors suggest that the most thermally conductive polymer composite would contain long carbon nanofibers that have undergone surface functionalization to reduce interface thermal resistance.
This article investigated the effects of incorporating silica layers into polypropylene nanocomposites. The influence of the silica layers on the thermal conductivity of the material is compared to the influence of other fillers to determine which is superior. The authors found that particle size and number affect the thermal conductivity in addition to content percentage. The silica layers produced a more impressive increase in thermal conductivity than other fillers on the market.
Graphite nano-platelets (GnPs) were dispersed in polyethylene glycol (PEG)/polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) to form a PEG/PMMA/GnPs composite organic form-stable phase change material. The effects of the incorporation of the GnPs on the morphological, structural, thermal, and electrical properties of the composite were then assessed. The experimental results indicated that the incorporation of the GnPs into the polymer increased the thermal and electrical conductivities, and it was concluded that the composites would be a useful material as an EMI shielding material, an anti-electrostatic material, or as a bipolar plate in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell.
