title: Optimization of Buckypaper-enhanced Multifunctional Thermoplastic Composites.
abstract: A series of flattened-nanotube reinforced thermoplastic composites are sizably fabricated as a function of buckypaper loading. The effects of the volume fraction, nanotube alignment and length on the tensile performance of the composites are factored into a general expression. The incorporation of self-reinforcing polyphenylene resin (Parmax) into a highly aligned buckypaper frame at an optimal weight ratio boosts the tensile strength and Young's modulus of the buckypaper/Parmax composite to 1145 MPa and 150 GPa, respectively, far exceeding those of Parmax and aligned buckypaper individually. The composite also exhibits improved thermal (>65 W/m-K) and electrical (~700 S/cm) conductivities, as well as high thermoelectric power (22 μV/K) at room temperature. Meanwhile, the composite displays a heterogeneously complex structure. The hexyl groups of Parmax noncovalently interact with the honeycomb structure of the flattened nanotube through π-stacking and CH-π interaction, correspondingly improving the dispersity of polymer on the nanotube surface and the interfacial stress transferring while the high alignment degrees of nanotube facilitate phonon and charge transport in the composites.
authors.affiliation: Electron Microbeam Analysis Laboratory (EMAL), University of Michigan, MI 48109, USA.|High Performance Material Institute, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA.
authors.forename: Zhongrui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: High Performance Material Institute, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32310, USA.
authors.forename: Zhiyong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liang