Dresden 2006 – scientific programme

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CPP: Chemische Physik und Polymerphysik

CPP 11: POSTER Disperse Polymer Systems

CPP 11.47: Poster

Tuesday, March 28, 2006, 17:00–19:00, P3

Rheological properties of Carbon-nanofibre Reinforced Poly(ether ether ketone) Composites under Shear and Elongational Flow — •D.S. Bangaru Sampath¹, Holger Ruckdaeschel¹, Jan K.W. Sandler¹, Volker Altstaedt¹, and Milo S.P. Shaffer² — ¹Polymer Engineering, University of Bayreuth, Universitaetsstrasse 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany — ²Department of Chemistry, Imperial College, London, Sw7 2A2, UK

The rheological properties of vapor grown carbon nanofibre (VGCNF) reinforced poly(ether ether ketone) (PEEK) are studied both under oscillatory shear as well as in uniaxial extension at 360 ^∘C. The composites containing upto 15 wt% of carbon nanofibres are melt-blended in a Brabender co-rotating twin-screw extruder. It was shown that both the elastic moduli and the viscosity change with amplitude of oscillation and with the CNF concentration, respectively. The dynamic moduli and the viscosity were found to be increasing with increasing the CNF content. The composite with high fibre loading exhibits enhanced shear thinning. Furthermore, the linear viscoelastic data shows a transition to a solid like response at low frequency which indicates the so-called *percolation threshold* appearing between 10 and 15 wt% of CNF. Interestingly, the melt elongational measurements show significant increase in melt strength, whereas the elongation at break remains unchanged upto 10 wt% CNF. We have shown that the addition of CNF can be significantly improve the foaming behaviour through its effect on the melt strength as well as extensibility.