Strong, flexible and thermal-resistant CNT/polyarylacetylene nanocomposite films

Abstract

This paper reports a new nanocomposite made from a combination of high char yield polyarylacetylene (PAA) resin and ductile carbon nanotube (CNT) film. Benefiting from a big specific surface area and the excellent mechanical properties of the CNT film, the resultant nanocomposite conquers the shrinkage and crack defects of neat PAA. This nanocomposite has great flexibility and tensile strength, with moduli of 303 ± 38 MPa and 22 ± 2 GPa respectively. The through-thickness thermal conductivity of the CNT film/PAA composite reaches 1.15 W (mK)⁻¹, seven times higher than that of pristine CNT film, and the electric conductivity increases to 700 S cm⁻¹. Meanwhile, a lock-up effect of PAA on the CNT network ensures good stability of the structure. TG testing demonstrates that in comparison with a CNT film/epoxy composite, the CNT film/PAA composite has a significantly high decomposition temperature with a char yield of up to 90.7%. After carbonization at 900 °C for 0.5 h, the nanocomposite retains over 66% of its tensile strength.